News
“Scarce, Valuable and Splendid Books”: Davis, Town and Their Libraries on Architecture
Retired Curator of Drawings & Archives Janet Parks delves into the "scarce, valuable, and splendid books" that comprise the personal libraries of American architects Alexander Jackson Davis and Ithiel Town, held by the Avery Drawings & Archives collection.
Processing the Myrna Casas Papers
Michelle Lopez, a Fall 2025 archival intern in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, helps to process the papers of Puerto Rican playwright and director Myrna Casas, whose archive will aid research in theater and performance history in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean among many other fields.
Public Domain Day 2026: Columbia University Edition
January 1 is celebrated as Public Domain Day, which acknowledges works that enter the public domain on that day after 95 years of copyright protection. The Libraries' Open Scholarship team highlights works by Columbia University authors that entered the public domain on January 1, 2026.
New Acquisitions Roundup, 2025 Edition
New acquisitions for the Norman E. Alexander Library for Jewish Studies include two pieces beyond the typical scope of the collection: a rendering of three houses of worship in Istanbul (pictured) and a drawing of New York by day by mid-20th century artist Shalom of Safed.
Explore the World of Pioneering Sound Artist Max Neuhaus
In collaboration with the Max Neuhaus Estate, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library announces that all audio-visual materials in the papers of sound artist Max Neuhaus are digitized and accessible online through the Libraries’ Digital Library Collections.
Confronting McCarthyism: Generational Lessons from Families who Resisted the Red Scare
Join the Lehman Center for American History, in partnership with the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, for a historic conversation with children and grandchildren of some of the most significant targets of McCarthyism and the Red Scare.
Exhibitions in the RBML | Selections from the Lydia Davis Papers
On display in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library are selections from one of its most significant recent literary acquisitions, the papers of writer Lydia Davis, a short-story writer, novelist, essayist, translator, and Barnard College alum.
A Radical History: Thai Jones, the Archives, and the New Left
"A radical history: Thai Jones, the archives, and the New Left": The Eye features Lehman Curator for American History Thai Jones, whose early experiences with radical politics inspired a commitment to "history, higher education, and the archives."
Columbia GSAPP Presents PEOPLE CROSS AGAINST THE LIGHT: Michael Sorkin’s New York
An exhibition featuring the New York projects of architect Michael Sorkin will open on February 19, 2026 at the Aurthur Ross Architecture Gallery at Columbia GSAPP. The exhibition draws heavily on the Sorkin archive acquired by Avery Library in 2023.
Exhibition: “Jewish Studies at Columbia: From Samuel Johnson to the IIJS”
In conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, a new exhibition has been mounted on the third floor of Butler Library: “Jewish Studies at Columbia: From Samuel Johnson to the IIJS."
Beyond the Text: Reading Jewish History Between the Words
The 2025 Norman E. Alexander Celebration of Collections has an early modern focus, where three scholars discuss their research on what we find in books when we look beyond the actual texts - at annotations, illustrations, and other paratexts.
Behind The Boxes: When Archivists Get Personal About Their Own Family Histories
Bwog reports on a recent discussion about "the personal and professional spheres in archival work" between Curator of Oral History Kimberly Springer and David Walker, an archivist at the Easton Foundation who has, in his personal life, worked to digitize his family photos, scrapbooks, and VHS tapes.
[WATCH] In the City of New York: The Unique Story of the Jews at Columbia
In a talk for the Columbia Jewish Alumni Association, Norman E. Alexander Librarian for Jewish Studies Michelle Margolis discusses the long and winding history of Jews at Columbia, from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries.
Exhibition | CONTEXT: Art, Books, and Freedom
In “CONTEXT: Art, Books, and Freedom,” an ongoing exhibition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, artist and curator Meg Hitchcock brings together 15 artists whose work uses books as "means to question its own authority within the context of a revered liberal arts library."
Amanda Bielskas Receives the 2025 Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award
Director of the Science, Engineering, and Social Science Libraries Amanda Bielskas was selected as the 2025 recipient of the Geoscience Information Society (GSIS) Mary B. Ansari Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes significant contributions to the geoscience information community.
Susan Simons, GSAPP Student, Reflects on the Library Passport Program
Susan Simons, a GSAPP student who was rewarded for her participation in the annual Library Passport program, reflects on how the program impacted her coursework, her favorite library spaces, and "hidden gems" in the Libraries.
Reporting on New York City
Check out the Libraries' viral research guide on New York City, curated by Journalism and Government Information Librarian Emily Schmidt, with a wealth of information on city government, local news sources, neighborhood research, and much more. (Photo by Eileen Barroso)





