Special Collections

A Recent Acquisition: Consider the Abacus

Special Collections’ newest acquisition is a six-volume treatise on computational instruments and techniques written in Chinese.

Related: Special Collections

“Open Stacks: Eyes on the Skies” Photo Gallery

On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Posner Center for Special Collections hosted its first Open Stacks event of the year. “Eyes on the Skies” celebrated humanity’s fascination with space, welcoming astronaut and Carnegie Mellon professor emeritus Jay Apt to give a talk titled “Spacewalking and What’s It Like Up There,” a firsthand look at living and working in space.

“Banned Books Bingo” Photo Gallery

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, members of the CMU community were challenged to test their knowledge of banned books during the Libraries’ “Banned Books Bingo,” hosted at the Posner Center for Special Collections.

Meet CMU’s First Posner Fellow for Creative Practice

Leslie Liu, who holds an MS in Computational Design from the School of Architecture, spent a few weeks at the beginning of the summer working with the Libraries' Special Collections as the inaugural recipient of the Posner Fellowship for Creative Practice. This fellowship gives access to materials held by the Posner Center for Special Collections and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, including rare books, archival materials, early technologies, and botanical art.

University Libraries Acquires Landmark Edward Gordon Craig Collection from Tony-Honored CMU Alumnus Jules Fisher

As the theatre world celebrates acclaimed lighting designer Jules Fisher with the 2026 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Jules Fisher Collection of Edward Gordon Craig, a major research collection documenting the work of one of the most influential and visionary figures in modern theatre.

A Lab for the Humanities

For generations, scholars of early modern Europe have faced a stubborn problem: thousands of books and pamphlets were printed without names, masking the identities of those who produced them. These anonymous works — often politically or religiously controversial — left behind few clues about their origins, creating gaps in the historical record.

“2026 Shakespeare Lecture: Simon Armitage on Sonnets & Shakespeare” Photo Gallery

On Tuesday, April 28, the Posner Center for Special Collections was delighted to welcome Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, for the CMU Libraries’ first annual Shakespeare Lecture. At the event, cosponsored by the International Poetry Forum, Armitage read new works drawn from a book that sat on his childhood shelf: "The Ornithology of Shakespeare" by James Edmund Harting.

Posner Center Open House Photo Gallery

During Spring Carnival, the Posner Center for Special Collections invited members of the CMU community to explore the recently renovated space and experience its inaugural exhibition. The open house highlighted Special Collections as a campus and community resource, both for scholarly research and more spontaneous exploration.

Distinctive Collections highlights a year of research, preservation, and engagement in 2025

The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries’ Distinctive Collections team experienced a year of growth and impact in 2025, expanding research services, strengthening digital preservation infrastructure, and deepening engagement across campus and beyond.

From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage

In a quiet lab inside the newly renovated Posner Center for Special Collections, a rare book rests in a custom cradle. Once positioned, it barely needs to be touched again. Two high-resolution cameras hover above, capturing each page simultaneously. The spine is supported. The lighting is calibrated. The image is preserved at the highest possible quality.