Special Collections is comprised of material meant to support research at KPU.
Among many other items, Special Collections houses material related to European history, art, and a unique collection of Sotheby sale catalogues.
To browse titles housed in Special Collections, visit kpu.ca/library and use a 'Precision Search' after clicking on 'Catalogue Home' and limit 'Location' to Special Collections. A link to this search can be found here.
Some of our collection is housed in a staff only area. Please inquire with a library staff member at the Service Desk, and they will retrieve the item.
Barrie Brill taught History at Langara College from 1968-2009. He generously donated his extensive collection on early European history to KPU Library. He donated several thousand books; many items have enriched our general collection and are available for circulation. Others are quite rare and kept in Special Collections.
To view a list of currently circulating material from the Brill donation, select 'Brill Collection' under 'Item Category 1' in our Precision Search in the Library Catalogue. You can also click here.
Special Collections is home to roughly 100 Sotheby's Catalogues from a personal collection from a KPU employee. The collection is comprised primarily of catalogues of Contemporary and Russian art. Some of the catalogues have been hand-marked to note the prices of sale at the time of auction.
To browse these Catalogue of Sales, click here.
This collection is housed in Archives, apart from the Special Collections room. To access a specific item in this collection, please inquire with a library staff member at the Service Desk.
If you wish to browse the collection as a whole, please contact us to arrange an appointment.