Use of Columbia University Libraries
by Visiting Readers

Columbia University Libraries consists of twenty-two service locations. Although the primary function of the libraries is to serve the teaching, research, and scholarly activities of faculty and students, Columbia welcomes the use of its collections by researchers and scholars not affiliated with the University.

Visitors should go to the Library Information Office (in Butler Library) where the level of access to which they are entitled will be determined and readers' cards issued if permissible. Columbia students, on the basis of their status as students, are not permitted to bring guests or visitors into the Libraries. Full-time Columbia officers may request limited access to the libraries for their guests.

Please note that visitors who are granted access to the Columbia University Libraries will be restricted to normal service hours. Access before or after service hours is restricted to current Columbia University students, faculty and staff.

Please also note that during the midterm and final examination periods, access to the CU Libraries is restricted. Access will not be provided to visitors with Metro referrals, or those not affiliated with a Shares institution. Please check the calendar page for the blackout periods.

Individuals Residing In The Metropolitan Area

For an item not available at your own institution or at the public library (including the New York Public Library), your local or public librarian may give you a METRO Courtesy Card that refers you to the appropriate library in the New York metropolitan area. If Columbia is the appropriate referral, present the METRO Courtesy Card to the Columbia Library Information Office. You will be given access to the item. If you wish to read for an extended period or to borrow books, you may do so by registering with the University through the Library Information Office. The fee for extended Reading Privileges is $55 per month; the fee for Borrowing Privileges is $100 per month.

Please note that Metro card referrals will not be honored during midterms and final examinations. Please check the calendar page for the blackout periods.

Visitors who want to use the CU Libraries for a  year, may wish to consider the  Friends of the Columbia Libraries program. A donation of $250 provides access for one year. 

For consultation of a Columbia dissertation or master's thesis, please register with the University through the Library Information Office. For access to U.S. government or New York State documents, you must also get a pass at the Library Information Office. U.S. depository documents received prior to 1976 are cataloged and mostly shelved in Butler Library. They can be located through the card catalog in the Butler Library Reference Department. U.S. depository documents published after 1976 are shelved in the U.S. Government Documents Collection in the East Reading Room of the Lehman Social Sciences Library, located in the International Affairs Building, or the Law Library, 300 Greene Hall, although some documents may be housed in other campus libraries. New York State documents, 1983-1996, are also located in Lehman Library, on microfiche.

Individuals Outside The Metropolitan Area

Students and faculty of other universities outside the New York metropolitan area are granted reading privileges for up to 5 consecutive days in any one semester without charge. Students and faculty of universities outside the United States are granted reading privileges. Please contact staff in the Library Information Office for details. Appropriate credentials are required. There is a charge for extended use of the collections. The fee for Reading Privileges is $55 per month; the fee for Borrowing Privileges is $100 per month. To register for privileges, come to the Library Information Office. Please confirm the hours before planning your visit.

Please note that reader cards will not be issued to students and faculty from other universities during midterms and final examinations unless the universities are SHARES members.  Please check the calendar page for the blackout periods.

Visitors who want to use the CU Libraries for a  year, may wish to consider the  Friends of the Columbia Libraries program. A donation of $250 provides access for one year. 

For information about the credentials necessary to qualify for privileges, write the Library Information Office, 201 Butler Library, Columbia University Library, 535 West 114th Street, New York, NY 10027 , or call 212.854.2271, or send email to lio@columbia.edu. You may also send a fax to the Library Information Office at 212.854.5082.

Alumni

Alumni with degrees from Columbia University, Barnard College, Teachers College, or Union Theological Seminary may receive Reading Privileges valid for five years and renewable, without charge. Alumni who wish to borrow books may obtain Borrowing Privileges for a fee of $30 per month. To obtain your library privileges, please present identification to the Library Information Office. Recent graduates who may not appear on lists maintained by the alumni offices should bring confirmation of graduation in the form of their diploma, official transcript, or letter from the Office of the Registrar.

Visiting Scholars

Visiting Scholar is a category of appointment to the University at the recommendation of a dean, director, or chairperson of a department and with the approval of the Provost. Visiting Scholars may register with the Library Information Office for Reading Privileges without charge. The fee for Borrowing Privileges is $30 per month.

University Seminar Associates

Seminar Associates are appointed by the Director of the University Seminars on behalf of the President. Seminar Associates may register with the Library Information Office for Reading Privileges without charge. The fee for Borrowing Privileges is $30 per month during the Associate's term of appointment. Privileges are renewable annually.

SHARES Members

Students, faculty, and academic or professional staff of SHARES member institutions are entitled to Reading Privileges upon presentation of appropriate institutional identification to the Library Information Office. The fee for Borrowing Privileges is $100 per month. Persons affiliated with SHARES institutions located in the New York metropolitan area are governed by METRO guidelines described above in the paragraph titled "Individuals Residing in the Metropolitan Area."

Collections Requiring Arrangements in Advance

You must make arrangements in advance of your visit to use collections in the following library:

Law Library

Borrowing privileges are not generally available for the Law Library. To use rare legal materials or legal manuscripts, contact Special Collections in the Law Library, 212.854.5244.

General Conditions

• The Libraries will issue either a paper readers card or a photo identification card to visitors.  A processing fee will be charged for the photo ID card.
  
  
• Hours of Columbia Libraries vary. Please consult the hours Web page
  
  
• The Reading Privileges issued by Columbia University Libraries also apply to Barnard College Library, but not to Teachers College Library. Borrowing Privileges may not apply at the Columbia Health Sciences and Law Libraries, or the libraries of Barnard College and Teachers College. Ask at the Library Information Office for details.
  
  
• Reading and Borrowing Privileges will be withdrawn if a visitor fails to comply with regulations governing the use of the Libraries and library materials.
  
  
• Borrowing privileges will not be renewed if outstanding obligations are owed the Libraries by a visitor.
  
  
• The Libraries are primarily for the use of the Columbia faculty, students, and other active members of the University community. Time does not permit reference librarians to offer registered visitors services that are available from your local library, such as interlibrary borrowing, bibliographic instruction, training to use electronic reference sources, or the performance of database searches on your behalf.
  
  
• For some information services, the license agreement between the owner of the database and the Libraries may permit access only by current faculty, students, and staff of Columbia University. Where such limitations exist, the restriction is posted or, in the case of online access, a valid computing account with Columbia University may be required.