News

A World Room Welcome
Dean of the School of Journalism Jelani Cobb announced the 20th president of Columbia University, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, in the World Room of the Journalism School, in front of a stained glass window that bears the Statue of Liberty. University archivists share its history.
C.V. Starr East Asian Library Temporary Closure: Summer and Fall 2023
The C.V. Starr East Asian Library will be closed for critical improvements to its fire alarm and fire suppression technologies from May 2023 through January 2024. The library's collections and services will be modified during this time.

Announcing the 2022-2023 Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award Program Recipients
To contribute to the University's overall Commitment to Antiracism, the Libraries awards 14 internal grants for projects that seek to address racism and exclusion as part of the inaugural Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award Program.

Research at the RBML | Peter Weber Investigates How Philanthropies Supercharge their Impact
Scholar Peter Weber of Auburn University visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to study the records of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and track the organization's efforts to broaden the impact of its philanthropy.

Columbia University Adopts the Palace Project for E-Content
Government Technology reports that the Libraries has adopted the Palace Project app for e-content, a platform that grants Columbia students, staff, and faculty access to "hundreds of thousands of ebooks as the popularity of digital learning grows."

Announcing the Columbia University Press Spring 2023 Catalog
Columbia University Press presents the Spring 2023 catalog, which demonstrates the shared strengths of the Press and Columbia University itself. In featured books, Columbia authors build on distinguished careers to share meaningful ideas with readers around the world.

Research at the RBML | Lisa Rabin Uses the Carnegie Collections to Investigate the History of Area Studies
Researcher Lisa Rabin explores archival records from the Carnegie Collections, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, to understand how area studies developed at universities in the United States over the course of the 20th century.

Federico García Lorca: #DormLife in 1929
What were the Columbia dorms like in the 1920s? Well, according to one student, views from the dorm rooms are great, food is plenty, but laundry is pricey. Letters from poet Federico García Lorca, who attended the University in 1929, describe life on campus.

Research at the RBML | Sophia Houghton Investigates the Materiality of Trees
Graduate student Sophia Houghton visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to investigate the "materiality of trees," or the ways in which tree are represented in physical books, like "The American Woods" by Romeyn Hough.

Columbia Student Homophile League: The Nation’s First Gay Student Organization
A video from the Columbia Daily Spectator features conversations with the founders of the Student Homophile League, the first gay student organization in the United States, and showcases materials from the University Archives.

Research at the RBML: Elisha Baker Looks in to Columbia’s 19th-Century Real Estate Ventures
Scholar Elisha Baker explores archival meeting minutes from the University's Board of Trustees, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, to investigate how and why Columbia chose to relocate its campus to Morningside Heights in 1897.