The Columbia University Libraries have collected resources on East Asia for a long time. In the early decades of the twentieth century, as an "East Asiatic" collection came into being, the majority of such resources came to be assigned to this collection. 

C.V Starr East Asian Library's western-language collection serves to complement the library's collections in the East Asian languages, and provides access to western-language scholarship on East Asia. Support of teaching and research by the Columbia community is the primary focus of the collection. Subject emphasis has traditionally been on the Humanities, but increasingly also includes selective Social Sciences, with lesser holdings on a number of other subjects. As research and teaching foci shift, the collection scope broadens correspondingly.

In addition to what the Starr Library collects, a substantial number of western-language materials on East Asia can also to be found in other divisions of the Columbia University Libraries; e.g., resources on East Asian business and economics are collected by the Business Library, resources on East Asian international relations are generally in Lehman Library, and East Asian arts are, for the most part, in Avery/Fine Arts Library. CLIO, the online catalog, indicates locations for all resources in the search results.

In recent years we have switched most western-language periodical subscriptions from print to online. Of the remaining print titles, many are processed directly for offsite, while most of the remaining titles are kept on the shelf in the reading room until a volume is complete. Offsite periodical volumes and issues can be requested by patrons, using the request function in the CLIO record. Alternatively, electronic document delivery of specific articles can be requested using the same request link.

Any comments, questions, and suggestions regarding Starr Library's western-language collection can be directed to the East Asian Studies Librarian.

Please refer to the basic Library Research Guide to learn how to use the Columbia University Libraries' resources on East Asian subjects in western languages.