Located in Butler Library, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) is Columbia's principal repository for rare and unique materials, with holdings that span four thousand years of recorded knowledge, from cuneiform tablets to early printed books and born-digital archives. Each year RBML welcomes thousands of researchers and visitors to their reading room, exhibitions, programs, and classrooms.
Correspondence, published and unpublished writings, printed pamphlets, and miscellaneous documents dating largely from approximately the 1920s until Dewey's death in 1977. These concern the Phonemic Spelling Council, and Dewey's other work in spelling reform; teaching; Emerson College; Dewey decimal classification; the Lake Placid Club and the Olympic Winter Games, ca. 1930s-1970s; and childhood, education, and family matters. His wills, 1944-1974, and obituaries are included. Also, memorabilia including books from his library and a phonetic typewriter.