News

Mar 27, 2024

News

An announcement in the New-York Journal on November 23, 1786, notes that a number of young women participated in public examinations at Columbia College - nearly 100 years before women were first offered (limited) access to the College as students.

Mar 13, 2024

News

Alice Louise Pond was among the first women to complete the Collegiate Course for Women in the late 19th century, and her experience as a female student at the time is recorded in the University Archives.

Mar 8, 2024

News

A collection of letters from Australian journalist William H. Donald, now held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, provides a singular perspective on the Xi'an Incident, one of the most controversial events in 20th-century Chinese history.

Feb 27, 2024

News

University archivists recall a record-breaking, 13-foot tall, 3.5-ton cake in the likeness of Low Library, conceived and baked by Harlem native Patrick De’Shaun Dennis III (also known as Cake Man Raven) for the 250th anniversary of Columbia in 2003.

Feb 21, 2024

News

University archivists highlight the work of Harlem Renaissance artist and educator Charles Henry Alston, CC 1929, TC M.A. 1931, who also served as the first African American project supervisor for the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Feb 20, 2024

News

Archivists in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library share an array of "curious and surprising artifacts left behind between pages and amidst letters," such as a set of French lottery tickets that date to 1937.

Feb 13, 2024

News

Marie Maynard Daly, a 1947 graduate of Columbia, is the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, accomplished under the mentorship of Professor Mary Letitia Caldwell, who was the first female assistant professor at the University.

Feb 7, 2024

News

A series of profiles highlight valued student employees from across the Libraries, including Flor Barceló, a graduate assistant in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library who processes Spanish-language oral history interviews.

Jan 31, 2024

News

A plaque from room 803 of the former Livingston Hall (now known as Wallach) commemorates past residents of the "prize room," through which benefactors subsidized housing costs for students in need.

Jan 18, 2024

News

Graduate student Sam Higgins delves into an extensive collection of 20th-century paperbacks that are part of the papers of Sidney Kramer, a prominent literary agent and founder of Bantam Books.

Jan 18, 2024

News

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library notes with sadness the passing of composer, music educator, and satirist Peter Schickele (1935-2024), whose papers are held by the library.

Jan 17, 2024

News

University archivists recount efforts by former Mayor of Brooklyn Seth Low, a Columbia alumnus and future University president, to preserve the "colored schools" of 19th-century New York.

Jan 15, 2024

News

An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'D' is for a brief conversation with San Francisco-based burlesque dancer Carol Doda, which is a part of a larger collection of interviews on 1960s America.

Jan 5, 2024

News

The Graphic Novels Collection welcomes the addition of two previously-unpublished manuscripts from Belgian artist Frans Masereel (1889-1972), whose work debuted after World War I and addressed issues of social injustice.

Dec 5, 2023

News

A series of profiles highlight valued student employees from across the Libraries, including Callum John Blackmore, Processing Archivist in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Nov 10, 2023

News

New additions to the Libraries' Oral History Archives in October include the LGBTQ+ Columbia University oral history collection, which documents the experiences of LGBTQ individuals affiliated with the University.

Nov 9, 2023

News

Newly-processed collections in the Libraries' Oral History Archives in September include the Cuban Voices oral history collection, which follows the transition to communist rule after the Cuban Revolution and events of the subsequent decades.

Oct 27, 2023

News

The personal papers of Joanna Wan-Ying Chan (陳尹瑩), a Chinese-American playwright and producer and a member of the Maryknoll Sisters, are now available to researchers through the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Oct 26, 2023

News

A newly-discovered set of records of "institutional research data" from 1960-1966 reveals enrollment figures, tuition, and even faculty salaries - including the salary of noteworthy anthropologist Margaret Mead.

Oct 25, 2023

News

Archivists, curators, and subject specialists highlight a number of noteworthy acquisitions, conservation projects, and digitization efforts that are underway in 2023, including the Fly Papers that are now held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Oct 11, 2023

News

An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'B' is for the Schlesinger Library’s Black Women’s Oral History Project, which memorializes women who had a significant impact on Black communities in the U.S.

Oct 2, 2023

News

The newly-available Cuban Voices oral history collection presents "first-person accounts of life in post-revolutionary Cuba" and, through interviews with Cuban citizens, offers perspectives on historic events.

Sep 29, 2023

News

Two newly-processed collections from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library provide insights into the life and work of actress Judy Garland and offer varying perspectives on her enduring legacy.

Sep 27, 2023

News

As the Columbia community prepares for the installation of President Minouche Shafik on October 4, University archivists recall the sights and sounds of past ceremonies through historical recordings.

News

Women at Columbia College in 1786?

Alice Louise Pond

William H. Donald’s Account of the Xi’an Incident

Low Library by Cake Man Raven

Harlem Renaissance Artist Charles Henry Alston

Extras Between the Sheets

Mary Leticia Caldwell and Marie Maynard Daly

Student Employee Profile: Meet Flor Barceló

Lewis A. Rosenthal Memorial Room Plaque

Collections Highlight | Sam Higgins on the Sidney Kramer Paperbacks

Peter Schickele (1935-2024)

Seth Low and the Gilded Age

An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia | D is for the Legendary Carol Doda

Frans Masereel, in Ink and Brush

Student Employee Profile: Meet Callum John Blackmore

Newly Processed and Updated Oral History Collections for October 2023

Newly Processed and Updated Oral History Collections for September 2023

From Staging Plays in New York’s Chinatown Community Theatres to Fostering Talents in Sing Sing’s RTA Program: Joanna Wan-Ying Chan Papers

Institutional Research Data from the 1960s

Noteworthy Acquisitions, Digitization, and Conservation for 2023

Oral History A-to-Z | B…is for Schlesinger Library’s Black Women’s Oral History Project

Oral History | Newly-Available Cuban Voices Oral History Collection

Two Glimpses of Judy Garland at the RBML

Installation Sights and Sounds

News

Subscribe to the Libraries' Monthly Newsletter.

Women at Columbia College in 1786?

Alice Louise Pond

William H. Donald’s Account of the Xi’an Incident

Low Library by Cake Man Raven

Harlem Renaissance Artist Charles Henry Alston

Extras Between the Sheets

Mary Leticia Caldwell and Marie Maynard Daly

Student Employee Profile: Meet Flor Barceló

Lewis A. Rosenthal Memorial Room Plaque

Collections Highlight | Sam Higgins on the Sidney Kramer Paperbacks

Peter Schickele (1935-2024)

Seth Low and the Gilded Age

An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia | D is for the Legendary Carol Doda

Frans Masereel, in Ink and Brush

Student Employee Profile: Meet Callum John Blackmore

Newly Processed and Updated Oral History Collections for October 2023

Newly Processed and Updated Oral History Collections for September 2023

From Staging Plays in New York’s Chinatown Community Theatres to Fostering Talents in Sing Sing’s RTA Program: Joanna Wan-Ying Chan Papers

Institutional Research Data from the 1960s

Noteworthy Acquisitions, Digitization, and Conservation for 2023

Oral History A-to-Z | B…is for Schlesinger Library’s Black Women’s Oral History Project

Oral History | Newly-Available Cuban Voices Oral History Collection

Two Glimpses of Judy Garland at the RBML

Installation Sights and Sounds