VGS Resource Centre
947 Alston Street
Victoria, BC
Phone: 250 - 360 - 2808
We're open 6 afternoons a week and more!
Parking is free!
Wifi is free - bring your laptop!
Cameras and flash photography allowed.
New summer hours - bring your guests too!
Coffee pot is on - please join us!
The VGS Resource Centre, previously named the Library, is staffed by helpful and
welcoming volunteers (including Keith and Diana shown here). Not only is it a place to do your genealogy research using our extensive
genealogy collections, but you can also attend helpful
Saturday morning workshops, attend special interest
group (SIG) gatherings, connect with other genealogy enthusiasts and make new
friends over a cup of coffee or tea.
Although it is primarily for the use of VGS members, visitors are always welcome. If you are a visitor or new member, information about the Society and a brief tour of the Library will be provided. Visitors wishing to research in our Library, will be charged $5 per 4-hour session.
Victoria Genealogical Society's Resource Centre -
our well-stocked shelves invite you to come and explore!
Hours of Operation
NEW - We're open 6 days a week this summer!
The summer hours of 10am – 2pm each day (except Sundays)
will continue until August 31, 2010..
Beginning Wednesday, September 1, 2010 the regular winter opening hours will
resume: Monday - Friday 12 noon to 3:00 pm, (except Thursday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm)
and Saturday 12 noon to 4:00 pm.
The Resource Centre is usually closed during holidays.
If in doubt, please call first : 250 - 360 - 2808
| Sept - June | July & Aug | |
|---|---|---|
| Mon | noon - 3:00 pm | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Tues | noon - 3:00 pm 1st Tues evening: 6:30-8:30 pm 3rd Tues evening: 6:30-8:30 pm - for Beginner's SIG (Genealogy 101) |
10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Wed | noon - 3:00 pm | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Thurs | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Fri | noon - 3:00 pm | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Sat | noon - 4:00 pm | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm |
| Sun | (closed) | (closed) |
| Holidays | (closed) | (closed) |
Resource Centre Location
The Victoria Genealogical Society's Resource Centre is located at
947 Alston
Street in beautiful Victoria, BC Canada.
The VGS Library Collection
SEARCH our VGS Library Collection Catalogue
( Please contact us if you have trouble accessing this catalogue search screen.)
The VGS Library Collection includes books, maps, periodicals, working papers and CDs of genealogical interest for Canada, UK, Eire, US and other countries. Microfiche/film readers and computers with internet access are also available.
Family Histories - Currently contains over 145 unique books for 343 families.
BC Vital Event records for Births, Marriages and Deaths. From this microfilm collection we are able to offer a lookup service and provide copies. Please visit the Queries page for further details.
Indexes:
- BC Supreme Court Victoria: Indexes to Estates Probated in Victoria, and to All Wills Probated in the Province - 1861-1981.
- BC Attorney General - Registers and Indexes to Coroner's Iiries/Inquests - 1874-1937 - 2 reels.
- BC County Court (Victoria) - Naturalization Records - 1859 - 1963.
The VGS Library, staffed by volunteers, is primarily for the use of members however visitors are always welcome. If you are a visitor or new member, information about the Society and a brief tour of the Library will be provided. As a visitor, should you wish to research in our Library there is a charge of $5 per 4-hour session.
Research Assistance: Welcome to 1-ON-1
Are you:
- Just starting on your family’s history and don’t know where to begin?
- The family custodian of a box of old documents, photos and other memorabilia and uncertain where to start?
1-ON-1 is a service for the person who has decided to start family history research. It is designed to help understand & organize information, to explain different sources and to develop a family tree.
1-ON-1 will give you one uninterrupted hour with Diana Gaiger at the VGS Resource Centre. Diana will guide you on your personal family tree quest and answer your specific questions. Rates: $10.00 per hour for VGS members, $15.00 per hour for non-members. Please contact Diana at diana_g@shaw.ca for information or to make an appointment.
Examples of some subjects covered:
- Why do you want to do your family tree? What do you expect the finished results to be?
- Do you want to do just your direct line or all family members that you can find?
- Are you going to use a computer program or just a paper copy? Or both?
- What forms can be used for recording your information? How should these be filed and arranged?
- What is the difference between registrations & certificates? What information can be found on these documents? Do you need both?
- Is all genealogical information now found online? How & when should online sources be used? How to bookmark websites?
- Are family trees that have been done by other people good or bad?
- How should sources be noted? Why is it important to do so?
- What should be done with family stories? Can these stories be trusted?
- How should a research plan be devised?
For additional sources of genealogical information relating to
the Greater Victoria area, British Columbia (BC), Canada and the world,
be sure to check out our resources page and our
links page.
The Resource Centre is also used for Workshops and for Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings.