News

Jun 24, 2026

News

In the northeast corner of the Morningside campus, the sculpture Le Marteleur by Constantin Meunier, a gift from the Class of 1889 at the former School of Mines, greets visitors to the engineering school, though the statue has moved multiple times since its installation - and not always easily.

Jun 15, 2026

In the media

Elfquest creators Richard and Wendy Pini, who donated $500,000 to establish the Wendy and Richard Pini Comics and Cartoon Endowment at the Libraries, receive the 2026 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, awarded by Comic-Con to "people in comics and the popular arts who have worked to help others."

Jun 10, 2026

News

In April of 1776, the Committee on Safety ordered the King’s College governors (or trustees) to close the College in six days so the building could be used as a hospital. Meet the Class of 1776, who instead completed courses from a home on Wall Street.

Jun 9, 2026

News

An A-to-Z guide to the Libraries' Oral History Archives: 'J' is for journalists - the Black Journalists oral history collection, more precisely, which preserves an extraordinary legacy of 93 voices that chronicled the African American press from the late nineteenth century through the early 1970s.

Jun 1, 2026

In the media, Video

Columbia University's Revolutionary War history told in a diploma: University archivist Jocelyn Wilk shares a recent acquisition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library - a 1775 diploma from King's College, the predecessor to Columbia.

Jun 1, 2026

In the media

As the United States marks its semiquincentennial, or 250th anniversary, Columbia News reflects on the story of a University that began before the nation itself. Discover archival treasures in the Libraries that help readers explore the past through rare documents and collections.

May 27, 2026

News

Days after the Regents of the former King's College decreed that the school would be known as Columbia College, the committee made its first faculty appointment: a professor of the French language. University archivists address why a French instructor was the very first professor at Columbia.

May 26, 2026

In the media

What 1976 reveals about 1776 (and 2026): The American Bicentennial at Columbia, revisited. Columbia News reports on a new exhibition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library that explores how the University marked the United States’ 200th birthday in 1976.

May 15, 2026

News

Researcher Elizabeth McCall visited the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to explore variations of archival housing and "how archival objects are continually shaped through different practices of keeping, from bindings and wrappers to boxes and conservation housing."

May 14, 2026

News

Art Properties and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library acquire photographs by pioneering African-American photographer and filmmaker, Gordon Parks, whose work at Life magazine featured a photographic series with writer Ralph Ellison called “A Man Become Invisible.”

May 14, 2026

News

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds the papers of noted food writer and cookbook author, Helen Witty. A recent piece from the online journal, The Recipes Project, highlights an unpublished project of Witty's, "America Preserved."

May 12, 2026

News

The once-disputed location of the 1776 Battle of Harlem Heights, a "much-needed morale boost" for the Continental Army in the American Revolution, was confirmed to have taken place in present-day Morningside Heights through the meticulous work of Columbia College alum Lincoln Diamant, 1943CC.

May 4, 2026

News

The latest installment in the Archivist's Pick exhibition series features six sets of materials drawn from newly-processed Chinese and Chinese-American archival collections from the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, united by a shared thread of artistic expression.

May 1, 2026

In the media

Rare Book Librarian Jane Siegel introduces "the six young women hired by Melvil Dewey in 1883 to work at Columbia College library [who] captured the imagination of 20th-century library historians as groundbreaking fore-mothers of female employment and/or the beginnings of low-paid exploitation of women in the library workforce."

Apr 28, 2026

News

Did you know that the original engraving of the King's College seal, the predecessor to Columbia University, was lost for over 120 years? The Libraries recounts the history of the seal, which was believed to be lost until the early 20th century and is now held by the University Archives.

Apr 25, 2026

In the media

How well do you know the history of Columbia Commencement? From graduation tchotchkes to special speakers, Columbia News consults the Libraries' University Archives to test readers' knowledge of one of Columbia's most cherished traditions.

Apr 16, 2026

In the media

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) "presents 250 for the 250th, an online repository that tells the story of our country in documents," including a 1776 register of admissions from the University Archives that "explains why there were no admissions at King’s College for the year 1776."

