Collections

The Museum Library houses approximately 45,000 monographs and 500 periodical titles, relating mainly to natural sciences, New Brunswick history, shipping, and the fine and decorative arts.

The Archives & Research Library collections include three principal libraries.

The Webster Canadiana Library was collected by Dr. John Clarence Webster (1863-1950), a prominent New Brunswick physician, who, upon his early retirement, renewed his interest in Canadian history. He was a member of several historical councils and museums and wrote various books and papers relating to Canadian history. Dr. Webster participated in the establishment of the New Brunswick Museum and donated his private Canadiana library to this institution.

The Ganong Library was the working library of Dr. William Francis Ganong (1864-1941), who is recognized as having been one of New Brunswick’s most distinguished scholars. Although a botanist by profession, Dr. Ganong was also considered to be an authority on cartography. His library is the accumulation of a lifetime given to the study of New Brunswick from the scientific as well as from the historical point of view.

The archival collections consist of approximately 300 metres of business records, personal papers and ephemera relating to the economic, legal, military, religious and political life of New Brunswick, with a 19th-century emphasis.

The historical photograph collection provides a unique perspective on the province’s historical events and personalities. A large percentage of the almost 30,000 images date from the 19th century (early 1840s to 1900), with the remainder dating to the middle of the 20th century. The collection is extremely important as a resource of original prints by 19th-century photographers.

The Museum Library, as well as the archival and photograph collections, are accessible for searching through the Inmagic databases, available in-house and online.

The Archives & Research Library offers genealogical information sessions which provide an overview of the collections, with an emphasis on family history. The sessions also include a tour of the archival storage area and a demonstration of database searching. Please refer to the What's Happening Calendar section of this website for details on upcoming sessions.

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