Resources

2007-2008

The Bert Shepperd Library and Archives is home to thousands of documents, resources, photos, and materials that acknowledge western culture and in particular the livestock industry of Western Canada. This education project has utilized a small percentage of these resources and developed a multimedia CD that includes excerpts from books, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, and PowerPoint Presentations that have been developed specifically for the lessons on this website. You can obtain one of these CD's by contacting the office through email or phone. Teachers are free to use these resources to create their own lessons and/or to supplement the materials that they already use in their classroom.

The lessons within this site are merely suggestions, below you will find a more detailed list of our holdings, if you wish to access something that is not included on the CD or website, please contact us.

  • over 13,000 books related to western culture from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, including a complete collection of Brand Books for Alberta from 1888 to 2000 as well as some from the other provinces.
  • 6,000 magazines on such areas as Ranching, Rodeo, Horsemanship, Veterinary Science, History, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and many more...
    • Included are the "Canadian Cattlemen", from its first issue June 1938 to the current edition, indexed by Subject, Title and Author
    • and in addition "The Canadian Rodeo News" and 29,000 other periodical subject headings are available.
  • Rodeo programs, 1906 and up covering many small town rodeos and the Calgary Stampede.
  • Pamphlets - the latest publications as well as historical ones.
  • Maps, mainly of Alberta's Municipal Districts.
  • Videos: "Heritage Voices" This is a collection of over one hundred early pioneers who were videotaped by Stockmen's volunteers. Such pioneers as Bill Henry, Nettie Ware and Ed McKinnon are but three representative of this once-in-a-lifetime collection.
  • Extensive Cowboy Poetry Collection, both on video and in books.
  • Poster Collection: Alberta Auctioneers, Calgary Stampede and other Rodeo events and Family Heritage Posters.
  • Sheet music from 1880s to 1960. You can play these on the electric organ which is provided for your enjoyment.
  • Photo File: this consists of Rodeo and Western related topics.
  • 100 audio tape cassettes of interviews and tales of the West as told to the noted author Sherm Ewing. The entire transcripts of these tapes have been deposited in the library.
  • Cancelled brand files. This Project came to the Stockmen's Memorial Foundation in the late 1980s - It involves numerous boxes containing the original files of brand requests from 1888 to 1980. This information has been catalogued and the data entered into the computer. All files are now available.