Library Guides for the School of the Arts

The Butler Library collections are the single most important source of printed and electronic material at Columbia for students in the Writing, Theatre Arts, and Film divisions of the School of the Arts. For students in the Visual Arts division, Butler supplements the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library. For music, during the fall semester of 1996, the reference holdings, listening facilities, and core collections of the Music Library are located in Butler, pending completion of renovation of the library in Dodge.

The collections in Butler include major holdings of classic and modern literature, drama, and published screenplays; literary, theater, and film history and criticism; biographical information; and catalogs, bibliographies, and encyclopedias: in electronic and print formats. Butler also offers a good collection of the basic guides and directories for finding support and marketing opportunities for work in the creative arts. The library's strong history collections are also an invaluable source of background material for any creative project with a historical setting. Contemporary children's literature, which is no longer a part of the Columbia collections, may be found at the library of the Teachers College on 120th Street.

Butler provides the most strategic starting point for access to all of Columbia's collections. Reference librarians are experts in using CLIO, Columbia's online catalog, and the Internet to find resources. In addition, the Reference Department (325 Butler; telephone 854-2241) has a variety of printed catalogues and finding aids which, used in concert with online electronic databases, can identify other libraries which hold materials that Columbia does not. The Interlibrary Loan Department (207 Butler) will request these materials for you. The Reference Department is staffed 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Reference librarians offer longer consultations, by appointment, for individuals working on major projects. Forms to request appointments are available at the reference desk. Librarians are also available for library tours and class presentations, arranged upon request. While all members of the Reference staff are prepared to assist you, you may want to contact department members Walter Barnard or Mary Cargill for special assistance in the areas of theater and film.

The Electronic Text Service (504 Butler; telephone 854-7547) is a resource for full-text electronic materials. ETS is open during the academic term from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. You may contact Bob Scott, Head of ETS, to arrange individual consultations or class presentations.

The Butler Library building contains several different "libraries" and public service library departments of interest to students of the School of the Arts.

• General Library (the central bookstacks; entered through the third floor near the Circulation Desk). A collection of just under two million volumes, the largest of the Columbia Libraries, mostly covering the fields of history and the humanities, but including the social sciences up to 1970 when the Lehman Library opened in the School of International Affairs building.
  
  
• Burgess-Carpenter Library (fourth floor). A library of heavily used works for undergraduate and graduate instruction, with more comfortable study space.
  
  
• Reference Department (third floor). Print and electronic resources and a staff of librarians to help you find you way around the collections and do your research.
  
  
• Electronic Text Service (fifth floor). An extensive collection of source texts in history and the humanities along with tools for their creation and study.
  
  
• Periodicals Reading Room (third floor). Current issues of the journals, magazines, and newspapers received at Butler.
  
  
• Microforms Reading Room (fifth floor). The place to use Butler's extensive holdings of serials and books preserved on microfilm, microfiche, and microcard.
  
  
• College Library (second floor). The center for undergraduate library services along with a Reserves collection of class readings, a computer lab, and an all-night study hall.
  
  
• Ancient and Medieval Studies Reading Room (sixth floor). A collection of key sources and reference materials, primarily in original languages, for advanced research in these fields.
  
  
• Rare Book and Manuscript Library (sixth floor). Rich and extensive holdings of rare book and manuscript material. Described in Library Guide for the School of Arts, number 3.
  
  
• Oral History (eighth floor). The country's oldest creator and collector of oral historical material; a division of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library.