Collections Blog
Weaving History
What do Qing dynasty paintings reveal about the secret of degumming ramie?
Life on ‘The Mesa’
The Manhattan Project forged a city in the desert at Los Alamos.
Here Be Dragons
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with some of the legendary creatures in our collections.
I Spy a Tiny Camera Mystery
What happens when an archivist finds film in an old camera?
Subscribing to Science
On the globe- and time-spanning journals of the Othmer Library collection.
Ladies Who Lab: Lesser-Known Women in Science, 1920–1970
Highlighting the work of 20th-century female scientists in our library collection.
Buttons, Buttons Everywhere, and Not a Thing to Touch
On the goals and utilities of museum handling collections.
The Kids Are Alright
Understanding past attitudes toward science and medicine through children’s books.
It Came from the Technology Graveyard!
At Halloween, consider what haunts digital archivists the most: technological obsolescence.
The Faces of the American Chemical Society
Celebrate National Chemistry Week with a look at five trailblazing ACS presidents.
Her Booke
What marginalia can tell us about a book’s former owners.
A Pigeon, a Cow, and a Book Detective
Investigating the origins of two early-20th-century Italian “flap anatomy” books.
Collecting the Ecosystems of Science
A dispatch from PITTCON by our curator of instruments and artifacts.
There’s a Class(ification) for That!
My trip to Rare Book School, or, how I spent (part of) my summer.
A Chilling History
On the science and technology of portable coolers.
How to Judge a Book by Its Cover
What book bindings teach us about readers of the past.
Money Talks
Applying numismatics to environmental board games.
Navigating the Oral Histories of Immigration and Innovation Collection Online
Learn how Center for Oral History staff are working to shed light on the experiences of immigrant scientists.