News

Feb 17, 2022

News

To mark the return of in-person Commencement ceremonies, University archivists recall Commencements past, including the 1861 proceedings during which President Abraham Lincoln was awarded an honorary degree.

Feb 10, 2022

News

Curatorial Shorts from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library offer a look at new findings from the library’s collections, including a recent installment that considered slavery, abolition, and the Jay family of New York.

Feb 9, 2022

News

Archivists reveal the origins of the presidential keys to the University, which are presented to incoming Columbia presidents by the Chair of the Board of Trustees at each presidential inauguration ceremony.

Feb 5, 2022

In the media

The Washington Post consults Director of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library Courtney Chartier to discuss President Donald Trump's frequent destruction of articles, briefings, schedules, and other documents.

Feb 3, 2022

News

In celebration of Black History Month, the Libraries explores acquisitions and collections in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library that showcase the deep contributions of Black historians & thought leaders in our archives.

Jan 28, 2022

News

The John Jay Papers Project, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and Columbia University mourn the recent loss of Jennifer E. Steenshorne, an esteemed colleague and associate editor on the project.

Jan 26, 2022

News

Records from former Emeritus Professor of Economics Carl Shoup, including correspondence and photographs, offer a personal account of the Shoup Tax Mission to Japan in 1949-1950 and its ongoing legacy.

Jan 19, 2022

News

University archivists partner with the Libraries’ Web Resources Collection Program to preserve a record of Columbia’s web presence, now including content that dates to 1996, the earliest year for which archived data is available.

Jan 18, 2022

News

To commemorate the release of a new edition of "Autobiography" by Angela Davis, archivists in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library release a memo from the editor of its original 1974 edition, Toni Morrison.

Jan 12, 2022

News

University archivists share a small collection of notebooks, essays, and exam books from John Purroy Mitchel, CC 1899, who was a part of the second class to graduate from the University's Morningside Heights campus.

Dec 17, 2021

News

On December 17, 1991, a bombshell exploded in the worlds of comics, Wall Street, and the media: Marvel Comics released an impressive quarterly report to shareholders - formatted as a sensational comic by several of the brand's most iconic artists.

Dec 17, 2021

News

December 17, 2021, marks the 94th anniversary of the death of St. Croix-born, Harlem-based writer Hubert Harrison (1883-1927), who was described by A. Philip Randolph as "the father of Harlem Radicalism."

Dec 15, 2021

News

University archivists share an attendance ledger for daily chapel service, which was required to be "constantly performed" by the King's College charter. The ledger was kept by College janitor Stephen R. Weeks and dates to 1847-1854.

Dec 13, 2021

In the media

Jada Yuan reflects on the legacy of her grandmother, groundbreaking nuclear physicist and the first Michael I. Pupin Professor of Physics at Columbia, Chien-Shiung Wu, in an essay for the Washington Post, featuring photos from the University Archives.

Dec 3, 2021

News

News from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library includes more than 130 oral history interviews with such noteworthy figures as activist Bayard Rustin and Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall.

Dec 1, 2021

News

Records from the Department of Classics at Columbia document the long, storied history of the department through faculty meeting minutes that date to 1903, completed dissertations, and other archival materials.

Nov 5, 2021

Social

The University Archives shares a photo of hardbound miniature books, exhibited in Butler Library in 1985, as part of #ArchivesBookLove, the November theme for the National Archives' #ArchivesHashtagParty.

Nov 1, 2021

In the media

Courtney Chartier, announced as the new director of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in July 2021, holds a background as an archivist, which enables her to see the full scope of the stewardship of rare collections.

Oct 26, 2021

News

As the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves meet in the 2021 World Series, University archivists look to past World Series greats and their connections to Columbia, including New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio.

Oct 14, 2021

News

An exhibition in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library celebrates the centennial of the birth of composer Jack Beeson, former Chair of the Department of Music at Columbia and a "master of American opera."

Oct 13, 2021

News

“In Service to the New Nation: The Life & Legacy of John Jay" sheds light on the statesman's personal and public life and commemorates the seven-volume Selected Papers of John Jay series.

Oct 12, 2021

News

News from the Rare Book & Manuscript Library includes a collection of audio and video interviews that document the history of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and 20th-century peace movements.

Oct 8, 2021

News

The Sheila Michaels Civil Rights Organization Oral History Collection offers a democratized narration of the Civil Rights Movement, through interviews with foot soldiers who made change possible through consistent, diligent activism.

Oct 6, 2021

News

Moonlight inside the library: When Low Library opened in 1897, visitors enjoyed magical, artificial moonlight shows on Friday evenings, courtesy of a wooden sphere hung from the domed ceiling over the Rotunda reading room.

News

A President’s Degree and a Long-Lost Letter

Liberty’s Chain: Slavery, Abolition, and the Jay Family of New York

Mystery Solved: The Presidential Keys to the University

‘He Never Stopped Ripping Things Up’: Inside Trump’s Relentless Document Destruction Habits

Exploring Black History in Archival Collections

Jennifer E. Steenshorne and the John Jay Papers: A Commemorative Tribute

Now Available | Shoup Tax Mission to Japan Records

Now Available | Columbia University Web Archives, 1996-2010

Toni Morrison’s Memo on Angela Davis

Now Available | John Purroy Mitchel Papers

Marvel Comics Shareholder Reports: A Marriage of Corporate and Creative

On the Anniversary of the Death of Hubert Harrison

Mr. Weeks' Chapel Attendance Book

Discovering Dr. Wu

News from RBML’s Archivists and Collections Managers | October and September 2021

Now Available | Department of Classics Records

University Archives and #ArchivesBookLove

Courtney Chartier is the New Director of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Play Ball | World Series Winners at Columbia

In Praise of Jack Beeson: A Centennial Exhibition

In Service to the New Nation: The Life and Legacy of John Jay

News from RBML’s Archivists | September 2021

New Collection | Sheila Michaels Civil Rights Organization Oral History Collection

Moonlight Inside the Library

News

Subscribe to the Libraries' Monthly Newsletter.

A President’s Degree and a Long-Lost Letter

Liberty’s Chain: Slavery, Abolition, and the Jay Family of New York

Mystery Solved: The Presidential Keys to the University

‘He Never Stopped Ripping Things Up’: Inside Trump’s Relentless Document Destruction Habits

Exploring Black History in Archival Collections

Jennifer E. Steenshorne and the John Jay Papers: A Commemorative Tribute

Now Available | Shoup Tax Mission to Japan Records

Now Available | Columbia University Web Archives, 1996-2010

Toni Morrison’s Memo on Angela Davis

Now Available | John Purroy Mitchel Papers

Marvel Comics Shareholder Reports: A Marriage of Corporate and Creative

On the Anniversary of the Death of Hubert Harrison

Mr. Weeks' Chapel Attendance Book

Discovering Dr. Wu

News from RBML’s Archivists and Collections Managers | October and September 2021

Now Available | Department of Classics Records

University Archives and #ArchivesBookLove

Courtney Chartier is the New Director of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Play Ball | World Series Winners at Columbia

In Praise of Jack Beeson: A Centennial Exhibition

In Service to the New Nation: The Life and Legacy of John Jay

News from RBML’s Archivists | September 2021

New Collection | Sheila Michaels Civil Rights Organization Oral History Collection

Moonlight Inside the Library