Project Snapshot
Project Size: 3,140 square feet / 292 square metres
Budget: $6.72 million
Status: In construction
Occupancy: Summer 2023
Project Manager: Infrastructure Development – Project Services
Project Summary
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre will undergo renovation to create a new gallery on Level 2, and environmental upgrades to the Rare Books & Special Collections on Level 1.
The new gallery will house the Wallace B. Chung & Madeline H. Chung Collection that was on Level 1, and include the recently donated Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection. Once complete, the Gallery will be a prominent location for both collections. The environmental upgrades to Rare Books & Special Collections will meet the Canadian Conservation Institute requirements for designation.
The Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung Collection contains more than 25,000 rare and unique items, including documents, books, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, tableware, and other artifacts. Donated to UBC Library in 1999, the Chung Collection represents a unique and extensive research collection of items in various formats related to early British Columbia history, immigration and settlement, particularly of Chinese people in North America, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Learn more
The Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection offers an essential new source for historical research and scholarship at UBC Library. UBC alumnus and Canadian telecommunications icon, Philip B. Lind, CM, has donated $2.5 million to UBC. This gift is comprised of the Phil Lind Klondike Gold Rush Collection, an unparalleled rare book and archival collection, dating from the Klondike Gold Rush (1894–1904), and financial support to ensure it is preserved and made available to the public at the UBC Library, where it will support research and learning. Learn more