Weather Update
Due to the storm, Barnard College will close at 4pm today, for non-essential personnel. “Essential personnel" include staff in Facilities, Public Safety and Residence Halls.
Friday evening and weekend classes are cancelled but events are going forward as planned unless otherwise noted. The Athena Film Festival programs are also scheduled to go forward as planned but please check http://athenafilmfestival.com/ for the latest information.
Please be advised that due to the conditions, certain entrances to campus may be closed. The main gate at 117th Street & Broadway will remain open. For further updates on college operations, please check this website, call the College Emergency Information Line 212-854-1002 or check AM radio station 1010WINS.
3:12 PM 02/08/2013
Barnard Rare Book Collection
The Barnard Rare Book Collection is a 477-volume collection of rare books and manuscripts that was placed on deposit at Columbia in the summer of 2010 and is presently housed in the Columbia Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Used in the past by faculty to support research and inform curricula, the collection spans centuries and continents, and hosts the works of early-modern philosophers like Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon together with the works of contemporary poets such as Charles Bukowski and Serge Gavronsky. Taken as a whole, these volumes showcase the breadth and richness of Barnard's rare book collection, which ranges widely from classical texts printed during the Renaissance to 21st-century artists' books. Seven bibles form a centerpiece of the holdings; of particular note is the two-volume 1866 Sainte Bible, with illustrations by well-known French artist, Gustave Doré. Featuring several folio editions (including a 1755 edition of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language) and a number of miniatures (complete with a 2-volume 1823 edition of the Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri), the collection additionally has a strong showing of works in 18th century British drama, including some scarce compilations by female dramatists, among them Hannah More and Susanna Centlivre.
Some Barnard Archives rare books are viewable online at the Digital Scriptorium, Columbia University.
