New York University Archives Collection of Yearbooks

This assembled collection contains New York University (NYU) yearbooks dating from 1887 to 2012. The yearbooks contain information on graduating and underclass students from various campuses, colleges, and schools across the university system including dentistry, medicine, business, education, the performing arts, and law.

Up until 1907, students from different campuses and schools were combined into a single yearbook; for example The Lyre and The Violet. Student inclusion in the yearbook was voluntary and they were not required to sit for a portrait or submit personal information. As a result, some yearbooks may have a page that lists students that were not pictured.

A variety of student information is included in yearbooks, documenting their involvement in clubs, athletic teams, or student government positions. Photographs of individuals and student organizations and teams are in the yearbooks; however, group photographs rarely include names or identifications. Evening, part-time, and graduate students are infrequently pictured in yearbooks, except in rare instances in school-specific editions. There are local business advertisements in the yearbooks as well.

Coverage of spring sports (e.g., baseball, soccer, track and field) often appears in the following year's yearbook. For example, the 1934 baseball season may be featured in the 1935 Album. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the junior class was responsible for producing the yearbooks for The Violet and The Commerce Violet. As a result, covers of these yearbooks often display the junior class's expected graduation year instead of the actual year of publication (which is the year the senior class was graduating). This discrepancy between cover date and senior content date can lead to confusion. Researchers are encouraged to consult yearbooks from adjacent years to ensure complete coverage of a specific class.

During the late 19th century through the mid-20th century, the yearbooks often contain "grinds" which would include student nicknames and inside jokes meant to be poking fun at the individual. Users should use caution when viewing these "grinds" which could potentially contain harmful language and stereotypes that reflect the racism and sexism common in the time they were written.

Additionally, this collection contains photographic directories and registers for the incoming freshmen/class members for some NYU schools and divisions.

While the collection is extensive, it is not comprehensive, and there may be published yearbooks that are not included in this collection. Some schools such as GSAS (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), SPS (School of Professional Studies), and the College of Veterinary Medicine do not appear to have produced yearbooks.