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
Members of the Cambridge and Vassar debate teams on the steps of Josselyn Hall. Left to right: A.P. Marshall, Mary Virginia Heinlein (VC 1925), Ruth Driver (VC 1926), Richard Austin Butler, Winifred Comstock (VC 1925), and Gerald Sparrow
Photographer and journal editor Alfred Stieglitz has been credited with evolving an American style of looking at photography. After attempting to develop its recognition as an art form from within the gallery setting, Stieglitz seized an opportunity to instigate change...
VC Spec 1866-1867
1 letter from Camp to her friend Abigail L. Slade (VC Spec 1866-1867) including gossip about their social set, as well as happenings at the college.
View from Sunset Hill of the tops of buildings as well as the power plant chimney
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.