Apr 14, 2026

News

King’s College, the colonial predecessor to Columbia, educated many men who helped forge the new nation during the American Revolution, but graduates of the College were also lost during the conflict, including the first fallen alumnus, Harman Rutgers.

Mar 31, 2026

News

As Columbia nears its annual Commencement ceremonies in May, University archivists reflect on the ceremony 100 years ago when, in 1926, the University first celebrated Commencement as "an out of doors exercise," before which it was held indoors.

Mar 18, 2026

News

The University Archives has recently processed more than 1,400 bibliographical files as part of an addition to the Office of Public Affairs records, including 1950s press coverage of "Chief Cyclotron Officer" Miriam Levin.

Mar 16, 2026

In the media

To mark 250 years of American independence, Columbia News brings together the many ways in which the University engages with this national legacy, including archival treasures in the Libraries that explore the past through rare documents and collections.

Mar 9, 2026

In the media

Lessons of Jewish history: Columbia Magazine consults Librarian for Jewish Studies Michelle Margolis on the 75th anniversary of the Institute of Israel and Jewish Studies (IIJS) about its role in connecting the Columbia community to the currents of Jewish thought.

Feb 26, 2026

News

A series of roundtables organized in part by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library will feature conversations about Latinx/Caribbean diaspora archives, beginning on March 12 with a discussion of the current state of the field.

Feb 26, 2026

News

The Oral History Archive at Columbia announces that the Barack Obama Presidency oral history collection (2020-2023 archive) is officially open to the public in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library reading rooms and online.

News

The Hammerman: A Moving Statue

2026 Clampett Humanitarian Award Goes to Richard and Wendy Pini

King’s College Class of 1776

A to Z of Oral History: J is for Journalists

Columbia University's Revolutionary War History Told in a Diploma | Columbia Close-Up

The U.S. Semiquincentennial and Columbia University

1784: Columbia College en Français?

What 1976 Reveals About 1776 (and 2026): The American Bicentennial at Columbia, Revisited

Research in the Archives | Elizabeth McCall on Archival Housing

Art Properties and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library Acquire Gordon Parks Photographs

Research in the Archives | Helen Witty’s Food Writing

1776: Battle of Harlem Heights

Archivist Pick: Artistic Encounters in the Archives

The Wellesley Half-Dozen

Lost and Found: The King’s College Seal

How Well Do You Know the History of Columbia’s Commencement?

SAA 250 for the 250th: 1776 Register of Admissions | University Archives

1776: First Fallen Alumnus

Commencement: An Out of Doors Exercise

Now Available | OPA Biographical Files

The U.S. Semiquincentennial and Columbia University

Lessons of Jewish History

Imborrable: Conversations on Latinx/Caribbean Archives

Now Available: Barack Obama Presidency Oral History Collection

News

Subscribe to the Libraries' Monthly Newsletter.

The Hammerman: A Moving Statue

2026 Clampett Humanitarian Award Goes to Richard and Wendy Pini

King’s College Class of 1776

A to Z of Oral History: J is for Journalists

Columbia University's Revolutionary War History Told in a Diploma | Columbia Close-Up

The U.S. Semiquincentennial and Columbia University

1784: Columbia College en Français?

What 1976 Reveals About 1776 (and 2026): The American Bicentennial at Columbia, Revisited

Research in the Archives | Elizabeth McCall on Archival Housing

Art Properties and the Rare Book & Manuscript Library Acquire Gordon Parks Photographs

Research in the Archives | Helen Witty’s Food Writing

1776: Battle of Harlem Heights

Archivist Pick: Artistic Encounters in the Archives

The Wellesley Half-Dozen

Lost and Found: The King’s College Seal

How Well Do You Know the History of Columbia’s Commencement?

SAA 250 for the 250th: 1776 Register of Admissions | University Archives

1776: First Fallen Alumnus

Commencement: An Out of Doors Exercise

Now Available | OPA Biographical Files

The U.S. Semiquincentennial and Columbia University

Lessons of Jewish History

Imborrable: Conversations on Latinx/Caribbean Archives

Now Available: Barack Obama Presidency Oral History Collection