Access To Columbia's Libraries
For CU Alumni and Visitors

Columbia welcomes the use of its collections by researchers and scholars not affiliated with a university under the conditions described below. Non-affiliated researchers may have to pay for access or borrowing privileges. Please see below for details. Contact the Library Information Office to make arrangements for visitor access to the libraries. The Library Information Office is located to the left of the Butler Library entrance. The Office has more limited hours than the library, therefore it is essential to check office hours before arriving at Columbia.

Access to the Columbia University Libraries before or after normal service hours is restricted to current Columbia University students, faculty and staff.

Please Note: Arrangements to visit the libraries listed below must be made directly with those libraries, not with the Library Information Office.

• The Health Sciences Library
• The Law Library

Alumni

Alumni with degrees from Columbia University, Barnard College, or Union Theological Seminary may apply for a University Alumni Identification Card that grants renewable reading privileges. Alumni who wish to borrow books may obtain borrowing privileges for a $30 monthly fee. Alumni of Teachers College must obtain their alumni cards in Grace Dodge Hall.

Recent alumni will retain full library privileges, including borrowing privileges and access to licensed electronic databases, for a period of three months beyond the degree conferral date.

Application can be made in person 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.

Staff in the Library Information Office will issue either a reader's card or a photo ID card. There is a charge for the latter. Alumni must present a valid government issued ID card in order to obtain an alumni card.

Residents of the New York 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 other universities outside the United States may be granted access for a longer period of time. Both a valid university photo ID card and a government issued ID must be presented to Library Information Office staff.

Researchers not affiliated with a university who need short term access to the Columbia Libraries may obtain a Metro referral from the New York Public Library. Details about Metro may be found here. Those who need longer term access, may pay for access privileges. Through the Library Information Office, the fee for access is $55 per month. There is also a $20 fee for the ID card. Another option for visiting researchers is to join the Friends program. Details about the Friends' program may be found here. A donation of $250 provides reading privileges for a one year period.

Shares

Students,faculty, and staff of universities that are members of Shares and that are located outside the New York City area are granted reading privileges. Upon presentation of a university ID and a state issued photo ID, a readers card will be issued. This card will provide access to most of the Columbia Libraries except for Teacher’s College Library, the Health Sciences Library and the Law Library during its blackout period.

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 obtain their Columbia University ID at the ID Center in Kent Hall. Borrowing privileges may be purchased in the Library Information Office for $30 per month.