McKim’s plan for the Columbia campus featured a library as its center and that library, now known as Low Memorial Library, opened in 1897. But Columbia was not the only City university looking to build a new campus with a central, architecturally-significant library in the 1890s. NYU, or the University of the City of New […]
News from RBML’s Archivists | April 2020
Columbia University Libraries (CUL) remain closed until further notice to aid in the containment of COVID-19, RBML’s archivists won’t be physically processing materials. Head Archivist Kevin Schlottmann has these updates about our collections from archivists hard at work in their offsite locations. Please be safe and take advantage of this time to engage with materials […]
Interested in contributing oral histories of the COVID pandemic?
As you can imagine, oral histories of the pandemic are incredibly important stories to gather with care and sensitivity in this moment. In response to queries about contributing oral histories or how to conduct them, please explore the following resources. For advice on conducting oral histories on this topic and with best practices and ethics […]
Continuous History: the Trustees Room of Low Library
Visitors to campus are understandably confused that the building engraved with the designation of “The Library of Columbia University” is not actually a library. The last library collection housed at Low, the Columbiana Collection and University Archives, moved out and into the Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2007. Over the years most of the […]
Oral History | Emergency resources for artists
The Oral History Archives at Columbia (OHAC) has a number of collections related to artists and the art world. This investment in documenting artistic practices and lives includes collections such as: New York’s Art World Project, Apollo Theater Oral History Project, Bennington Summer School of Dance Project, Popular Arts Project, and the Elizabeth Murray Women […]