Physical Collections
Our primary physical collection is held on the fourth floor of building 305 on the Nanaimo campus. Books, journals, videos, and reference materials are organized together. This collection is commonly referred to as the 'stacks' in our search systems. Smaller physical collections are also held at the Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxʷ campuses.
All physical materials (except course reserves) follow the same loan periods. Patrons can place a hold on an item to pick it up from any campus or have it delivered to their address.
In addition to the stacks, the library features several unique collections listed below. All physical collections are organized through the Library of Congress classification system with the exception of the VIU Reads which are organized thematically.
About the collection
Dr. Marni Stanley, a now-retired Dean of Arts and Humanities and former English professor of 25 years at VIU, donated approximately 2300 graphic narratives to VIU Library in 2023. This collection covers a range of subject areas and themes, including gender, health, autobiography, and 2SLGBTQ+ Studies. VIU Library will continue to grow this collection in the coming years.
News coverage of the collection:
- Former dean donates nearly 1,000 comic books, graphic novels to Vancouver Island University, Times Colonist
- Former Vancouver Island university dean donates nearly 1,000 comics, graphic novels to library, chek news
Location and borrowing Information
The Dr. Marni Stanley Graphic Narratives Collection can be found in the Nanaimo Campus Library, on the main floor (3rd), near the central stairs. Loan periods and access to these items are the same as the general library collection. The graphic narratives are available for interlibrary loan.
The VIU Reads collection is a collaborative project between the library and VIU's Creative Writing department to both support curriculum and offer a pleasure reading collection to our communities. It consists of recently published books covering a variety of topics of interest organized into themes. The collection is updated annually. Formats, genres, and subject matter are fluid.
The collection is located on display shelving on the third floor of the Nanaimo campus library near the printers and Library Service Desk. VIU Reads materials are not available for interlibrary loan.
The Curriculum Lab is held on the west side of the fourth floor of building 305 on the Nanaimo campus, immediately after the end of the stacks. This collection consists primarily of teaching and educational materials and includes items in English and French. While this collection is catered towards students in education-focused programs, materials can be borrowed by any member of the VIU community. The Curriculum Lab includes a large amount of fiction and non-fiction books directed towards children.
The VIU Library has a small collection of microfilm located on the third floor adjacent to the central stairwell. The collection primarily consists of historical issues of local newspapers. These local newspapers are being digitized as they enter Public Domain and are available for viewing on VIUSpace. The following news publications can be found in our microfilm collection:
- Cowichan Leader 1905 - 1985 Cowichan AN 5 C695
- Cowichan News 1978 - 1985 Cowichan AN 5 C694
- Cowichan News Leader 1985-1994 Cowichan AN 5 C696
- Daily Colonist 1858 - 1895, 1938 - 1946 Nanaimo AN 5 D2
- Family Herald (Montreal) 1859 - 1949 Nanaimo AN 5 F35
- Globe and Mail 1849 - 2009 Nanaimo AN 5 G56
- Nanaimo Daily Free Press 1874 - 1997 Nanaimo AN 5 N2
- Nanaimo Daily News 1997 - 2016 Nanaimo AN 5 N22
- Times (London) 1914 - 1915 Nanaimo AN 3 T5
- Vancouver Sun 1912 - Nanaimo AN 5 S9
- Victoria Daily Times 1896 - 1918 Nanaimo AN 5 V5
- Winnipeg Free Press 1908 -1918 Nanaimo AN 5 W5
For more historic news sources, check out our newspapers guide.
Also located in the microfilm collection are various small collections of publications of periodicals, including Kahtou Magazine and Windspeaker, two Indigenous retrospective news sources.
There are two public microfilm viewing stations in the Nanaimo library. One is a Scanpro 3000 station which is connected to a computer workstation and allows for viewing, scanning, and printing of microfilm. The other is an older station that allows for viewing only. We understand that Vancouver Island Regional Library no longer has access to a microfilm reader and that members of our community are interested in viewing these collections. Due to the limited number of viewing stations and staff availability, please request a viewing appointment using the button below during our open hours.
The third floor of the Nanaimo campus library has a large selection of compact discs available for borrowing. The CDs are housed in a set of cabinets located behind the central stairwell. They cover a variety of genres, but focus heavily on jazz and film scores.
The Nanaimo campus library has a map cabinet located on the third floor under the central stairwell. This cabinet contains campus site plans as well as regional topographic maps. Maps are designated as in library use only and cannot be loaned.