Collections : [C.V. Starr East Asian Library]

Collection of nearly 100 documents, mostly handwritten in Tibetan, produced or gathered by the Neighborhood Committee Number Three (Tib. Grong lhan ang gsum pa) in Lhasa, primarily from 1959-1972. About one-third of the materials are handwritten registries from 1959-1961, listing residents, personal property, and alleged crimes. A second set of materials include four notebooks and other statements documenting struggle sessions against Lhamon Yeshe Tsultrim (Tib. Lha-smon Ye-shes-tshul-khrims, 1913-77), a senior secretary for the Panchen Lama at Tashilhunpo Monastery. In sum, these papers constitute primary resources for the study of the Democratic Reforms campaign (Tib. Dmangs gtso bco ʼgyur ; Ch. Min zhu gai ge), as implemented in Tibet. The remaining materials date to the Cultural Revolution, particularly 1966-1972, and include the personal files of previous landowners, transcripts of self-criticisms, and several other autobiographical statements. The collection also includes a handful of published documents (handbills, study-books, and speeches).

The Lama Anagarika Govinda Papers contain biographical materials, correspondence, articles and book publications, photos and interviews related to Lama Govinda. These were collected primarily by biographer Ken Winkler. The letters include correspondence written to and by Lama Govinda, as well as letters to the biographer by personal friends and certain institutions who offer details regarding the teacher's life.

The Coins and Paper Currency of Tibet collection of the C.V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University comprises a small representative sample of historical coinage and paper currency circulating in Tibet and contiguous areas in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The core items in this collection originally belonged to the Kyaping family, who lived in the heart of Lhasa until the final occupation by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1959. It is noteworthy that the family's holdings included coins minted in Sichuan as well as Nepal, as well as paper currency printed in Tibet. The bulk of the collection was probably issued from approximately 1870 through 1940.

The Ephemera collection on Chinese science, technology, law, and society (中国科技法律社会汇集) contains over 800 items published in China, dating from circa 1906 to 2010, with its bulk dating from 1931 to 1981. Materials include pamphlets, handbooks, picture books, posters, lantern slides, literacy flash cards, etc. The subject areas of the materials include science, technology, agriculture, personal hygiene, economy, culture, law, society, and politics, etc. The collection also includes works that reflected social, political, industrial transformation in China.