Avery Classics Collection
The Avery Classics Collection is the rare book collection of Avery Library and one of the largest architectural rare book collections in the world. Its strengths reflect the Library's original subject scope, established by Avery's founders in 1890: architecture, archaeology, urbanism and the decorative arts.
Avery Classics contains approximately 35,000 printed volumes published over seven centuries, from Leon Battista Alberti’s De re aedificatoria (1485) to the recent limited edition volume, Olafur Eliasson’s Your House (2006). The Classics collection also has important holdings of graphic suites, periodicals, manuscripts, broadsides, photographs, and printed ephemera.
Search our collections in Columbia University's library catalog, CLIO. Some of our materials are also available via the Digital Library Collections site.
Research in our collections is by appointment only. Avery Classics collections do not circulate and can only be used in the Avery Classics Reading Room.
You must create a Special Collections Research Account to request to see materials in the Avery Classics Reading Room. You will need to provide a current address, email, telephone number, and other contact information. Upon your first visit, you will need to validate your account in-person with a government issued photo identification or a Columbia ID.
Once you have created your Special Collections Research Account, you will be able to request materials.
All items must be requested ahead of your visit. Turnaround times will vary depending on the materials requested as offsite materials may take up to 3 days to arrive on campus. Please note that readers are limited to 5 items per appointment.
- from the CLIO online library catalog record: click on "Request: Special Collections" on the right side of the page
Once you have followed the steps to request materials, you will be prompted to schedule a date for your request. Your appointment is not confirmed until you receive email confirmation from Avery Classics staff.
- No food or drink is allowed in the reading room.
- Pencils or laptops only are permitted for note-taking.
- Bags, coats, and umbrellas must be checked with the reading room attendant.
- You may be asked to wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling materials.
A number of Avery Classics materials are available online through the Digital Libraries Collections portal and the Internet Archive. Users can also access online exhibitions delving into topics such as viewbooks and architectural ephemera. Learn more and explore Avery Classics' Collections.
Study Images
At the discretion of the assistant in the Classics collections, readers may photograph items for personal reference. Use of tripods and flash is prohibited.
Copyright
It is the patron's responsibility to clear all rights for works of art protected by copyright.
Citing our Collections
In all cases images of Avery Classics collection materials should be properly cited. A full citation includes Avery's credit line :
Avery Classics, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Dylan C. Rosenlieb
Library Assistant V
- Avery Library
Lena Newman
Special Collections Librarian
- Avery Library
CLASSES AND TOURS
We welcome requests from faculty for classes and tours. Please email us with your request: avery-classics@library.columbia.edu.
Past classes have focused on topics ranging from Renaissance architectural treatises to New York City land maps to Modernism in Print. We are happy to help you to develop sessions relevant to your syllabus.
Exhibition Loans and Digital Imaging
Avery's collections are often requested for exhibitions. For general information on borrowing collection materials from Columbia University Libraries, please review Guidelines for Borrowing Materials for Exhibition. For Avery-specific details and information, visit the Exhibition Loans and Digital Imaging page and send additional questions to the avery-classics@library.columbia.edu.
Avery's Digital Imaging Services creates high-resolution image files from our collections for purposes of supporting teaching, research, and scholarship based on feasibility of the request and safety of materials. Please note that photography may not be available or possible due to the physical condition of objects.
Before starting a digital imaging order, researchers must physically identify the item within our collections. Please provide the title, publication date, and call number of the item. Reference images of the page or plate are helpful. Photographic and/or reproduction fees may be charged for an image request.