Location: 1 Bungtown Rd, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
Contact: 516-367-6872, pollock@cshl.edu (Library); 516-367-8414, archives@cshl.edu (Archives)
Access: By appointment only
Website address: http://library.cshl.edu/
CSHL Archives’ mission is to collect and document both the history of science at Cold Spring Harbor, and the history of molecular biology and genetics in general. We are home to the personal collections of numerous notable scientists, including Nobel laureates James D. Watson, Barbara McClintock, Alfred Hershey, Walter Gilbert, and Hermann Muller. Our collections date back to the early days of scientific research at Cold Spring Harbor, including Charles Davenport (first director of the Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Genetics), Reginald Harris (first director of Long Island Biological Association), and Hugo Fricke (radiation scientist at CSH from 1928-1955). The Archives also contains the personal collections of recent CSHL scientists, such as yeast geneticists Amar Klar, James Hicks, and Jeffrey Strathern, as well history of science scholars, such Elof Carlson and Errol Friedberg. Our collections generally consist of correspondence, photographs, laboratory notebooks, administrative files, memorabilia, and audiovisual media.
CSHL Archives is dedicated to documenting the history of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and its predecessor institutions. These institutions include the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (1890-1924), Carnegie Institution of Washington (including the Eugenics Record Office and the Department of Genetics) (1904-1971), and the Long Island Biological Association (1924-1962). In 1962, the various scientific institutions at Cold Spring Harbor merged to form the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory of Quantitative Biology. Our special collections include the administrative files for CSHL and its predecessor institutions, photographs of the annual CSH Symposium of Quantitative Biology, and documentation of the many meetings, courses, and special events held at CSHL. It also includes our extensive Oral History Collection, Reprint Collection, Maps and Blueprints Collection, and our collection of Rare Books.
The Genentech Center for the History of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology focuses on documenting the basic scientific research that underpinned the development of molecular biology and biotechnology. This research, carried out initially in academic laboratories, led to the development of recombinant DNA techniques, which in turn stimulated entrepreneurial scientists to create biotechnology companies.
Digital Collection: The collections from which we have selected materials for cataloging and digitizing are the James D. Watson Collection, Hermann J. Muller Collection, Barbara McClintock Collection, Meetings and Courses Photographic and Video Collection, Davenport/Watson/Carnegie Reprint Collections, and the Oral History Video Collection. From these collections we have selected original correspondence, laboratory notes, photographs, manuscripts, reprints, lectures, and videos. These items represent a sampling of the significant collections housed in our archives.
There is also a research scholarship for graduate students.