Confessions of a Library Hopper: Burke Library

by Connie Chen CC ’14

Connie Chen, a library assistant in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, will review libraries across campus for the benefit of those in search of a fresh study spot.

Burke Library at-a-glance:

Location: UTS, enter at Broadway and 121st Street and take the stairs to first floor
Facilities: Computer Labs on 1st and 3rd floors
Hours: Monday – Thursday 8:30am-10pm
Friday 8:30am-5pm
Saturday 10am-5pm
Sunday 1-10pm
 
Not getting your fill of brooding Gothic architecture on Columbia’s main campus? Try taking the short walk to Union Theological Seminary’s Burke Library, nestled in the heart of UTS’s Hogwarts-like campus.
 
Burke is most noteworthy for its main reading room, located on the third floor. Reminiscent of Butler’s reference room – but with a very ecclesiastical flavor – it has numerous large tables for studying (almost all unoccupied on a Sunday afternoon!), not to mention some very cozy armchair and coffee table reading areas. Huge, beautiful gothic windows let in lots of natural light. Also, as you work through that particularly difficult problem set, be sure to lean back in your chair and gaze at the vaulted ceiling for inspiration—it’s painted bright red, with dark wood beams and some very fancy cylindrical chandeliers.
 
Apart from the main reading room, there is also ample studying space on the first and second floors. The mezzanine-style second floor hosts the periodicals, and the lovely Terrace Reading Room on the first floor features floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the stone cloisters and flowering trees on the quad.
 

And to top it all off, Burke also happens to be the largest theological library in the western hemisphere.

Do you have a favorite study spot on campus? Library Hopper wants to know!