Columbia University Libraries is pleased to announce the ten recipients of the Libraries Research Awards. The Libraries Research Awards program, established in 2011, provides $2,500 grants to facilitate access to Columbia's special and unique collections. Grants were awarded on a competitive basis to scholars whose research proposals demonstrated a compelling need to consult CUL holdings […]
Month: May 2013
Rare book as artifact
This intriguing object was found on our shelves recently by Tabrizia Jones, our rare book processor. Forty-six issues, dating between 1808 and 1853, of the Neuer Bauernkalendar, an Austrian farmer's almanac, were stitched into a canvas wrapper. Each issue is 32 pages, and is mostly devoted to the hand-colored illustrated calendar showing […]
Joseph Urban’s Grave, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Taking advantage of the fine spring weather last week, I visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery to find the grave of Joseph Urban. While he is not as well remembered today as many others who are buried there, he is listed on the cemetery’s published map of important grave sites. Located in Section 48, in the quieter […]
Ulysses Kay Online Exhibition
We are delighted to announce that “Ulysses Kay: Twentieth Century Composer” is now available for viewing: https://exhibitions.cul.columbia.edu/exhibits/show/kay Ulysses Kay (1917-1995) wrote more than one hundred forty compositions in a wide range of forms – five operas, over two dozen large orchestral works, more than fifty voice or choral compositions, over twenty chamber works, a ballet, […]
Loaded Dice
Currently on view in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is a small but fascinating exhibition of dice, from the Smith Collection of Mathematical Instruments. They date from the Roman era to the early 20th century. David Eugene Smith (1860-1944) was a professor of mathematics at Teachers College, Columbia University. He used these dice in […]