The Posner Center for Special Collections
Location
About
The Posner Center is home to Carnegie Mellon University’s Special Collections. Part museum and part laboratory for the humanities, it is CMU’s destination for discovery, research, and hands-on engagement with the past. For information on scheduling a class visit or research appointment, please visit CMU Libraries Special Collections.
The Posner Center is currently under construction and is scheduled to reopen in late October, 2025. Read more about the Posner Center renovation.
Hours
*Hours may vary on holidays and during special events. Please check for updates.
Contact Sam Lemley (samlemley@cmu.edu) to schedule a research appointment or class visit.
Staff & Faculty
Special Collections partners with departments across CMU to integrate rare materials into teaching and research.
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Catherine Blauvelt
Special Collections Coordinator
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Samuel Lemley
Curator of Special Collections
Upcoming Events
TBD
Exhibition Opens — Rare Books & Ancestral Machines
The Inaugural Exhibition of the Posner Center for Special Collections
In celebration of the Posner Center’s reopening, this exhibition brings together rare books, artifacts, and early computing devices—many on display for the first time. Thematic sections trace five centuries of scientific inquiry, cryptography, mechanical computation, robotics, and machine intelligence.
December 3, 2025 · 4:30–6:30 PM
Open Stacks — Ancestral Machines: From Renaissance Automata & Japanese Karakuri to AI
Explore the prehistory of robotics and AI through rare books and artifacts, from Renaissance automata to enlightenment theories of mind. All are welcome. Snacks & fun provided.