The Posner Center for Special Collections
Location
About
The Posner Center is home to Carnegie Mellon University’s Special Collections. Part museum and part laboratory for the humanities, it is CMU’s destination for discovery, research, and hands-on engagement with the past. For information on scheduling a class visit or research appointment, please visit CMU Libraries Special Collections.
The Posner Center has been newly renovated and is now open to the campus community and the public. Read more about the Posner Center renovation.
Hours
During university holidays and periods when classes are not in session, the Posner Center operates by appointment only. Public open hours resume the first full week of each semester; pre-scheduled programs and public events may still occur during appointment-only periods.
Contact Sam Lemley (samlemley@cmu.edu) to schedule a research appointment or class visit.
Staff & Faculty
Special Collections partners with departments across CMU to integrate rare materials into teaching and research.
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Catherine Blauvelt
Special Collections Coordinator
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Samuel Lemley
Curator of Special Collections
Director of the Posner Center for Special Collections
Upcoming Events
25 March 2026 · 4:30–6:30 PM
OPEN STACKS — BOTANICAL ART & ENLIGHTENMENT
Discover how artists and scientists collaborated to depict, study, and classify the natural world during the Enlightenment. Rare botanical works will be on view, highlighting the intersections of art and science.
28 April 2026 · 4:30–6:30 PM
2026 SHAKESPEARE LECTURE - SIMON ARMITAGE
United Kingdom Poet Laureate Simon Armitage presents a talk on Shakespeare in a special event cosponsored by CMU Libraries and the International Poetry Forum. CMU’s copy of the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays (1623) will be on display at the event.