The London Public Library is asking residents to search their bookshelves and donate high school yearbooks to fill significant gaps in an archive that spans more than a century, according to library officials.

The public drive aims to populate the London Room, the library’s dedicated archive of local history, with yearbooks in good condition from across the city’s educational past, according to David Caloren, coordinator of central adult services and supervisor of the London Room. “Yearbooks are an amazing sort of insight — a snapshot of time — about youth culture, about fashion, about sports, about individuals who have lived in the city,” Caloren said, as reported by CBC News.

Archive Gaps and Acquisition History

While the London Room’s collection dates back to 1903, the library’s holdings remain sparse and irregular. Caloren noted that acquisitions have historically relied entirely on sporadic public donations rather than a systematic collection process.

“[The collection’s coverage is] pretty sporadic. There’s been no consistent acquisition. We just get them as people have donated them to us in the past,” Caloren told CBC News. He explained that a school might have only 10 volumes representing a 50-year span, while another might have 30, creating an uneven historical record.

To address these missing pieces, the library has established strict criteria for donations. Books must originate from London schools and represent specific gaps currently missing from the library’s shelves. Furthermore, the library is not accepting damaged items; water damage, mold, pest infestation, broken bindings, and missing pages or photographs all disqualify a book from being added to the archive, according to Caloren.

How to Donate Yearbooks to the Library

Because storage space is limited and duplicate copies cannot be housed, the library requires potential donors to make contact before bringing books to the facility. Donors must call or email the library ahead of time so staff can cross-reference the school and publication year against existing collection gaps.

“We’re a bit concerned about getting a deluge of volumes coming at us and we just don’t have the capacity to take multiple copies of the same volume,” Caloren said, as cited by CBC News. “Probably the most important message is that potential donors [must] contact us first so we can determine what the school is and what the year is to see if it actually is one of the gaps or not.”

Evolution of Yearbook Design Over a Century

Reviewing the existing archive reveals how yearbook formats have transformed since the early 20th century. Older editions from the turn of the 20th century and the 1930s—such as the 1934 volume of the L.C.I Review from London Collegiate Institute—frequently resembled literary magazines.

In contrast, contemporary volumes, such as a 2015 yearbook from St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School, prioritize photography and modern graphic design to document specific annual events. Caloren attributes this shift to the growing accessibility and affordability of photography over the decades.

The archive also preserves rare artifacts, including unlabeled historical photographs and a fold-out panoramic picture of the entire student body at the former London Normal School, which is accompanied by an identifying card listing student names.