Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, located in Avery Hall, collects books and periodicals in architecture, historic preservation, art history, painting, sculpture, graphic arts, decorative arts, city planning, real estate, and archaeology. It is the largest library of architecture in the US, with more than 400,000 volumes, most of which are non-circulating. The Ware collection, focused on urban planning and related fields, does circulate. Avery is often preferred over Butler for its relatively abundant sunlight and more serene space. Art History majors in particular gravitate there.
Its reading rooms are very quiet, including one on the lower level designated for graduate study (though I've never seen an undergraduate kicked out). There's a strict prohibition against food and drinks here that's more stringently enforced than in other libraries, but there's a cafe in the basement of Avery Hall called Brownie's that you can reach by taking the stairs just outside the library's entrance.
The library rarely has any room on the photogenic top floor, but cubicles and large tables can be found on the lower levels. You can sneak into the architecture library, although it closes early.
External links
| Columbia University Libraries |
| Avery (Architecture & Fine Arts) • Business & Economics • Butler • Engineering • Geology • Geoscience • Health Sciences • Journalism • Law School • Lehman Social Sciences • Mathematics Library • Music & Arts • Science & Engineering • Social Work • Starr East Asian |
| Affiliated Libraries |
| Barnard College • Burke (UTS) • Jewish Theological • Teachers College |
| Special Collections and Programs |
|
Digital Humanities Center (formerly Electronic Text Service) • Digital Social Science Center • Oral History Research Office • Rare Book & Manuscript • University Archives |
