• Is the Department of Drawings & Archives open to the public?
• Do I need an appointment?
• How do I make an appointment?
• What should I bring with me?
• When are you open?
• Where are you located?
• Are all of your collections located on-site?
• What does "in process" mean on your collections list? May I still see that collection?
• May I borrow items to view in another part of the library or to consult at home?
• How much of your collection is digitized?
• What is your mailing address?

• What kinds of materials do you collect?
• How do I know if you have what I'm looking for?
• If I give you an address, can you tell me if you have drawings for the building?
• Is a call number from CLIO enough information for you to retrieve a project?
• Do you have drawings for/by/from…?
  • Columbia University?
  • McKim, Mead & White?
  • Carrère & Hastings?
  • Empire State Building?
  • Frank Lloyd Wright?
  • Le Corbusier?
  • Olmsted Bros. or other landscape architects?
• Do you offer research services?
• Where else can I find the research material I need?
• Is it possible that no archive exists for a particular architect or firm?

• What are the guidelines if I want to publish items from Avery?
• How can I get copies of material from Avery?
• May I bring a camera?
• May I bring a portable scanner?

• Do you accept donations to the Department of Drawings & Archives?

Yes. We welcome serious researchers, regardless of affiliation, to view our collection of primary source materials for the study of architecture. When you set up an appointment, we will ask if you have a Columbia University ID. If you don't, we will authorize a temporary Columbia University Libraries Reader's Card for you to pick up at the Library Information Office in Butler Library. This temporary pass will also allow you to access the books and periodicals in Avery Library for that day.

Please call (212) 854-4110 or send an e-mail to
avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.

You must show a Columbia University ID card or CUL Reader's Card to enter Avery Library. If you are not a Columbia affiliate, please see Is the Department of Drawings & Archives open to the public?.

You should also bring pencils (no pens) and notepaper. You may bring a laptop and a digital or film camera (no flash and no tripod—see May I bring a camera?). We provide power outlets, Ethernet ports, and wireless Internet access. Outerwear, backpacks, purses, bags, and other large items must be stored in our cubby storage while you are using the collections.

See our Hours Calendar.

The Department of Drawings & Archives is in the Wallach Study Center for Art & Architecture on the 200-level of Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library on Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus. Check the Interactive Map of Morningside Campus and Walking Instructions to Avery Library for more guidance.

No. The majority of our collections is currently housed at Avery Library, but a portion of our 20th-century materials is held in Columbia's ReCAP facility in New Jersey. Readers will be notified of off-site holdings through our collections list and the detailed guide for each collection. Drawings & Archives staff will arrange for off-site material to be delivered to the department in time for appointments.

"In Process" indicates that a collection is not yet properly inventoried. In some cases, readers may use portions of the collection. Please check with Drawings & Archives staff for information about the status and availability of these collections. Look for “In Process” notes in our collections list.

Only a few collections have been digitized at this time. We are adding sample digital images from many of our collections to individual collection overview pages linked from the collections list on our website. Given the quantity and sizes of materials in our collections, it's not practical for us to digitize everything.

A good place to start is by browsing our Drawings & Archives collections list. This list includes names of nearly all of our collections, generally titled by architect or firm name, with an indication of how each collection may be searched. Many of our major holdings have collection- and project-level records in CLIO, Columbia Libraries' Online Catalog. Researchers are advised to search CLIO by building and/or architect name(s) for the best results. This is especially important if you don't see the name you're researching on our collections list; we may indeed have materials by or about that architect or firm, but held within another collection. For more information on searching CLIO, see also question 15. Please send an email to avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu if you need further assistance.

We will best be able to help you if you know the original architect and client for the project that you are researching. Our collections list provides a comprehensive overview of our holdings, with the most current information available online. For additional guidance on conducting architectural and archival research, please see question 18.

We will most easily be able to help you when you know the collection name and titles of the specific materials you’re interested in. CLIO has both collection-level and project-level records; click on the center "Full View" tab in CLIO to see the most complete information available. For project records, the "Full View" in CLIO may include item-level descriptions and accession numbers of individual drawings, as in this example.

...Columbia University buildings?

Yes, but most of our drawings are for the Morningside Heights campus. See our collections list.

...McKim, Mead & White?

Yes, we do have a small collection. See our collections list.

...Carrère & Hastings?

Yes, we do have a small grouping of materials. See our collections list. However, most of the papers from the office of Carrère and Hastings were lost when the firm closed in 1929.

...the Empire State Building?

Yes, we have a large group of ESB materials and many of the photographs from the collection have been digitized. See our collections list.

...Frank Lloyd Wright?

Yes, but primarily for Fallingwater. See our collections list.

...Le Corbusier?

Yes, but only a very small grouping. See our collections list.

...Olmsted Bros. or other landscape architects?

Yes, when associated with architectural work. Drawings for landscapes are sometimes included in the files of drawings for the built aspects of a specific project. We do not separate landscape drawings from architectural collections, so you will find these materials listed with the drawings and papers of the architect associated with the project on which the landscape architect worked.

Be sure to check our collections list for “See also” references to find specifically-related archival materials in collections at Columbia. Additionally, our CLIO records for catalogued collections include added names and subjects, so be sure to do a thorough search in CLIO for your desired name or term. Also look for "Related Holdings in Other Institutions" links on the collections list.

We also list many other significant architectural archives and general related resources on our Architectural Archives: Other Resources page.

You must request permission to publish an image of any item in our collection, and a fee may be involved. For more detailed information and instructions, see Columbia University Libraries Publication and Digital Reproduction Policy and Procedures. We strongly recommend that you obtain necessary permissions before ordering reprography for publication from the Department of Drawings & Archives. Please note that permission fees do not include reprographic fees.

1. Print photographs or digital files may be ordered; please refer to Avery's Photographic Services and Fees.
2. Photocopies of loose manuscript material and some types of photographs may be ordered through Drawings & Archives' Reading Room staff at a cost of 20 cents a page and $14.00 an hour for labor.
3. Additional reprographic options may be available for architects and building owners seeking copies of drawings to use for historic preservation.

Please note: Reprographic charges do not include permisson fees. All images ordered through the Department of Drawings & Archives may be used for study purposes only and may not be used for publication without permission from Avery Library. See Columbia University Libraries Publication and Digital Reproduction Policy and Procedures.

Yes. You are welcome to bring your own film or digital camera. Permission to photograph items must be obtained from Drawings & Archives staff as items in the collection may be photographed only if their condition permits. Tripods and use of flash are not allowed. These images may be used for study purposes only and must not be used for publication. See Columbia University Libraries Publication and Digital Reproduction Policy and Procedures

Yes. Many of our collections have arrived as donations from architectural firms and from individual architects and their family members. We also appreciate hearing from researchers who, during the course of their work, have located privately-held archives that might be available for donation. Because our collection covers a broad range of firms and subjects, we hope that anyone with questions about donations will email an inquiry to avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu.