Before texts, tweets, and swipes, there were calling cards, cartes de visite, and dance cards—the original social media of centuries past. Often dismissed as trivial, these small pieces of ephemera tell a big story: how we connected, flirted, and formed relationships before the digital age. Though fleeting in nature, they offer lasting insight into the […]
Tag: Rare Book and Manuscript Library
NYPL Library School Records: A Student Project
At the Rare Book and Manuscript Library (RBML), we are fortunate to have dedicated and curious students who help us maintain and provide access to our collections. Just this past year, Itzel Franco (CC 2026) and Sarah Noon (GS 2024) helped us improve the condition and description of a brittle but valuable collection of records […]
Archivist’s Pick: A Glance at the Chinese Republican Era and Beyond
At the RBML, we recently installed a small exhibition in the Archivist’s Pick Cubes on materials related to Chinese history and culture, pertaining to the people of the Chinese Republican era (1912-1949) and beyond. These materials were acquired through Columbia affiliates such as alumni, professors, and their family and friends. Many were Chinese intellectuals, diplomats, […]
Extras Between The Sheets
The work of archival and rare book processors is truly fascinating and never-ending. At RBML, we take great pleasure in exploring beyond the obvious and discovering curious and surprising artifacts left behind between pages and amidst letters for years, decades, and even centuries. These treasures come in varying formats, subjects, and meanings, some of them […]
New Online Content | Insistent Change: Columbia’s Core Curriculum at 100
The University Archives is proud to announce the publication of a new online exhibition, Insistent Change: Columbia’s Core Curriculum at 100. […]