Interest in Canada’s built heritage flourished in the period following 1967, inspired by the centennial of Confederation and institutional support of heritage research. An already vibrant and officially sanctioned concern for cultural history in Canada’s mainly Francophone province Quebec and the Official Languages Act of 1969 resulted in a rich series of French-language publications devoted to Canadian architecture. The architecture of provinces, cities and towns, of individual styles, buildings and architects, architectural competitions and archaeology have all been explored in the literature. The contribution of scholars, cultural, academic, and governmental institutions, and publishers has created a strong body of work related to architecture in Canada.

Since the 1950s, the Library of the Université Laval has devoted a great deal of effort and time to its subject headings list. This list, the Répertoire de vedettes-matière (RVM), is an adaptation of LCSH. Sources from specialised thesauri such as the MeSH and AAT supplement the headings. Following a brief historical overview of the RVM, the methodology for integrating AAT descriptors into RVM is discussed.

This article is a revised version of a paper delivered to the 23rd Annual Conference of ARLIS/NA, Montréal, March 10th-15th, 1995.

Founded in Montréal in 1980, the Centre d’information Artexte is a non-profit organisation devoted to the collection and distribution of information on all aspects of contemporary visual arts. The organisation has developed two subject areas in support of its objective (the exhibition catalogue and Canadian art) and sponsors activities on 3 fronts (documentation, distribution and publication). The Centre d’information Artexte’s collections are noted for their comprehensive holdings in contemporary art (1965-). A bibliographic database was developed by the Centre to support advanced research in contemporary art. A bilingual tool, it indexes indepth information found within the exhibition catalogue. Artexte serves both the French and English communities in Canada and promotes Canadian publications in contemporary art abroad.

Art periodicals reflect the image of the day by their writing style, the artistic forms noted and the ideas communicated. They are essential documents to the researcher as they reveal the critical values at the time of publication. Journals are often the first venue to publish emerging theories. The journals have expanded their coverage, both linguistically and geographically, to appeal to a wider readership. Fourteen Canadian French-language and bilingual art journals are reviewed, of which six are discussed in depth.

This article is a revised version of a paper delivered to the 23rd Annual Conference of ARLIS/NA, Montreal, March 10th-15th, 1995. An English translation of this article appeared in Art Documentation, vol. 14, no. 3, Fall 1995, p.3-5.

The Bibliothèque nationale du Québec (BNQ), a legal deposit library established in 1968, holds an extensive collection of over 900 artists’ books. This special collection also includes illustrated books of French and Québécois origin; modern editions with fine bindings and limited ‘editions de luxe’. As of 1992, legal deposit expanded to include prints. This collection now comprises over 8,000 items. The artists’ books collection includes three major types: the fine limited edition, the book object and the unlimited edition, which reveal a range of work where the book is the site for visual experimentation. The BNQ is privileged to preserve this vital heritage, to promote its study and to make it known in the widest sense.