A year ago, as we began working remotely with no access to our physical materials, we found ourselves relying very heavily on previously digitized publications and images to help answer reference requests. One of the best tools we found was Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) from HathiTrust. This temporary service (still in effect as of […]
Tag: University Archives
Columbians Honored by the U.S. Post Office
Columbia physics professor Chien-Shiung Wu was recently honored by the U.S. Post Office with a commemorative stamp. This well-deserved honor has been granted to a number of Columbia faculty, alumni and even to the University itself during its 200th anniversary. […]
Beer at John Jay Hall
On March 22, 1933, not even three weeks after President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Law 1907) took the oath of office, he signed the Cullen-Harrison Act, authorizing the sale of low-alcohol beer and wine. This was the first step on the path to ending Prohibition. And Columbia College students rejoiced! […]
Charles Henry Alston at Columbia
Sam Pollard’s documentary “Black Art: In the Absence of Light” (2021) was inspired by David C. Driskell’s 1976 exhibition “Two Centuries of Black American Art.” The traveling exhibition was the first large-scale survey of African American artists, both well-known and not-so-well-known. The film discusses how this show’s legacy has influenced generations of Black artists, curators, […]
Harold Jacoby and the Stars above Grand Central
The new skylight ceiling of the recently opened Moynihan Train Hall, the expansion of Penn Station, recalls the 1913 opening of Grand Central Terminal and its own celestial ceiling. Above the main concourse, the vaulted ceiling features an expansive mural of stars and constellations, thanks to the expertise of Columbia astronomy professor Harold Jacoby. […]