The predecessor to Canadiana.org was the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions (CIHM). The initial mission of CIHM was to preserve and disseminate on Microfiche the early printed monographs that contained information about Canada, were written by Canadian authors, or had a Canadian imprint. This groundbreaking work progressed successfully from 1978 for more than 25 years.
In 2001, CIHM remained committed to its mission, and adapted to the digital age. Since then, all new material is digitized and made available online under Early Canadiana Online.
For a more complete history of CIHM, see the 2003 article: Preserving and Providing Access to Canada's Printed Heritage: The Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions at 25 Years by Myriam McCormack.
CIHM Microfiche material can be acquired as follows:
Most Canadian universities hold all, or some CIHM Microfiche. Several other libraries both in Canada and abroad also have complete or partial collections. Check the list of libraries holding CIHM microfiche to see if a library near you has the item you need.
Consult the Microfiche titles page for pricing of individual titles in fiche and print format. You can search the Microfiche catalogue to find titles in the collection or look up a CIHM number or ISBN.
Microfiche are available assembled into thematic collections.
These are printed subject bibliographies.
Batches of MARC records for most of the Microfiche collections are available for download at http://www.canadiana.org/marc.
Download the order form for instructions on placing an order.
Contact us if you have additional questions or need help in locating a particular title.
