Image of advancement co-op student Anya Chugh wearing black pants and a white sleevlss shirt staying in the atrium of the Thomas Fisher rare book Library

Published: July 28, 2025
By: Anya Chugh, Co-op Advancement Intern

As an international student, I have always wanted to learn about Canadian history and culture to feel connected to the land I now call home. This curiosity led me to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, where I learnt that the past isn’t just something you simply read about, but something you actively experience and embody. I had the chance to interview Grant Hurley - Canadiana Librarian at the Fisher Library. Before our talk, I thought of “history” as something distant or set in stone, but Grant offered a simple yet powerful definition that changed my perspective:

“For me, I like to take a very broad view of Canadiana: it's really anything that has a relationship with these lands that we call Canada right now. So, any kind of document, book, printed material, that contributes in some way, big or small, to telling a story about the place we call Canada.”

This expansive view of Canadiana enables a comprehensive approach to collecting materials from the earliest records of these lands to contemporary literature. These materials are not kept behind glass like museum artifacts; rather, students, researchers, and the public can handle original letters, manuscripts, and documents directly. Many classes even build assignments around these primary sources, making history personal. I found this invigorating, since it transforms learning from simply being told a story to actively uncovering it yourself, bringing your own narrative and social location into how you view history. For students, this can be the moment history becomes real and relevant.

Grant also shared how essential it is to care for Indigenous materials responsibly. The library works with Indigenous communities to describe and even return items in ways that honour their traditions, recognizing that these are their stories first.

Overall, this conversation reframed the library as a transformative space where something thought to be private and appreciated by just a few is actually made available to the public, enabling a deeper understanding of the world around us.

If you are curious about the range of materials held here, I encourage you to explore our collections either in person or online. You will find everything from early explorer accounts to rare literary manuscripts, and letters that shaped Canadian history. It’s a reminder that society’s history is worth preserving, and perhaps you’ll get to learn a bit more about yourself too.

Anya Chugh, a motivated third-year undergraduate student, is completing a double major in Psychology and Sociology along with a Certificate in Business Fundamentals on the St. George campus.

Beyond the Glass: Discovering Canada’s History