Finding information about Cornell University can be as complex and challenging as the structure and history of the university itself or as simple as checking Cornell Facts or Cornell A to Z. The object of this Web page is to bring together resources available in or through the University Library, primarily Olin Library and the University Archives in the Rare and Manuscript Collections, for answering research questions about Cornell University.

Although far from an exhaustive list of the books written about Cornell, these are the titles to consult first.

Bishop, Morris. A History of Cornell. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1962.

(Olin Ref LD 1368 .B62; Uris Ref and others)

The "standard history" of Cornell University.

Mark Dimunation and Elaine D. Engst. A Legacy of Ideas: Andrew Dickson White and the Founding of the Cornell University Library. Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 1996.

(Olin Ref + LD 1368 .K36x 2003) Available through eCommons@Cornell.

Kammen, Carol. Cornell: Glorious to View. Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 2003.

(Olin Ref + LD 1368 .K36x 2003) Selected text available through eCommons@Cornell.

The newest history of Cornell University by a noted local historian.

Kane, Robert J. Good Sports: A History of Cornell Athletics. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1992.

(Olin and Uris stacks + GV 691 .C8 K162)

The standard book-length treatment of this topic at Cornell.

Margulis, Daniel, ed. A Century at Cornell: Published to Commemorate the Hundredth Anniversary of the Cornell Daily Sun. Ithaca: Cornell Daily Sun, 1980.

(Olin Ref LD 1368 .C39; also Uris Ref)

The high points selected from the files of the Daily Sun.

Ostman, Ronald and Harry Littell. Cornell Then & Now: Historic and Contemporary Views of Cornell University. Ithaca: McBooks Press, 2003.

(Olin Ref + LD 1368 .O88x 2003)

Side-by-side black-and-white photographs of the same view taken many years apart to show the ensuing changes on campus.

Parsons, Kermit C. The Cornell Campus: A History of its Planning and Development. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1968.

(Olin Ref + LD 1368 .P26 C8; also Uris Ref, Fine Arts Ref, more)

A history of the campus buildings and the design of the campus with numerous black and white photographs.

Directories, except Alumni
Title	Years	Call number	Useful for
The Class Book	1897-1918	Uris LD 1387 .C811 [1900-1902, 1906-1913, 1915-1916, 1918]; University Archives; online [1897-1904]
The Cornellian	1868/69-	Olin LD 1387 .C81 ++	students, activities, photographs, sports
Freshman Handbook or Deskbook		University Archives	all aspects of campus life
Freshman Register		University Archives	photos, first-year students
The Register	1868/69-1931/32.	University Archives 1882-1910 available online	courses, faculty, departments
Faculty, Staff, & Students Telephone Directory	1997/98-	Olin Ref LD 1350 .D596	combined student, faculty, staff directory
Directory of Students	1948-1996/97	Olin Ref LD 1350 .D595
Directory of Staff	1948-1996/97	Olin Ref LD 1350 .D594
Student and Staff Directory	1947	Olin Ref LD 1350 .D593	one year only before the directories split

Alumni Directories
Title	Years	Call number	Notes
Cornell University Alumni Directory [aka Directory of Living Alumni].	1922, 1931, 1938, 1960, 1967, 1987, 2002	Olin Ref LD 1361 .A4 yr.; University Archives	1987 split in graduate and undergraduate volumes; 2002 has searchable CD-ROM in ETC
The Ten-Year Book of Cornell University	1878, 1888, 1898, 1908	Olin Reference LD 1387 .A4 yr.; Uris Dean Room	1878: all students who attended Cornell; 1888: biographical sketches of all graduates, name and original address of non-graduates; 1898: graduates only, name and address; 1908: all attendees, 1868-1908; all volumes list "names of officers of administration and instruction"
Deceased alumni folders	all years	University Archives	additional biographical info beyond what's available in directories; available for deceased alumni only
Cornell Alumni News, etc.	vol. 1, 1899, to date.	Online in eCommons@Cornell	Complete run of the Cornell Alumni News and successors online. Browse by date or search the full text. The Class Notes section contains biographical updates on alumni. TIP: Find names and subjects in the Alumni News using a Google site search [site: http://ecommons.library.cornell.edu/ with the name or subject].
Searching for alumni, additional resources:	Search Voyager. Search RMC's Archival Guides [aka finding aids]. Search ProQuest Historical Newspapers; the NY Times is a good source of photographs. Search the CU Digital Archives.

