The National Capital Region is brimming with museums and art galleries, but few places are as out of the public eye as the Library and Archives Preservation Centre in Gatineau.

The sprawling centre, at 625 Du Carrefour Blvd., is where the country's archival heritage is preserved and restored, and is set to get a major expansion in 2020 with the opening of an adjacent facility.

But for the last decade the public hasn't had many opportunities to take a look inside.

But starting Tuesday, the centre is opening itself to guided tours once a month. As Tuesday's tour is already full, we thought we'd offer a peek inside to hold you over until the next tours, scheduled for Aug. 23.

The centre, dedicated to the preservation of the country’s documentary heritage, has 48 vaults that house a variety of archival records and publications. (Deborah MacAskill/CBC)

A look at one of the vaults inside the Library and Archives Preservation Centre. Photographs and film are stored at –18 C in order to preserve them. (Deborah MacAskill/CBC)

Sylvain Bélanger, the director-general of digital operations and preservation at Library and Archives Canada, shows off The Death of Brigadier General Simon Fraser, painted by Sir Benjamin West, in a vault dedicated to artworks. (Deborah MacAskill/CBC)

Conservationists work to restore paper and books at these work stations. The vacuums in the background are ventilation hoses, designed to suck up any dirt, dust or mould from the paper so no one breathes it in. (Deborah MacAskill/CBC)

Conservator Tania Passafiume shows off a panotype — a photograph printed on leather — at the Library and Archives Preservation Centre. (Deborah MacAskill/CBC)