News

Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library Welcomes the Josefina Báez Papers, the Tenth in the Latino Arts and Activisms Collection
The Latino Arts and Activisms (LAAS) Collection in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library acquires the papers of writer, performer, and theorist Josefina Báez, founder of the Latinarte/Ay Ombe Theatre in New York, among numerous other accomplishments.

Researcher Profile | Leïla Morsy on the Closure of Black Medical Schools
Senior Lecturer at Flinders University Leïla Morsy visited the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to examine how powerful philanthropies in the early 20th century restructured medical education, creating long-lasting legacies that persist today.

Research at the RBML | Scott Spillman on Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick
Historian Scott Spillman details the numerous collections in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library that he consulted for a forthcoming book, including the papers of Columbia professor and writer Eric L. McKitrick (1919-2002).

A World Room Welcome
Dean of the School of Journalism Jelani Cobb announced the 20th president of Columbia University, Nemat “Minouche” Shafik, in the World Room of the Journalism School, in front of a stained glass window that bears the Statue of Liberty. University archivists share its history.

Research at the RBML | Peter Weber Investigates How Philanthropies Supercharge their Impact
Scholar Peter Weber of Auburn University visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to study the records of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and track the organization's efforts to broaden the impact of its philanthropy.

Research at the RBML | Lisa Rabin Uses the Carnegie Collections to Investigate the History of Area Studies
Researcher Lisa Rabin explores archival records from the Carnegie Collections, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, to understand how area studies developed at universities in the United States over the course of the 20th century.

Federico García Lorca: #DormLife in 1929
What were the Columbia dorms like in the 1920s? Well, according to one student, views from the dorm rooms are great, food is plenty, but laundry is pricey. Letters from poet Federico García Lorca, who attended the University in 1929, describe life on campus.

Research at the RBML | Sophia Houghton Investigates the Materiality of Trees
Graduate student Sophia Houghton visits the Rare Book & Manuscript Library to investigate the "materiality of trees," or the ways in which tree are represented in physical books, like "The American Woods" by Romeyn Hough.

Research at the RBML: Elisha Baker Looks in to Columbia’s 19th-Century Real Estate Ventures
Scholar Elisha Baker explores archival meeting minutes from the University's Board of Trustees, held by the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, to investigate how and why Columbia chose to relocate its campus to Morningside Heights in 1897.