Mr. Irving K. Barber and Mrs. Jean Barber have a vision for bringing education to people in B.C. and the world

Related Links

• Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC
• UBC Library

Feeding a thirst for learning
around the world

UBC's Main Library is undergoing a major renovation that will revolutionize the way we access information. The visionary project was launched last year thanks to a gift of $20 million from Irving K. Barber to transform the 77-year-old building into a larger learning centre. It is the largest donation for a single capital project that UBC has ever received. The provincial government contributed an additional $10 million and UBC matched these funds with a further $30-million investment.

The new Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC will feature smart classrooms, distance learning activities, wireless access, Canada's first automated book storage and retrieval system, a fireproof and climate-controlled vault for rare and valuable collections, and a host of other innovations that will truly place the wealth of human knowledge at the fingertips of British Columbians in any community.

"My work took me around the province and I saw a real thirst and need for education in small communities where information resources were limited," says Mr. Barber, a UBC alumnus. "I wanted to bring education and learning to the people."

Many of the innovations will make the library's resources more accessible to people who are not physically on campus. "We're meeting with people in communities across B.C. to ask them what they need and to design a Centre that they can access," says Catherine Quinlan, UBC Librarian. "Mr. Barber is truly a visionary, not just for what UBC can do, but for what this province can become. The impact of his gift is not just for UBC, but for B.C., and indeed the world."

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