The collection consists of research material created or collected by Olof Seaholm pertaining to Swedish immigration and organizations to Canada and North America. The collection mainly consists of general research material related to these themes, but there is some more specialized research into specific areas of Swedish Canadian history, such as the Scandinavian Central Committee and the International Order of Good Templars. Textual records in this collection include minute books, clippings, a constitution, correspondence, research notes, newspaper and magazine issues and clippings, books, and photographs documenting Swedish communities in British Columbia and research material about Swedish activities in North America.

The collection contains four series related to Seaholm's research. They include the Swedish Canadian research material series; Scandinavian Central Committee series; Independent Order of Good Templars series; and the Swedish Canadian Rest Home material series.

The fonds consists of material related to Matthew Lindfors’ advocacy, promotion, and research into the culture and history of the Swedish diaspora in Canada, particularly in BC. The materials are sorted into three series: Swedish-Canadian Culture and History; Press Publications and Correspondence; and Sofia Girls’ Tour. Contents include typescripts of interviews and radio broadcasts about Swedish-Canadian history in Canada (broadcasts were produced for the CBC), newspaper clippings about Swedes in Canada and abroad, correspondence with Swedish-Canadians and various groups supporting Swedish cultural activities in Canada (including Swedish-language film screenings in BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan), and promotional and administrative records related to the 1956-1957 Canadian tour of the Sofia Girls’ Rhythmic Gymnastics Team, which Lindfors helped to organize. The fonds also contains nearly 200 photographs of Swedes, Swedish-Canadians, and the Sofia Girls’ Team.

The fonds consists of records created or received by the committees and individuals working for the Labour History Project under the Centennial Commission and Centennial Labour Committee. Fonds includes minutes, agendas, correspondence, publications, posters and other advertisements for events and meetings, reports, newspaper clippings, typescripts and manuscripts, including a graduate thesis on union history. All type- and manuscripts are related to the history of various unions in Canada and British Columbia.
The fonds is divided between two series: Operational Records, and Manuscripts.

The fonds reflects Peter Cardew’s professional career as an architect, predominantly since 1966, the year that he emigrated to Canada. Over his career, Cardew designed schools, exhibition buildings for Expo ‘86 held in Vancouver, B.C., condominiums, private homes, office buildings, libraries, art galleries, retail establishments and furniture. Records include slides and photographs of buildings that may have served as inspiration for his designs, as well as those that he designed and built. Records also include building permits for select projects, and an exhibit catalogue for one of his best known exhibitions: Peter Cardew, Ordinary Buildings, an exhibition of his drawings first held in the Charles H. Scott Gallery at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Records also include numerous awards that Cardew received for his designs, certificates which document his membership in various professional associations, as well as posters for various speaker series in which he participated. The fonds also includes records related to the operation of Cardew’s firm, Peter Cardew Architects, such as account ledgers, stamps, and the firm profile.

The fonds is divided into three series: Slides and Photographs, Professional Documents and Other Materials, and Architectural Drawings.

Records consist of slides, photographs, negatives, legal documents, building permit applications, awards certificates and medallions, exhibit catalogues, magazine profiles, posters, newspaper clippings, account ledgers, diplomas, furniture designs, and architectural drawings.

The fonds reflects Mary Bishop’s interests in the social and political issues surrounding family planning, access to birth control, and population planning, primarily in Canada, as well as in south Asia and globally. She accumulated a large number of subject files to support her research in these areas on topics including human sexuality; abortion; fertility; welfare of children and families; and the influence of organized religion and Eugenics movements on birth control access. The fonds also reflects Bishop’s dedication to voluntary service with local, national, and international organizations focused on family and population planning. A small number of personal records are also included.

Bishop’s records are arranged into three series: population and family planning research; volunteer involvement; and personal files. The fonds consists primarily of newspaper clippings and research notes on topics of interest to Bishop; government and NGO reports and publications on population policy and family planning issues; pamphlets and flyers; and drafts of articles and speeches authored by Bishop. The fonds also includes recordings and transcripts of a series of interviews conducted by Bishop in the late 1970s with individuals relevant to the history of the birth control movement in Canada, including physicians, activists, religious leaders, couples, and individual women. Some organizational records for the various groups Bishop was part of (e.g., agendas, meeting minutes, annual reports, committee reports, correspondence, financial records) are also present in the fonds.

Fonds consists of the John Howard Society of British Columbia, Nanaimo Area Council’s records of the Mid-Island Diversion Programme. Founded in 1975, the Mid-Island Diversion Programme formulated its aims and operations upon John Hogarth’s Sentencing as a Human Process (1971) and the Law Reform Commission of Canada’s Working Paper No. 7 on diversion (1975). The programme was founded with the following objectives: providing a community-based diversion program as an alternative to the criminal justice system for individuals who committed minor offenses; shifting the responsibility of addressing such offenses from the government to the community; modifying the attitude of the public towards these offenders and towards the criminal justice system; and working towards the decriminalization of certain minor offenses. The programme was overseen by the Nanaimo Area Council Diversion Programme Support Committee with representatives from the Crown Counsel, RCMP, probation officers, John Howard Society members, and interested community members. Within its first few years, the programme expanded from Nanaimo to also include communities in Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, and Parksville. The programme seems to have continued until around 2019, at which point the John Howard Society, Nanaimo Area Council directed its resources towards other restorative justice efforts.

The programme was designed for adult offenders with no more than two prior convictions who had been accused of the following types of offenses, among others: theft under $200, possession of stolen property under $200, assault, causing a disturbance, possession of marijuana, willful damage, and possession of a prohibited weapon. Adults accused of other types of offenses could be accepted or rejected from the programme based on their previous criminal record, social background, and community presence. Acceptance into the programme required a referral from the Crown Counsel, approval from the RCMP investigating officer and victim, and voluntary participation on the part of the alleged offender. Participation in the programme required the alleged offender’s stated intention to take responsibility for their actions, but did not count as a legal admission of guilt. After acceptance into the programme, the client would formulate a diversion plan with a diversion counsellor. The diversion plan generally required the client to complete the following tasks over a three-month period: community work at a non-profit organization; a letter of appreciation to the RCMP Investigating Officer for referral to the programme; a letter of apology to the victim; if relevant, paid restitution for damages; and meetings with a diversion counsellor weekly or every other week. Upon the programme’s completion, the diversion counsellor submitted a final report to inform the Crown, RCMP, and victim.

Fonds documents the administration and operations of the Mid-Island Diversion Programme, and includes statistical reports, procedural manuals, correspondence, case files, rejection files, and other material.

Fonds is arranged into two series: Administration; and Case files.

Fonds documents several projects undertaken by or for the Ministry of Education relating to post-secondary education libraries and other types of post-secondary learning resource centres (LRCs). These include: the Council of Post-Secondary Library Directors (CPSLD)’s Management Indicators for British Columbia College and Institute Learning Resources Centres Project; and several projects undertaken by the Education Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Education. Harris served as invited Ministry of Education Representative to the CPSLD and Secretary to the Education Advisory Committee. Records consist of reports, proposals, standards, questionnaires, manuals, correspondence, policy documents, and other material collected and created as part of these projects.

Fonds is arranged into two series: Management Indication Project records; and Education Advisory Committee records.