Last week we listed a number of services available at or through Starr Library, including limited seat reservations for students, scanning services, and limited appointments for special collections use.

Starting Tuesday, September 8, 2020 we are ready to add a few more services:

You will once again be able to pick up requested books in Kent Hall. Your confirmation notification email will include instructions toward that end. Note that for the time being, only material from our stacks can be picked up in Kent Hall. Pick-up of all other material (offsite, Borrow Direct, etc.) will continue at Butler Library (east entrance). We will announce promptly when this changes. In brief, enter Kent Hall through the College Walk entrance (the main entrance remains locked until further notice). Go up one flight to the Kent Hall lobby; a library staff member will be there. Mention your last name and step back. The staff member will retrieve the bag with your requested material in it, will put it on a table in front of the library entrance and step back. You step forward, pick up the bag and leave. The material will already be charged out to you; no further interaction is needed. For everyone’s safety, please adhere to the steps above, and be sure to wear your face covering. The request procedure will remain the same as before. Please refer to the Pick-Up Service page for complete information of the service.

Last week we already announced that starting Tuesday, September 8, 2020, we hope to offer limited access to rare books and special collections—to active Columbia affiliates only, and by appointment only. If you wish to use rare books or special collections material, please contact us at least one week in advance at starr@library.columbia.edu to discuss your needs and set up your appointment. In addition, we will now also start a new rare books and special collections service in the form of reference scanning. If you cannot come to the library, and know what you need for your research, you can contact us at starr@library.columbia.edu and request low resolution imaging of rare books and special collections materials. We can only provide this service on a limited basis, and will not be able to provide more than 30 pages per request. This service is for personal research purposes only. High resolution imaging, for a fee, will continue to be handled by the libraries’ Preservation & Digital Conversion Division.

Use of the Japanese and Korean databases that are only available from the dedicated terminals in our library will be treated as a special collection service, by appointment only,  and will therefore follow the same procedure, i.e. contact us at least one week ahead of time at starr@library.columbia.edu. A librarian will get in touch to schedule an appointment with you, and will send you a confirmation email to show to the library staff member at the front door, as proof that you are expected. The staff member will notify the librarian of your arrival, and the librarian will assist you further.

Please note that the above services—like most of our current services (except for seat reservations, which are for current students only) are for current students, faculty, and staff only. We cannot, at this time, accept either visits or requests from any other categories of users. Be sure to periodically monitor the Library Services Updates page. Any service changes and expansions will be posted there as they happen. All on-site visits have a limit of 2 hours maximum.

Feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about our library and services.