Points to the Past [1] is your gateway to a world-class collection of primary sources, made up of nearly 200 million pages of digitized historical content – maps, photos, newspapers, manuscripts, pamphlets, portraits, and much more. Researchers are free to explore a vast range of resources through Points to the Past, including Eighteenth Century and Nineteenth Century Collections Online, esteemed periodicals such as the Economist and the Financial Times, and digitized materials from the Smithsonian Institution.

All British Columbians enjoy barrier-free access to this collection. Gale Primary Sources uses geo-authentication, meaning anyone in BC with an Internet-connected device can access these resources with no need to log in or authenticate. You can access the entire collection through this website or through your library’s digital resources.

Points to the Past is available thanks to a unique agreement established between Gale and BC’s three largest universities: the University of Victoria Libraries, University of British Columbia Library, and Simon Fraser University Library. This unprecedented initiative will further research, teaching, and lifelong learning in British Columbia.