Two-letter abbreviations for University buildings.

For students conducting research on specific Cornell buildings, information on locating the building plan numbers is available at Rare and Manuscripts reference. Some building plans are available are also available to students working on projects from the Facilities Information Group; part of Planning, Design and Construction; Humphreys Hall. See http://www.pdc.cornell.edu/pdc/eng/fig/pdc_figstudentproj.cfm for the policies and procedures governing access to these plans.

See Books about Cornell for campus building information and photos on campus (especially Parson's 1968 The Cornell Campus). For a concise history of a particular building, try searching Cornell Fact Search (aka "Super InfoBase").

The University Archives in the Rare and Manuscript Collections has a clippings file on a large number of specific Cornell buildings; ask at the RMC reference desk. Also in RMC, the Cornell Clippings File and the ClipFile Index has information from local newspaper clippings about Cornell buildings (dedications, fires, demonstrations, etc.). The Olin reference vertical file (at the reference desk) has a small folder for Buildings.

WILLARD STRAIGHT HALL TAKEOVER (1969)

Willard Straight Takeover Study Guide. Compiled by Eric Acree, Africana Librarian.

An excellent bibliography and Web guide divided into Books and Theses, Audio/Visual Materials, Selected Internet Articles Magazine/Journal Articles, and Newspaper Articles (divided into four sections covering December 1968 through 1999).

Course Lists and Descriptions
Title	Years	Call number	Notes
Courses of Study [online version]	current year	no catalog record	Published annually in August. General information on course offerings includes current tuition and fees and information about special programs and centers: Study abroad, Cornell in Washington, Einaudi Center, etc.
Courses of Study [print version]	1982/1983, 1984/1985, 1987/1988, 1989/1990 to date	Olin LD 1349 .C815 +	Latest 5 volumes in Reference. See description above.
Cornell University Description of Courses	1976/1977-1979/1980	Mann LD 1349 .D44
College Catalog Collection. Career Guidance Foundation.	1973/1974-1998/1999	Olin Microfiche 2815	Course catalogs from most colleges and universities in the U.S.
The Register	1868/69-1931/32. 1882-1910 available online	University Archives	Course descriptions, faculty, departments
Announcements. Summer school.	1899-1908, 1910-1944, 1945-1974 [incomplete]	University Archives ARP 610	Alternate titles: Announcement of courses of instruction during the summer session; Announcement of the ... summer session (-1934); Announcement of the summer session, university and state summer schools (1934-1958); Summer session announcement (1947-1958).
Course and teacher evaluations	various dates	see catalog for call numbers	Subject Heading search for "Cornell University--Curricula" in the Cornell Library Catalog

Cornell University Digital Archives. Ithaca: Digital Consulting & Production Services, Cornell University Library. [http://dlxs2.library.cornell.edu/c/cuda/browse.html]

Full Text

Contains the following digitized materials:

The Cornell Era, a weekly paper, 1868-1871
Cornell University Class Book, 1897-1904
Annual Report of the President, 1881-1899, 1939-1949
The Register, 1882-1910
Official Publications of Cornell University, vols. 7-14, 1915-1923
Proceedings of the Board of Trustees of Cornell University, Including the Minutes of the Executive Committee, April 1865 - July 1885

Cornell University Information Database. Compiled by Corey Ryan Earl. [http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/cre8/cudb/]

Historical lists of administrators (presidents, deans, university librarians); convocation and baccalaureate speakers, Olin Lecturers; faculty and student honors and awards (Academy Award, Emmy, Grammy, Pulitzer Prize, and Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur Scholars, etc.), and more.

