North of 52 Collection
Discover Edmonton's Rich History with the Library!
About the Collection
Dive into the heart of Edmonton's history with the North of 52 Collection, featuring digitized books that document northern Alberta's heritage, north of the 52nd parallel. Since 2021, the Library has been committed to identifying and digitizing key historical items, aiming to improve access and ensure long-term preservation of this information for everyone.
With enhanced digital access to local history information, “knowledge is discovered and shared, people changed and shaped and community nurtured and grown.”
Carefully selected items from EPL’s North of 52 Collection have been digitized and are accessible via the Internet Archive. The digitized items have been divided into two collections on Internet Archive:
- EPL’s North of 52 Collection are items with unlimited simultaneous access by many users
- EPL’s North of 52 CDL Collection are items that can be borrowed by one customer at a time.
Stay tuned for more information to come in the months ahead! Sign up for a free account with the Internet Archive to borrow the digital versions.
Featured Holdings
Selected titles from the North of 52 Collection available on the Internet Archive include:
- Nine cemeteries in Sangudo, Rochfort Bridge area recorded by Noel Nicolson; drawings by Roger Raballo
- North-west of Sixteen by James G. MacGregor
- Pioneer Albertans, 1912: an index to biographies of over 500 pioneer Albertans, with cross-references to 950 spouses and mothers compiled by Margaret Mann and Paul Shaw
- Souvenir of the Edmonton district – A collection of mounted photo-collage postcards bound as a book; original photographs by C.W. Mathers dated between 1891 and 1895
- Thirty-five cemeteries in the Barrhead, Alberta District recorded by Noel Nicolson, John and Flora Stewart and other members of the Edmonton Branch, Alberta Genealogical Society
Controlled Digital Lending
This collaboration with the Internet Archive was made possible with Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) which:
- Allows libraries to digitize materials and electronically loan them out, like commercially produced eBooks.
- Follows the “owned to loaned” ratio where if one physical copy is available for borrowing, one digital copy (DRM-protected file) is available for loan on a limited basis.
- Requires that physical materials available via CDL be stored in a secured location, out of circulation and not accessible to the public.
Copyright Information
The digitized content provided by the Edmonton Public Library may be subject to copyright. EPL does not hold the copyright for most items in the digital collection. Due to this, we cannot grant permissions related to the reproduction or reuse of these materials. It is the user's responsibility to perform a copyright assessment on the material(s) they wish to use.
If this project has failed to attribute a work properly or has used it without authorization, contact the EPL. We respect intellectual property rights and comply with the Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Share Your Thoughts and Questions
We value your feedback! For comments, suggestions, or questions, reach out to us at DigitizationTeam@epl.ca. Let's explore our history together!
