Offsite Library Shelving Facility (ReCAP)

Offsite Library Shelving Facility (ReCAP)


Off-site Library Shelving Facility (ReCAP)

ReCAP is Columbia University Libraries' off-campus shelving facility.  ReCAP is short for Research Collections and Preservation Consortium.  Columbia University operates ReCAP jointly with Harvard University, Princeton University and New York Public Library.  

CUL has accessioned more than 5.7 million books and archives at ReCAP.  On average 250,000 new accessions are currently sent every year.  Transferring to ReCAP allows CUL to accommodate new acquisitions, provide larger study spaces and better preserve historical collections.

In Fall 2017, the original three ReCAP partners launched a Shared Collection Service and CUL added more than 7 million new items from the Princeton University and New York Public Library collections to its CLIO catalog. This expanded access provides seamless discovery and direct request of the ReCAP materials of all partners.

In Fall 2021, Harvard University's collections at ReCAP and the Harvard Deposity joined the Shared Collection. 3.6 million additional items are now requestable for scan or delivery in CLIO.

Access for Faculty, Students and Staff

  • Both physical and electronic delivery are free of charge
  • All actvie students, faculty and staff with active borrowing privileges may request physical deliveries from the shared collections of Columbia, Princeton, and the New York Public Library
  • CU alumni may need to re-activate their UNI and pay for borrowing privileges by sending email to lio@columbia.edu
  • Materials will generally be available within 1-2 business days of request
  • If not affiliated with Columbia University, contact the Library Information Office at lio@columbia.edu or (212) 854-7309

Electronic Document Delivery (EDD)

  • Staff will scan a small portion of a work, in keeping with the Scan & Deliver Terms of Service
  • Please click on the blue "Scan" hyperlink in CLIO to initiate a request

Physical Delivery

  • Please click on the blue "Pick-Up" hyperlink in CLIO to initiate a request
  • Choose a service desk of your choice for convenience