Cornell University Library LibeCasts. [http://libecast.library.cornell.edu/]

Multimedia

LibeCast features audio and video recordings (podcasts and vodcasts) about Cornell University Library and its exhibitions, events, lectures, services, and history, offering the world a glimpse of life inside one of the nation’s best research libraries. See, for example, the Uris Library Historical Tour

Ezra Cornell Papers. Ithaca: Cornell University Library, 2004. [http://historical.library.cornell.edu/ezra/]

Full Text

Digitized materials related to the life of Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University. Consists of three parts: Ezra Cornell's Correspondence and Diaries (1746-1886), Ezra Cornell's Life and Times (an online exhibit prepared by the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections), and Genealogy of the Cornell Family by John Cornell, published in 1902.

Ezra's Farmstead: The Origins of Cornell. Presented by Kent Hubbell and John Ullberg. Ithaca: Cornell University, 2004. [http://cybertower.cornell.edu/Requester/r/roomMain/artsquad]

Full Text & Video

This Cyber Tower Room requires registration, but registration is free. Consists of streaming video with Kent Hubbell and John Ullberg divided into seven sections: Introduction (5:20), Stone Row (15:14), North End (10:23), East/South Ends (14:03), Newer Buildings (9:10), Conclusion (7:36), and Dedication (00:32). "The story of the earliest days of Cornell University is about much more than the construction of buildings. The opinions and personalities of the men and women decision-makers, the political climate of the times, the financial health of the University, even the layout of the surrounding landscape all played a vital role in the formation of what we know today as the Cornell campus." [from the introductory screen]

Human Ecology: Historical Photographs. Ithaca: College of Human Ecology and Cornell University Library Rare and Manuscript Collections, 1999-2003. [http://he-photos.library.cornell.edu/]

Full Text

"This Web site provides a database of selected images and information from the records of the College of Home Economics. The photographs are organized by general subjects: Resident Teaching; International, National, State, and Local Public Relations; All-College Activities; Administration and Personnel; Departments and Divisions; Buildings and Equipment; History of the College; and Miscellaneous. Within any particular general subject category, there are more specific topics, e.g. "Resident Teaching" includes "Students and Student Life," "Homemaking Apartments," and "Apartment Babies." Descriptive information is provided for each image. Additional photographs may be found in this collection and in other holdings of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections." [from About the Photographs]

The Cornell University Archives is part of the Rare and Manuscript Collections located on the 2B Level of Kroch Library.

The Rare and Manuscripts Collections "houses the Cornell University Archives, which includes records of the founding and growth of the university as well as an extensive collection documenting regional history."

The Archives collects and preserves records of historical, legal, fiscal, and/or administrative value to Cornell University. Holdings include official records and reports of the university, its officers, and component parts; private papers of faculty, students, staff, and alumni; official and student publications; maps and architectural records; audiovisual materials including still photographs and negatives, motion picture film, oral history interviews, and audio and video tapes; and artifacts and ephemera documenting Cornell's history. More information about the University archives and Cornell history.

Images from Cornell's Rare and Manuscripts Collections [http://rmc-images.library.cornell.edu/] contains many historic Cornell images. Disable pop-up blockers before launching the collection by clicking on the "view the images" link.

Online RMC exhibitions concerning Cornell’s history:

Alpha Phi Alpha [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/alpha/index.html]
Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art & Planning: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Aap-exhibit/]
Cornell’s Presidents: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/]
Cornell’s University Librarians: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/libraryhistory/librarians/]
Cornell’s Women in the Veterinary College: [http://www.vet.cornell.edu/library/archives/Legacy/]
Early Black Women at Cornell: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/earlyblackwomen/introduction/index.html]
Ezra Cornell: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Ezra/] and [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Ezra-exhibit/entrance.html]
Home Economics at Cornell: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/homeEc/default.html]
Liberty Hyde Bailey: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/bailey/]
Nabokov at Cornell: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/lolita/]
Willard Fiske: [http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collector/]

Researchers interested in the history of the University have access to the knowledgeable staff in the Library's Division of Rare and Manscript Collections. Many resources and a listing of their service hours is available on the RMC Web site. Help is also available from the Olin Library Reference staff.