Tibetan Rare Books & Special Collections
Columbia owns some very valuable Tibetan religious works, including early Bon texts as well as a nearly complete Snar-thang edition of the Buddhist canon, published between 1730 and 1732, as well as modern Tibetan historical documents.
In addition to titles housed in Starr Library, some titles are housed at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Butler Library, 6th floor).
Featured Collections
Tharchin Collection
Assorted papers of Gegen Dorje Tharchin (1890-1976), founding editor of the Tibet Mirror Press in Kalimpong, India, including subscription lists, financial accounts, correspondence, photos of family and prominent figures, draft publications, etc., and an online version of the Tibet Mirror.
Lama Anagarika Govinda Papers
Lama Anagarika Govinda (1898-1985), was founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and a teacher of Buddhist meditation, as well as a painter and poet. For many years, Lama Govinda lived in Sri Lanka and then India, offering spiritual direction to a great number of western Buddhist students.
Tibetan Canons
Columbia University holds several Tibetan Buddhist canons in print and electronic formats, including the Narthang, Derge, Lhasa Shol, Urga, Gyantse Tenpangma, Peking manuscript edition, etc., as well as editions of the Bonpo Katen.
Meg McLagan Collection
Dr. Meg McLagan (a.k.a. Margaret McLagan) is a filmmaker and cultural anthropologist. Her film credits include Tibet in Exile (1991), Lioness (2008), Paris is Burning (1990), and more. In 2012, Dr. McLagan donated her research files and other materials to the C.V. Starr East Asian Library to support the archival documentation of the "Tibet Movement" among Tibetans in exile and supporters. The files contain materials on Tibetan diasporic identity, intercultural solidarity, and political and cultural activism between 1991 and 1993, including the "International Year of Tibet" campaign. Earlier materials include documents and raw footage for the documentary film, "Tibet in Exile," which followed the stories of nearly a dozen young Tibetan children who escaped from Tibet for education and a new life in Dharamsala, India.
Lhasa Neighborhood Committee Number Three Records
The Lhasa Neighborhood Committee Three Records document the demographic surveys, policies and political campaigns implemented during the transition to direct Chinese Communist rule in Lhasa from 1959 through 1976. The collection is particularly rich with primary sources for studying the implementation of "Democratic Reforms" (dmangs gtso bcos 'gyur): personal statements and registries of people, property and weapons, and files concerning the Anti-Panchen campaign and the activities of the Tibetan noble Lha smon Ye shes tshul khrims. A small portion of the personal files and public documents date to the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
Access
For more information about these collections, please contact the Tibetan Studies Librarian.