Through our digital collections, Vassar College Libraries aim to provide access to high-quality digital content generated by the Libraries for research and study, as open as possible; support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the College; preserve at-risk or fragile physical collections through digitization, or at-risk born-digital collections through reformatting; expose hidden, less-used physical collections through access to digital surrogates; and foster experimental, cutting-edge, and innovative projects through technology. Learn More
Expedition to Colorado to view the 1878 solar eclipse. Astronomy professor Maria Mitchell and students wearing hats and long dresses, seated by telescopes on a plain. Two men wearing hats, a tent, ladder and horse-drawn, canopied wagon are in the background.
Group portrait of the student singing group and director George Coleman Gow
Ten female students wearing long dresses, seated, holding books. Also shows flowers, lawn and trees in leaf.
Main Building of Vassar College with lawn and young trees.
Students preparing to serve punch and doughnuts aboard the steamer Seagate (misdated by photographer)
Students dancing aboard the steamer Seagate
Students gathered aboard the steamer Seagate. Some are in costume including one person in blackface
Students gathered aboard the steamer Seagate. Some are in costume including one person in blackface
The steamer Seagate docked at Poughkeepsie before the Junior-Senior Boatride
The Vassar LGBTQ Oral History Project is a partnership between the LGBTQ Center, the Women's Studies Program and the Vassar College Archives that began in the fall of 2012. The goal of the project is to capture the experiences, stories, and reflections of LGBTQ and ally alumnae/i as well as former
Vassar College Library was built in 1905, the architecture and the style of the building is perpendicular Gothic, with many embellishments. Among those embellishments are approximately thirty-six gargoyles and grotesques. Gargoyles are decorative water-bearing fixtures meant to redirect rainwater
Here you will find digitized archival collections, oral histories, and more. We are continually expanding the collections and improving access. You may find additional digital resources that reside outside the digital library here, and a selection of Online Exhibitions here.
Collections Overview
The Archives & Special Collections Library is part of the Vassar College Libraries system. It holds the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the college. It collects, preserves, and makes available rare and unique collections, and also engages in teaching and outreach activities. This collection of finding aids describe items in both the Virginia B. Smith Memorial Manuscript Collection and the College Archives.
The Vassar College herbarium holds over 8,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists. To learn more about this project visit the website here.
Vassar College's institutional repository reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community. It provides access to senior theses, peer reviewed open access articles, and projects from a wide range of disciplines.