The series consists of administrative records of the History of the Book in Canada project, including files relating to the background of the project, relations with SSHRCC, conferences, and correspondence with publishers. The background materials (vols. 1-2) delineate the evolution of the project from its conception in 1994 to the receipt of the MCRI award in 2000. The project originated with the Bibliographical Society of Canada / Société bibliographique du Canada, which charged an ad hoc committee in 1995 to investigate the creation of a national book history project. The committee's report at the BSC/SBC annual meeting in 1996 was followed by a founding conference for the history of the book in Canada in 1997 at the National Library of Canada / Bibliothèque nationale du Canada. The initial committee evolved into the HBiC/HLIC editorial team, which applied successfully to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for funding in 1999. The background material also includes early correspondence from the project listservs, and documents relating to the launch of its Web site in 1997.
The SSHRCC files (vols. 2-3) hold general correspondence and reports, 2000-2006, including the Milestone Report (2000) and Mid-Term Review (2002). Records of the editorial meetings (vol. 4) include agendas, minutes, and notes, dating from 1998 to 2004. This series also holds material on conference planning, 2000-2005 (vols. 5-6). The project held two conferences for each volume, one an open conference, the other for authors of the volume. A Prairie Print Culture Colloquium was also organized by the project in 2001, and HBiC/HLIC was a major partner in the 2005 SHARP Conference held in Halifax. These files include materials relating to local arrangements, calls for papers and other publicity, submitted papers and abstracts, and conference packages. Relations with the publishers is documented by correspondence with University of Toronto Press and Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 1997-2006 (vol. 7).
The conference material also includes sound recordings of the proceedings of the Colloquium on the History of Parliamentary Libraries held in Quebec City in 2002 (cassettes no. 1-7) and of the 1997 Founding Conference at the National Library (cassettes no. 8-18) in Ottawa.
