Correspondence including twenty letters from Helen Keller and her companion Polly Thomson, letters from Pauline Hemingway and her son Patrick M. Hemingway, from Patricia Nixon, Nancy Reagan, and from Harry Emerson Fosdick. These are all of a personal nature. There are also several books by and about Helen Keller and by Ernest Hemingway, some of which are first editions and some inscribed by the author.

This unique collection contains letters from all over the world sent in response to an announcement by Michael Brody Jr., the 21-year-old heir to a margarine fortune, that he would give away his inheritance to people in need, and in doing so would solve the problems of the world.

In 1949, New Jersey newspaper editor Robert N. Caldwell began a close friendship with his former professor at Columbia University, Mark van Doren. The two frequently discussed politics, literature, philosophy, and their day-to-day lives. This collection consists of correspondence, between Robert Caldwell and Columbia professor Mark van Doren spanning two decades.

Letters donated from the collection of Nina Tannenbaum, and Tiye, Robin, and Duccio Castelli in honor of Professor Peter Pazzaglini, the Columbia Core, and to all of the great teachers who have inspired, illuminated, and enriched their lives. Both letters reflect the efforts of a young writer to be connected to and absorb the advice of eminent Italian writers of his and his family's cultural milieu. One letter from Italo Calvino to Duccio Castelli analyzing the young writer's story, comparing his style to contemporary American writers, such as Raymond Chandler and Damon Runyon, as well as suggesting techniques for incorporating the life and language of Milan into his stories. The second document reflects the connections between Duccio Castelli's mother, a book-seller and figure in the early and mid-century Italian writing and publishing scene, and Salvatore Quasimodo, Nobel Laureate 1959, with whom she shared her son's poetry. The collection contains both original documents as well as Duccio Castelli's translations into English and his account of how he wrote to Italo Calvino and received advice from the renowned writer.

With the exception of letters to John Dewey, George Rives, G. Stanley Hall and some original incoming correspondence, the papers of James McKeen Cattell consist of typescript copies of correspondence with Seth Low, Nicholas Murray Butler, and faculty members, dealing with Psychology Dept. matters, professional matters, and Cattell's battle for academic freedom which ended in his dismissal from and subsequent suit against Columbia. Included are typescript copies of University reports, printed court records, and transcripts of correspondence with Cattell's lawyers.

William Yukon Chang was the founder and editor of "Chinese-American Times", a Chinese American paper that published completely in English from 1955 to 1972. While running the newspaper, Chang also served in local social and civic groups to address issues facing the New York Chinatown community, including poverty, juvenile delinquency, mental illness and lack of access to adult language programs. The William Yukon Chang papers document Chang's life and career, Chinese American life, and social service and activism scene in the Lower East Side from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The George Chauncey papers include materials documenting Chauncey's research and activism related to LGBTQ+ history and activism. The collection reflects Chauncey's teaching, public speaking, and writing, including notes and other files related to his groundbreaking book, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940. The collection also includes all the proposals submitted for a conference Chauncey organized in 2000, The Future of the Queer Past, (ultimately 200 papers, 50 panels, people from a dozen countries, funding from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations), which provides a fascinating snapshot of the LGBTQ+ history field as it was just beginning to take off.

The Chen Lifu papers (陳立夫檔案) mainly document his involvement in Chinese politics during the Republican era, dating from 1926 to 1989, with the bulk dates from 1926 to 1951. The papers consist of correspondence, portrait, meeting documents, reports, plans, speeches, writings, memoir, and printed materials. The papers focus on Chen Lifu's political career as the Head of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Minister of Education, as well as his general involvement in politics dating from 1926 to 1949.

The Chiu Chung-wei correspondence consists of outgoing and incoming letters and telegrams from and to Chiu when he was the Secretary of the President serving under the Acting President, Li Zongren, from 1949 to 1950. Other materials also include newspaper clippings and memoranda.

This collection is composed of the general files of Columbia College's Dean's Office, the minutes of Columbia College committees and the correspondence of Columbia College administrative officers during the years 1892 through 2019. A review of this collection allows researchers to gain insights into the interaction of Columbia College faculty and administrators with students, fellow faculty members, parents of students, and administrators of other colleges.