We are supporting you remotely! Barnard Library staff are providing remote services, and limited spaces are open only for seating by reservation. See our guide to current Barnard Library services.

Borrowing Policies

Note: The library has updated its policies in relation to COVID-19. More information can be found on the page "Continuing of Select Library Services."

Circulating Collection

Circulating books, zines, and media from Barnard Library and any other circulating Columbia Library may be checked out for a semester with unlimited renewals (please note- renewals can be blocked if the item in question is recalled or requested). These include materials from Barnard Library’s general collections, including the zine collection and the Barnard BIPOC Alum Collection.

Course Reserves

All Course Reserves can be checked out for 2 hours at a time. Course Reserves cannot be renewed. Red dot (closed copy) course reserves may go out until 10:00 AM the following morning if checked out 2 hours before closing during weekdays, and may go out until 10 AM the following morning during weekends. Green dot (open copy) course reserves may go out until 10 AM the next day if checked out after 3 PM during the weekdays. (2 open copy max per user). Starting Friday at Noon, Green dot (open copy) course reserves may go out for the weekend and are due the following Monday at 10 AM.

Barnard FLI Library

Materials in the Barnard FLI Library are available for anyone with a UNI to check out for 2 hours.
Barnard and Columbia undergraduate students who self-identify as first-generation and/or low-income may fill out this online form to have additional access. After they fill out this form, we upload their information to a secure server that updates Voyager so that when they check out materials from the Barnard FLI Library they will have a semester-long checkout period with unlimited renewals.

Fine Forgiveness & Transcript/Diploma Blocks

Barnard Library materials do not incur fines; our priority is to support student access to library materials. We forgive all past fines incurred on Barnard Materials before our change in policy (we cannot do so for other Columbia Libraries). If you need to have Barnard Library material fines forgiven (including for transcript/diploma blocks), email us at library@barnard.edu.

If you’d like to contact the Circulation and Help Desk,

You may call us at 212-854-3953 or email us at library@barnard.edu

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Quincy Williams - Student Engagement & Access Services Librarian

BearStor: Barnard items in storage

Around 23,000 items of the Barnard Library collection are in off-site storage. When you find such an item in the catalog, you can place a request for retrieval there. See how it looks below:

How BearStor Works

Please note that users who want to request BearStor items must have Barnard/Columbia accounts that allow access to checking out circulating items.

Requesting and Borrowing Items from Other Collections

Barnard Library users can request and borrow items from other collections through three different services: BorrowDirect, InterLibrary Loan (ILL), and Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP). Learn more about these services on our Request Items page.