News
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."
Visual Arts Student Francisco Javier Ramírez Exhibits 'Streets Taken' at Butler Library
The latest exhibition on view in Butler Library, "Streets Taken," features photographs by prominent New York photojournalist Edward Schwartz from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library alongside new works by MFA Visual Arts student Francisco Javier Ramírez.
On View | Streets Taken: Photography by Edward Schwartz and Francisco Javier Ramírez
Currently on view in Butler Library, "Streets Taken" places the photographs and archival materials of Edward Schwartz from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in conversation with new works from MFA candidate Francisco Javier Ramírez.
Archiving the Red Scare in New York’s Schools and Colleges
Guest writer Ava Rosenstein, a senior at Bard High School Early College Queens, visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to research the Rapp-Coudert Committee that investigated "subversive activity in the New York school system" during the Red Scare.
A to Z of Oral History | I is for Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Collection
An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'I' is for the Institute for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality Oral History Project, comprised of interviews with 36 individuals involved in the founding and development of the institute.
On View | Windows into the Past: Columbia College Class Albums, 1856-1890
Columbia College students in the late 19th century harnessed the emerging art of photography to collect classmates' images in keepsake volumes, a selection of which are currently on view in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Echoes of the Epicenter: The New York City COVID-19 Narrative and Memory Oral History Collection Now Accessible
The New York City COVID-19 Narrative and Memory oral history collection, which captures "the voices and stories of those who lived through the crisis in the pandemic’s initial global epicenter," is now accessible to researchers.
Oral History in the News | Frances Perkins on NPR’s Throughline
Award-winning NPR program, "Throughline," consulted an extensive oral history interview from the Oral History Archives with workers' rights activist and former Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, for an episode on "the woman behind the New Deal."
Research from the RBML | Tessa Roynon Writes about Toni Morrison’s Editorial List
Tessa Roynon, librarian at the Swan School, discusses the significance of the Toni Morrison editorial papers, which track her work with a host of renowned and canonical authors, including Toni Cade Bambara and Lucille Clifton.
Memorial Day | Columbia Roll of Honor
This Memorial Day, we pause to remember those who died serving in the United States military, including members of our own Columbia community: The Columbia Roll of Honor, maintained by the University Archives, recognizes students and alumni who sacrificed their lives during military service.
Columbia University Libraries Acquires the Archival Collection of MINUTIAE Mobile App
Columbia University Libraries announces the acquisition of the archival collection of a mobile application, MINUTIAE, among the first of the archives of a mobile application, which documents the content, development, and experience of the "anti-social media app."
Now Available | Columbia School of Library Service Records
University archivists recently processed the alumni files in the Columbia School of Library Service records, which include materials related to the coursework of groundbreaking librarian, curator, and cataloger Dorothy (Burnett) Porter Wesley, B.S. 1931, M.S. 1932.
Show Me Your Cards: Communicating in the Days of Yore
Before texts, tweets, and swipes, there were calling cards, cartes de visite, and dance cards: the original social media of centuries past. These small pieces of ephemera, currently on display in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, tell how we connected, flirted, and formed relationships before the digital age.









