Online Exhibitions

Caste, Ambedkar, and Contemporary India
This exhibit complements the conference, "Caste and Contemporary India," that took place on October 16th and 17th, 2009, at Columbia University in honor of alumnus Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The exhibit features a sampling of resources on issues of caste with reference to gender, politics, constitutional history, and religion in contemporary India.

"Our Tools of Learning:" George Arthur Plimpton's Gifts to Columbia University
Drawn exclusively from the Plimpton Collection, this exhibition includes manuscripts and books from medieval times through the early 20th century, including many of the manuscripts and books that were used to illustrate George Arthur Plimpton's The Education of Shakespeare and The Education of Chaucer, and David Eugene Smith's Rara Arithmetica. Additional sections of the exhibition deal with handwriting and education for women, two of Plimpton's particular interests.

Jewels in Her Crown: Treasures from the Special Collections of Columbia's Libraries.
An online version of the exhibition held in Rare Book and Manuscript Galleries from October 8, 2004 - January 28, 2005, the site brings together for the first time objects selected from all eleven special collections within Columbia University Libraries and affiliates. Mounted in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of Columbia, this exhibition celebrates both the rich collections of books, drawings, manuscripts and other research materials gathered since King's College had its start near Trinity Church in lower Manhattan in 1754 and also the generosity of the donors whose gifts have made possible the work of students and scholars for many generations.

Children's Drawings of the Spanish Civil War
A virtual exhibition of drawings done by children evacuated to 'colonies' (camps) in war-free areas of Spain and in the south of France from war zones during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).   In addition to providing a poignant testimony to how children see and understand war, this exhibition reaches out to those who may have been evacuees and provides a way to contact others with memories of that era. The originals of the images displayed here are housed in the Avery Fine Arts and Architectural Library.

The Imperial Corps of Pages
An online exhibition catalog containing selections from the Columbia University Libraries exhibition, "The Russian Imperial Corps of Pages," on view in Butler Library from December 1, 2002 to February 28, 2003, timed to coincide with celebrations of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.  Objects were drawn from the Imperial Corps of Pages collection held by Columbia's Bakhmeteff Archive of Russian and East European History and Culture, one of the world's most extensive repositories of Russian materials outside Russia.

Judging a Book by its Cover
"Gold-Stamped Publishers' Bindings of the 19th Century."  A permanent version of the exhibition held Nov. 14, 1997 - Feb. 27, 1998 in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library's Kempner Gallery.

Shakespeare and the Book
An online version of the exhibition held in the Kempner Gallery of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library from December 6, 2001 through March 11, 2002, inspired by the publication of David Scott Kastan's Shakespeare & The Book (Cambridge University Press, September, 2001). It includes images of Columbia's copy of Shakespeare first folio (1623) as well as Columbia's copies of the other three 17th century Shakespeare folios.

Stonewall and Beyond: Lesbian and Gay Culture
The online edition of a Columbia University Libraries general exhibition on gay and lesbian history and culture, held from May 25 to September 17, 1994 in conjunction with the international celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the "Stonewall Riots" in New York City.