Guide to Current Barnard Library Services

Barnard and Columbia University Libraries staff are collaborating to support Barnard and Columbia affiliates’ access to services and materials in person and remotely for courses, research, organizing, and enjoyment. We will share and update information here as we all evolve our practices and support for each other. For more information about all Columbia University Libraries, visit the Columbia University Libraries Status Updates page.

Barnard Library staff welcome you back!

Face masks are still required for everyone (even if you're vaccinated) in all Barnard buildings, including Barnard Library. If you are eating or drinking indoors, put your mask on immediately afterwards.

CU/BC ID Swipe is now required to enter the Milstein Center building; please visit Accessing Barnard Campus for more information about whether and how you can access campus. Currently-affiliated students, staff, and faculty of Barnard and Columbia have swipe access to the Milstein Center during Library Service Hours.

Services during Barnard Library Service Hours include:

• Stacks open on all floors (2, 3, 4, and in the Digital Humanities Center): you may pick up books from the shelves to browse and check out, and you may also continue to use the Pick-Up service from the links in CLIO to request that we pull and hold an available item for you at the Circulation & Help Desk (Pick-Up continues to take between 3-5 days)
• Circulation & Help Desk open on 2nd floor (Virtual Circulation & Help Desk continues to connect you with us from anywhere)
• Study spaces open on floors 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5
• Return materials either to the book bins outside of Barnard Library at the Milstein Center and outside all other open Columbia University Libraries or to the Circulation & Help Desk during open hours
• HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS) has ended*

*While our library locations were fully or partially closed and we were unable to circulate physical books and other materials, HathiTrust ETAS made more than 40% of our print titles available in digital form to Columbia students, faculty, and staff. As we resume providing access to our print collection, the conditions for the fair use of digital copies of these materials end and so does our access to this service. More information about ETAS can be found here.

Our current services are detailed below.

• Virtual Circulation & Help Desk chat with Barnard Library Access Services during Library Service Hours.

  The circulation and help desk is online now - ask us a question!

  Chat is offline until we reopen. Want to reach out? Email us at library@barnard.edu.

  We will be back soon! Please check back or email us at library@barnard.edu.

  We will be back soon! Please check back or email us at library@barnard.edu.!

• Ask-A-Librarian at the virtual reference service staffed by Barnard and Columbia University Librarians.
• Distance learning assistance by IMATS.
• Course Materials access by Barnard Library Access Services, including the Barnard FLI Partnership Library.
• Research support through consultations and instruction sessions by Personal Librarians.
• Research and teaching support on the Guide to Remote Library Services.
• Archival materials access by Barnard Library Archives & Special Collections.
• Zine access and research support by the Barnard Zine Library.

• Floors 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 of the Barnard Library at the Milstein Center are open; seating is first-come first-served with no reservations, and study rooms are available to students by reservation.
• Columbia University Libraries are also open. Find out more from Columbia University Libraries Status Updates.

   

• Barnard Library circulating collections are available for in-person circulation and for Pick-Up request.
• In-Person Checkout: Barnard Library stacks and Circulation & Help Desk on the 2nd Floor are open during open hours.
• Pick-Up Request: Eligible items will have a “Pick-Up” link in the CLIO record. Barnard Library materials will be held for you at Barnard Library, and you'll receive an email when they are ready for you to pick up. Please refer to the Columbia University Libraries Pick-Up Service page for details.
• Barnard Library regularly circulating materials have unlimited renewals (log into your account from CLIO) and do not incur fines.
• Materials can be returned to the Barnard Library bookdrop in front of the Milstein Center, to any Columbia University Library bookdrop, to the Barnard Library Circulation & Help Desk on the 2nd Floor during open hours, or to any other open Columbia University Library.
• If you have left or are leaving the New York City area permanently and cannot return Barnard Library materials to a library or bookdrop, please email library@barnard.edu to make other arrangements.

• Scanning of single chapters or articles is available from the Barnard Library collection. Eligible items will have a “Scan” link in the CLIO record. Reproductions of small portions will be made in accordance with the Terms of Service. For scans of Archival material, visit the Barnard Library Archives Service Changes page.
• Students, access eresources on Course Reserve through Canvas or see other options on our Course Materials page. There are no print Course Reserves at this time.
• Faculty, support student access to resources through Course Reserves with the steps on our guide to Faculty Guide to Course Reserves & the Barnard FLI Partnership Library. Once you complete the request form, the Barnard Library Course Reserves Team will be in touch with details.
• Access Barnard Digital Archives. Visit the Barnard Library Archives Service Changes page.
• Access Barnard Zine Library. Visit the Barnard Zine Library Covid-19 Research Services page.
• Read, watch, and listen online. We continue to build collections to support our communities remotely: you can see these lists on our Barnard Intersectional Feminist EBook Reading List, streaming media on Kanopy and Swank, in our eaudiobook collection, and in our growing Open Access resources collection. And you can search CLIO for eresources including databases, digital archives, ebooks, films, and audio across the Columbia University Libraries.

For questions not answered here, please email library@barnard.edu, or, during open hours, chat with us at the Barnard Library Virtual Circulation & Help Desk.