Emergent Properties: Decennial Reflections on Collections

In 2026 the David Rumsey Map Center celebrates its tenth year—a moment to reflect on how the Center has added value to scholarship on campus and around the world. Our collections are vast and not bounded by geography, spanning the 15th century to the present. Yet over the last decade, certain materials have repeatedly resonated with the students, instructors, and researchers who frequent the Center. Emergent Properties brings together a selection of highlights from deep within the collections of the David Rumsey Map Center: items that have not only proven to be rare or beautiful, but have become the drivers of scholarship, programming, and support areas that have resonated with our users. The forty objects in this exhibition represent these emergent properties. Though only a glimpse into the full breadth of the Center’s holdings, they reflect what has mattered most over the past ten years.

The exhibition will be on display at the David Rumsey Map Center within Green Library through Friday, March 5, 2027.