Donated Collections

The books and items in this collection have come from the Fortress of Louisbourg to Cape Breton University.

Original photo credit: www.sydneyairport.ca

The whole Collection has books from about the 1600s to present day. The books and other items cover many different topics. Some of the books and items relate to the Fortress of Louisbourg but there are also some that do not connect. Many of the items were purchased by the Fortress of Louisbourg for research reasons over the years while other items such as some of the audio/visual collection at the Beaton Institute was created on site and used at the Fortress of Louisbourg.

The Fortress of Louisbourg Collection items are located at the Cape Breton University Library and Beaton Institute depending on the nature of the item.

Many of the books are kept at the library.

At the Beaton Institute there is microfilm, an audio/visual collection, research binders, manuscript, pamphlets, artwork, a rare books collection.

The picture below shows a selection of different items at the Beaton Insitute: rare books, audio/visual collection, research binders, manuscripts, pamphlets and art work.

The Audio Visual part of the Fortress of Louisbourg Collection contains many items that were collected from 1973-1995. These items contain interviews, some have been created for tourism or advertisment reason, there are recording that would have been used on site and others were purchased by staff for reference. Some items will have to be digitized fr future use. In the collection there are VHS, 1/4 inch wide audio tape, 1/2 inch wide audio tape, audio cassettes, compact dics, 8-tracks, records, reel-to-reels, filmstripes, 8mm film, 16mm film and 2 inch quadruplex videotape.

Research Binders at the Beaton Institute:

A collection of Research binders were donated to the Beaton Insitute along with the other items. These binders were created during the 1970s and 80s. They contain many articles and chapters from books that would have been used by staff. There are also a few reports that appear to have been created by staff at the Fortress of Louisbourg. In the binders there is information on trades, buildings and what life would have been like in the 18th century. The staff of the Fortress of Louisbourg had to do a lot of research to produce the reconstruction of the Fortress that we have today.

photo credit: Emily Woodcock (March, 2013)

Books and other items in this collection are in English and French. I have listed the titles in their original language. 

The Library is located off of the Campus Centre building, past the Boardmore Threatre. The Beaton Institute is the archives, located off the Student, Culture and Heritage Centre (The Great Hall) at the University.