A TWO-YEAR SEARCH FOR B.C. LOCAL history titles by Linda Hale, Jean Barman and field researcher Donna Carpenter has yielded three times more B.C. local history titles than the experts anticipated. "It would appear that people in the west are especially interested in their local history," says Hale, "particularly in the smaller communities. We're so new. History is still within living memory here." A history of Coquitlam produced in the 1890s is the earliest of the more than 1,000 entries listed in Hale and Barman's British Columbia Local Histories, A Bibliography (B.C. Heritage Trust $20). Weighing in at 1,050 pages, Lure of the South Peace (Tales of the Early Pioneers to 1945) has the distinction of being B.C.'s longest local history. A two-page 1958 Centennial pamphlet on Fort Yale qualifies as the shortest. "British Columbia's physical face has encouraged diversity," write the editors. "The local histories of Bella Coola, Sointula, Mabel Lake, Lumby and their counterparts throughout the province make this point vividly." Histories of Native communities include some little-known titles such as The People of Alexandria, a 1990 project of the Quesnel Native Education Program. Titles such as Bacon, Beans 'N Brave Hearts (Lillooet 1972) and Boats, Bucksaws and Blisters (Powell River 1990) reveal how people survived economically during tough times. Deeper Roots and Greener Valleys (Fraser Lake 1986) and Forging a New Hope (Hope 1984) reflect strong commitments to community values. Reluctant to pick favourites, the editors cite John Norris' award-winning Old Silverton (1985), produced by the Silverton Historical Society, as an exemplary local history combining historical accuracy, high quality production and colourful material. Divided into ten geographical regions, the 1,044 citations include author(s), title, subtitle, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, pagination, notes on maps or illustrations, and at least one public 10:cation where the particular history can be consulted. The bibliography includes only texts available in at least one public repository. An index makes it possible to locate local histories by the geographical locations, with more than 800 locations listed in total.
Produced under the auspices of the B.C. Library Association, the bibliography is also available on-line on the UBC library system. "Much of the credit for this project should go to B.C. Heritage Trust," says Barman. "Heritage Trust has quietly supplied funding for a lot of B.C's more recent local histories. And they came through with the support for this bibliography." Heritage Trust has distributed copies of the bibliography free of charge to the principal libraries of B.C. Private copies of the 196-page binder-style publication can be purchased for $20 from B.C. Heritage Trust, 800 Johnson St., Victoria B.C. V8V 1X4.

[BCBW 1991] "History";