Archer Library: Canadian Plains Studies Collections Policy: Statistical Summary

Statistical Summary

It is difficult to put an accurate statistical face on the plains collection as the general structure of the Library of Congress classification divides subjects geographically, placing material throughout the system. Certain subjects are easily identified, such as history (e.g. FC 3231-3250, Prairie history; FC 3351-3400, Manitoba history; FC 3501-3550, Saskatchewan history; FC 3651-3700, Alberta history; F 590.2-596.3, Great Plains history) and politics (JL 280-339, Prairie Provinces). For the majority of works, however, classification is not a useful measure. The following numbers are at best only indicative and should be viewed with caution. The figures for books are from a Subject Headings Keyword search of the library catalog; the figures for government publications are from a general Keyword search, limited to location Archer Government Publications.

Prairies/Plains

Area	Books	Government Publications	Total

Prairies	1334	659	1993
Great Plains	825	153	978

Saskatchewan	8714	9033	17747
Alberta	4245	5066	9311
Manitoba	3349	2905	6255

Colorado	376	119	495
Kansas	364	81	445
Montana	381	109	490
Nebraska	231	54	285
New Mexico	462	60	522
North Dakota	255	113	368
Oklahoma	350	35	385
South Dakota	243	38	281
Texas	729	103	832
Wyoming	181	52	233

Total 40619

Not included in the above are two major microform sets:

Peel Collection on Microfiche (Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1976).
4408 titles, based on the 2^nd ed. of Bruce Peel’s Bibliography of the Prairie Provinces to 1953 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973). Approximately 7500 digitized books, in addition to a large number of other items, are available in Peel’s Prairie Provinces on the University of Alberta Libraries website.

Western Americana: Frontier History of the Trans-Mississippi West, 1550-1900 (New Haven, Research Publications).

Approximately 7000 titles, primarily personal narratives by participants in the frontier experience.