Office of Public Affairs records, 1930s-1990s

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

• Series I: Subject Files
• Series II: Historical Files

Description

Summary

Materials consist of biographical, faculty, historical, subject and chornological files maintained by this office, speeches of University Presidents, Columbia in the News publications, and materials generated by Fred Knuble, Director of Public Information from 1969 to his death in 1998.

• Series I: Subject Files

  This series contains the subject files kept by the Office of Public Affairs. The files can contain press releases, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, presidential speeches, and some photographs. As the communications and publicity office, these records include press packages (see Pulitzer Prizes) and press releases both in draft and final versions. The office also subscribed to a clipping service and collected mentions of Columbia in the press so there are is a lot of newsprint in the files (which can be sometimes fragile and crumbly). The very early records include correspondence with central administration personnel (1930s-1940s). The bulk of the records seem to date from the Grayson Kirk to the Michael Sovern presidential administrations (1953-1968 and 1980-1993). Files are organized (mostly) alphabetically.

• Series II: Historical Files

  This series contains Columbia history-related materials, from King's College to the 1970s. This files are made up of mostly black-and-white photographs of historical portraits, etchings and drawings. There are also some press releases, articles and newspaper clippings.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

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.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies 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.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Office of Public Affairs Records; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Related Materials

This collection contains the research files of the Office of Public Affairs. For the full photograph collection, see the Office of Public Affairs photograph collection (UA#0109). For press releases organized by date, see the Office of Public Affairs press release collection (UA#0133).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--2004.042, 2002.054, 1999.001, 2005.017, 2001.011, 2012-2013-M156.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative. Series I and II processed by Joanna Rios from February to June 2022.

Revision Description

2022-06-27 Processed record inventories published (JR)

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

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Genre/Form

Subject