Where does the phrase “world religions” come from? Nearly 20 years ago, Prof. Tomoko Masuzawa’s book The Invention of World Religions (U. Chicago Press, 2005) set out to trace the trajectory of the concept in modern religious studies and comparative theology to its late-19th and early-20th century roots. Ever since, the book has played […]
Category: Burke Library History
New, Team-Taught Course on Medieval Manuscripts
This past fall, two members of Columbia’s faculty and three librarians came together to co-teach a new interdisciplinary seminar on medieval manuscripts as part of Columbia’s vibrant Medieval & Renaissance Studies Program. The class, “Introduction to Medieval Manuscript Studies,” emerged after a series of conversations between Columbia’s medievalists about the need to provide students–from undergraduates […]
Mapping the Stacks
Have you ever gone looking for a book in the Burke circulating collections, only to be met with a shelf so tightly crammed that retrieving the text you need feels like tug of war? Books can crowd! There never seems to be enough room! You’ve seen it in your homes, in your offices, in […]
The Construction and Evolution of the UTS Campus: a Re-Imagined Exhibit
With the new residential tower at 122nd and Claremont underway, construction seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. The Burke Library staff thought now would be an appropriate time to highlight the past and present of Union’s physical campus. Now on view on level L1 of the Burke Library, “The Construction and Evolution […]
Union Seminary Quarterly Review (USQR) Archive
The online archive of the Union Seminary Quarterly Review is now openly available in Academic Commons, thanks to our Circulation staff and team of students working at the Burke Library, as well as our colleagues in the Digital Scholarship unit of the Libraries. The USQR, founded in 1939 as “a platform for inspired and […]
The Return of Special Collections at Burke!
Earlier this Fall, The Burke Library proudly reopened its doors to the Columbia and Union communities after being closed for eighteen months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been wonderful to see so many new and returning friends use Burke’s study spaces, stacks, and general collections. Our staff is particularly proud to provide […]
Updating Finding Aids: Improving the Discovery of Archives at the Burke Library
Like many archivists at CUL and beyond, I’ve found working remotely to be an opportunity to address back burner projects. Chief among these is the conversion of Burke’s 400+ finding aids, which were originally created as PDFs, into Encoded Archival Description (EAD) format — an XML standard for archival finding aids. You may be […]
Virtual Teaching with Rare Materials in the Era of COVID-19
Over the last year, much has changed at The Burke library. The era of COVID-19 has brought about a host of challenges, particularly the ongoing effort to connect students with our magnificent collection of rare materials. The Burke is currently closed to visitors, but manuscripts, rare books, and archival material are always richer and […]
Buying Cool Things for the Burke
For many of us, the start of a new year brings with it new things: new calendars, new resolutions, even new routines. In the Columbia University Libraries, it also brings about… a new budget season. January, which is half-way through our fiscal year, is a good opportunity to take stock of how we’ve spent our […]
Greetings from the Archives: Leah’s First Big Offsite Project
Happy (mid) October, and happy American Archives Month! I’m Leah Edelman, the Outreach Archivist at the Burke Library, and though I started working here at the end of June, I thought this month would be a good one to introduce myself on the blog. With support from the wonderful library team, I manage all things […]