Columbia University

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) is Columbia’s principal repository for primary source collections. The range of collections in RBML span more than 4,000 years and comprise rare printed works, cylinder seals, cuneiform tablets, papyri, and Coptic ostraca; medieval and renaissance manuscripts; as well as art and realia. Some 500,000 printed books and 14 miles of manuscripts, personal papers, and records form the core of the RBML holdings. One can find literary manuscripts from the 14th century to the papers of authors Herman Wouk and Erica Jong. Archives as varied as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Random House, NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International-USA, and the archives of Columbia University are available for research. The history of printing, graphic arts, and the performing arts are strengths of RBML. Collection Highlights:

• The David Eugene Smith books and manuscripts collection, that include Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic/Persian materials and Smith's scientific instruments collection.
• David Eugene Smith Professional Papers
• David Eugene Smith Historical Papers
• Edwin H. Armstrong Papers
• Elizabeth Blackwell Papers (first female physician in the U.S.)
• Charles Chandler Papers
• Marie Curie Papers (came with papers of journalist Marie Mattingly Meloney, her U.S. sponsor)
• Robert Fulton (a small collection, but with some good information about his steamboats)
• George Pegram
• Michael Pupin Papers
• Otto Rank Papers
• Mary Lasker Papers (philanthropist whose foundation has sponsored much medical research)
• Our large group of social work collections deal with nursing and public health, including:
• Lillian Wald Papers
• Community Service Society Papers (includes a large collection of photographs commissioned by CSS)
• Health Sciences Library Archives and Special Collections: Archives and Special Collections collects, preserves, organizes, and makes available rare and unique materials documenting the history of the health sciences in general and at the Columbia University Medical Center in particular. The department's holdings include books, journals, manuscripts, photographs, prints, sound recordings, moving images and artifacts which because of their historical value, rarity, or fragility must be kept separate from the library's general circulating collection.