News
Jews at Columbia: The Early Butler Years and the Trustee Question (1901-1920)
Librarian for Jewish Studies Michelle Margolis continues a series of blog posts about the history of Jews at Columbia with an installment on the first years of the Nicholas Murray Butler presidency during the early 20th century.
Researcher Profile | British Black Panther Movement
Dr. Robin Bunce of Homerton College, Cambridge University, describes how the papers of activist Darcus Howe, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and other recently-digitized materials contribute to his research on the history of Black Power in Britain.
Processing the Jack and Irene Delano Papers
Cristina Stubbe, an archivist with the Winthrop Group, processed the papers of Jack and Irene Delano, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and including drawings, photographs, and other materials that document the history and culture of Puerto Rico.
Research at the RBML | Laura Kaiser Finds Elizabeth Dejeans in the Paul Reynolds Papers
Author and independent researcher Laura Fisher Kaiser consulted the archival records of the Paul R. Reynolds literary agency in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library for an upcoming biography of novelist Frances Elizabeth Budgett (pen name Elizabeth Dejeans).
NYPL Library School Records: A Student Project
Students in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Itzel Franco ('26CC) and Sarah Noon ('24GS), helped University archivists to improve the condition and description of a brittle but valuable collection of records from the New York Public Library (NYPL) Library School.
An A-to-Z of Oral History | G is for (40% Oral History Collection on) Gun Violence in America, 2017-2020
An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'G' is for gun violence in America, addressed in the Forty Percent oral history collection which "gives a powerful voice to survivors of gun violence" in the U.S. from 2017 through 2020.
Archivist’s Pick: A Glance at the Chinese Republican Era and Beyond
Processing Archivist Yingwen Huang details a small exhibition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library on the people of the Chinese Republican era (1912-1949) and beyond, which includes photographs, letters, ephemera, and other artifacts.
President Barnard’s Other Legacy
The (other) legacy of Frederick A.P. Barnard, tenth president of Columbia College: Best known for paving the way for the College to become a University and for his unsuccessful campaign in support of coeducation, Barnard also made significant contributions in the education of deaf students.
An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia: “F” is for “Fair Use”
An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'F' is for fair use and copyright, which dictate how journalists, researchers, and others are permitted to incorporate archival materials like oral histories into their academic work.
Research at the RBML | Glenda Sluga Uses the Wellington Koo Papers to Tell a Story of Economic Development
Professor Glenda Sluga of the European University Institute visited the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to consult the papers of Chinese diplomat V. K. Wellington Koo to "extend her research on the intellectual foundations of international cooperation into the twentieth century."
Oral History | New Collection Launches with Hundreds of Interviews with African American Elders
"Established by award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson, the Baldwin-Emerson Elders Project captures and celebrates [through oral history] the untold stories of activists, storytellers, and community builders who have witnessed and shaped monumental change in American public life."
Research at the RBML | The Socrates of Hamilton Heights: Jonathan Marty on Marshall Berman
Jonathan Marty, a Ph.D. student at the University of California-Berkeley, consults the papers of New York City-based, Marxist philosopher Marshall Berman, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, for a forthcoming project on the "Socrates of Hamilton Heights."
Research at the RBML | Ann Hornaday on "All the President’s Men"
Ann Hornaday, a movie critic with The Washington Post, visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to explore the papers of screenwriter William Goldman, who wrote the script for the award-winning film, "All the President's Men," the subject of Hornaday's latest project.
Research at the RBML | A. Brad Schwartz on Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly
Historian A. Brad Schwartz delves into the collections and oral histories on journalism held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, including the papers of former Columbia professor Fred W. Friendly, for his research on legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow.
New Exhibit! Conservation: What, Why, Who, How?
An exhibition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library highlights the "behind-the-scenes" work of the Libraries' conservationists and partners at the Philadelphia Center for Conservation of Historic Art and Artifacts (CCAHA) to preserve several important manuscripts.
An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia: “E” is for Ethics
An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'E' is for ethics in the Oral History Archives, including discussions of archivists' ethical obligations to people, to narrators who share their stories with the Libraries, and to oral history interviews themselves.