Steven Galbraith | College of Liberal Arts

Bio

Steven K. Galbraith is Curator of the Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Graphic Arts Collection. He has a Ph.D. in English Literature from Ohio State University and an M.L.S. from the University at Buffalo. Prior to coming to RIT, he was the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Books at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, the Curator of Early Modern Books and Manuscripts at The Ohio State University, and a reference librarian at the University of Maine. He is the author of works on early English printing, book conservation and digitization, and English Renaissance literature.

Currently Teaching

MUSE-361

Tablet to Tablet: A History of Books

3 Credits

From ancient clay and wax tablets, to scrolls and medieval manuscripts, to printed books and iPads, this class examines the history of books from 2300 BCE to the present. Students study books not only as vehicles for texts, but also as physical artifacts that carry with them important evidence of the cultures that produced and read them. Using the Cary Graphic Arts Collection as their research laboratory, students investigate the evolution of books through hands-on interaction with artifacts both ancient and modern, while also pondering what forms future books might take.

In the News

October 15, 2025

Ph.D. candidate encourages her class to judge a book by its cover

The Secret Lives of Books, a special topics elective offered by the museum studies program in the College of Liberal Arts, gives hands-on experience with paper, ink, pigments, and all the material components of a book.
May 7, 2024

Comics go to College

The comics collection at RIT is growing by leaps and bounds and the new Kubert Lounge and Gallery makes it a visible presence on campus. The interdisciplinary art form is right at home at RIT.

More News

Featured Work

Providing Discoverability and Accessibility of Historical Documents to Museums and Libraries

Juilee Decker, Steven Galbraith

Students in the Museum Studies degree program are working alongside research scientists from the College of Science Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science to create, test, and iterate a low...