Lamb, W. Kaye (William Kaye), 1904-1999 : Dominion Archivist, National Librarian.
Dr. W. Kaye Lamb was born on 11 May 1904 in New Westminster, British Columbia and lived in that province until 1927, when he completed undergraduate studies in history at the University of British Columbia. From 1928 to 1932, Lamb studied in Paris under a Nichol Scholarship. The interruption of this work for the completion of an M.A. in history, 1930, from his alma mater set Lamb on a new path of research which led to his completion of a doctoral degree in economics and history from the University of London, England in 1933.
Despite the Depression, the young scholar found employment in 1934 in Victoria as the provincial librarian and archivist of British Columbia. From 1936 to 1940 Lamb was also the superintendent of the province's Public Library Commission. He returned to Vancouver in 1940 to become the librarian of the University of British Columbia.
During this stage of his career Lamb was active on numerous boards and societies, contributed to historical, library and marine periodicals, and was editor of the 'British Columbia historical quarterly', 1937-1946. Building on these foundations over the years, a list grew which included executive membership on the Canadian Historical Association, the Champlain Society, the Canadian Library Association, the Society of American Archivists, the Royal Society of Canada, and the Bibliographical Society of Canada. Dr. Lamb was also engaged in activity in historical and archival organizations as an official part of his duties as Dominion archivist and as national librarian. Examples include the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada and the Canadian Board on Geographical Names.
Dr. Lamb's appointment as Dominion archivist of Canada in 1948 signalled a new era of expansion, modernization and change for the Public Archives of Canada. By 1950 archival holdings had been reorganized into manuscript and record groups and publication of preliminary inventories was underway. The use of microfilm was introduced in 1950, a technological change which made obsolete the program of transcription of records held in the United Kingdom and France.
Dr. Lamb was appointed as Canada's first national librarian in 1953. He had officially campaigned for the establishment of this institution since 1946 when he was elected as vice-president of the Canadian Library Association.
In 1967, a new building to house the National Library and the Public Archives of Canada was opened. Dr. Lamb retired as national librarian in 1968 and as Dominion archivist in January 1969. His career did not end at this point, as he continued to write and publish history and to edit other significant historical works. He died on 24 August 1999 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was predeceased by his wife Wessie M. Tipping Lamb and is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Hawkins and her family.
