Special Collections

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 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

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.

Spotlight: Ann Marie Mesco

At the University Libraries, faculty and staff bring diverse backgrounds and interests to their roles, elevating the Libraries’ culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and lifelong learning and curiosity. We asked Digitization Projects Manager and Data Deposit Coordinator Ann Marie Mesco a few questions about her work, to find out more about the inspiration behind her contributions to the campus community.

Spotlight: Joseph Mesco

At the University Libraries, faculty and staff bring diverse backgrounds and interests to their roles, elevating the Libraries’ culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and lifelong learning and curiosity. We asked Digitization Technician Joseph Mesco a few questions about his work, to find out more about the inspiration behind his contributions to the campus community.

From Text to Artifact: Teaching the Constitution in the Renovated Posner Center

Associate Professor of History Scott Sandage is no stranger to the Carnegie Mellon University Special Collections. For several years now, he’s used the resources in the collections — specifically a rare printing of the U.S. Bill of Rights, one of only five extant copies — as a tool to help students engage more deeply in his course “U.S. Constitution and the Presidency.” Sandage’s class examines specific powers granted to the president by the Constitution, and how presidents like Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt expanded the powers of the presidency. The Bill of Rights is central to the class. But with the reopening of the newly renovated Posner Center in fall 2025, the experience of teaching — and learning — with Special Collections has taken on new depth. The updated space enabled Sandage to build a layered, immersive experience — one that brought students back multiple times to learn from experts, examine rare materials up close, and actively debate the Constitution’s meaning.