In the rush to document history, students, faculty, and staff clamored for there to be oral histories capturing this moment in Columbia’s history. How will student protest and University reactions be archived, preserved, memorialized, and used/misused for varied agendas and purposes? In consulting with oral history collection donors, interviewing narrators, designing oral history projects large and small, the ethics of this work and its attendant risks are again in sharp relief since the start of the student protest encampments on Columbia’s campus and now worldwide. First and foremost ..read more

The current exhibition of King’s College Diplomas in RBML’s Chang Octagon features reproductions of diplomas awarded by what we now know as Columbia from 1763 to 1773.  King’s College’s first President Samuel Johnson did not award diplomas at Commencement. His ceremonies included a more intimate ritual between the President, the graduate, and Johnson’s own Hebrew Psalter, which is also on display. When and where was the first Commencement held? The first King’s College graduation was held on June 21, 1758. There were only 8 students receiving AB degrees and 13 candidates for AMs, which at ..read more

  An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia is a monthly posting featuring the people, events, and organizations in the Oral History Archive at Columbia’s collections, as well as behind-the-scenes info about oral history methodology.             In this second post related to ethics (see the first post here, which in light of recent actions seems…rich ), let’s explore claims to “fair use.”  Nothing in this post should be construed as legal advice. Based on a number of reference requests from writers and content producers (e.g. archival producers, documentar ..read more

At the RBML, we recently installed a small exhibition on diplomas awarded by King’s College, as Columbia was known from 1754 to 1784. The exhibition in the Chang Octagon includes reproductions of diplomas awarded from 1763 to 1773. How did these materials make it to the University Archives? For some, we are indebted to the dedicated alum and Columbia historian John B. Pine. In the Commencement Collection (Box 33, folder 14), we have a small selection of letters from and to John B. Pine as he was collecting Columbia memorabilia and, in particular, old diplomas. John B. Pine was an alumnus (Colu ..read more

At the RBML, we recently installed a small exhibition on diplomas awarded by King’s College, as Columbia was known from 1754 to 1784. The exhibition in the Chang Octagon features reproductions of diplomas awarded from 1763 to 1773. It also includes related documents: a handwritten draft for an honorary degree, a program from the 1771 Commencement, and even the lists of names sent to the engrosser or copyist to create the year’s diplomas. Receiving a diploma upon the completion of a degree is nowadays a well-known tradition but that was not necessarily the case back in the eighteenth century. I ..read more

Professor Glenda Sluga, author of The Invention of International Order: Remaking Europe After Napoleon, recently visited the RBML to extend her research on the intellectual foundations of international cooperation into the twentieth century. Examining the Wellington Koo and David Owen collections, Sluga is investigating how ideas about economic development were expressed in the founding of the United Nations.  Below, Sluga describes her archival approach and some of her finds.   How long have you been using RBML materials (for this and/or previous research ..read more

Ann Hornaday, movie critic at The Washington Post, recently visited the RBML as part of her research for her project entitled, “Follow the Money: The Making of ‘All the President’s Men.'” Below she discusses discovering multiple drafts of William Goldman’s screenplay, and how Woodward and Bernstein were transformed into big screen characters by Alan Pakula and Robert Redford. *** What brings you to Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library?  The papers of screenwriter William Goldman, who wrote the Oscar-winning script for the movie I’m researching. How long have you been using ..read more

Historian Brad Schwartz recently visited the RBML as part of his research on legendary broadcaster Edward Murrow. Currently a graduate student at Princeton, Brad delved into the RBML’s rich journalism collections and oral histories of journalists. Below he describes how his visit to the RBML fits into his ongoing project, Newsman: Edward R. Murrow and the Invention of Truth. *** What brings you to Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library?  I visited the Rare Book & Manuscript Library primarily to explore its journalism history collections, as well as the wealth of oral histo ..read more

Senior Class gifts have evolved significantly over the years. In the early days of Columbia on Morningside Heights, the Senior Class ended their Class Day with the presentation of the class gift: the planting of a yew tree and a speech given by a Yew Tree Orator chosen by the class. Why would students give the University a yew tree? And where are all these yew trees today? In 1801 Dr. David Hosack, a member of the Columbia medical faculty, purchased 20 acres from the City of New-York to develop a research garden. He named it the Elgin Botanical Garden. (The Garden was located between 47th and ..read more

  An A-to-Z of Oral History at Columbia is a monthly posting featuring the people, events, and organizations in the Oral History Archive at Columbia’s collections, as well as behind-the-scenes info about oral history methodology.   The next two entries in the OHAC A-to-Z focus on what happens behind-the-scenes in oral history methodology and archival processing for oral history materials. For this post “e” stands for “ethics.” To say, “Once one sees the ethical issues in oral history, one cannot unsee them,” is an understatement. Photo by Piret Ilver on Unsplash Like most academic d ..read more