All administrative records of the University are restricted for 25 years from the date of creation.
This collection is located onsite.
Material is unprocessed. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
This collection consists of the records created by the curators of the Columbiana collection. The records include the annual reports, correspondence, acquisition and exhibition information, and research materials.
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.
All administrative records of the University are restricted for 25 years from the date of creation.
This collection is located onsite.
Material is unprocessed. Please contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Columbiana Library records; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.
No additions are expected
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2019 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.
In 1884 Melvil Dewey, then a Columbia professor of library science, used the term "Columbiana" for university-related materials. Based on Dewey's library classification system, a variation was created specifically to unify and organize these Columbia-related materials. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees John B. Pine is credited with growing the collection in its early days, and in 1924, Robert Arrowsmith CC 1882 was named the first Columbiana Curator. He was put in charge of a repository for every form of memento of Columbia's past: from the founding of King's College to commencement programs. Arrowsmith recruited alumni to donate their memorabilia: menus, photographs, programs from concerts, races and games, to be collected in scrapbooks. The Columbiana collection's aim was to foster pride and appreciation in Columbia's past but also to serve as an authoritative source of information on academic matters. In 1928 Milton Halsey Thomas CC 1930 took over the Columbiana collection. He was dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of material relating to the past, present and future of the University and making this material available to all. Thomas was a founding member of the Society of American Archivists.
The Columbia University archives and records management program was begun by Corinne H. Rieder, soon after she became University Secretary in 1988. Rhea E. Pliakas was named manager of University records to oversee these efforts. Formerly separate units, the Archives and Columbiana both housed collections related to Columbia's history. The Archives maintained unpublished, unique institutional records such as the minutes of the University's Trustees and presidential correspondence, and Columbiana, led by Curator Hollee Haswell, held published sources, such as books and University publications, as well as a significant photograph collection. In 1998 the Office of the Secretary of the University merged the University Archives and the Columbiana collection.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
| Name | ||
|---|---|---|
| Columbia University. Libraries | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |