Booklets, Guides and Campus Viewbooks
The following is only a selection of websites and documents available online which can help you learn about the history of the University. You can find the original paper copies and additional resources by searching in the library's online catalog CLIO.
Thomas, Milton Halsey. King's College building with some notes on its later tenants. New York 1955.
A history of the first building for the College of the Province of New-York or King's College, which was in use from 1759 to 1857. The booklet also includes drawings, diagrams, area maps and a photograph of the site after demolition had commenced in 1857.
Views of Columbia College: Madison and Park Avenues, 49th and 50th Streets. New York: Library Bureau, 1886
This booklet contains photographs of the Columbia College buildings on Madison and Park Avenues between 49th and 50th Street. This was Columbia's second of its three homes. The photos include the exteriors of the buildings (Hamilton Hall, School of Mines) and some of the interiors (Library, Collections Building).
An official guide to Columbia University. New York: Columbia University Press, Lemcke and Buechner, Agents, 1912.
Prepared as a guide to visitors, this booklet includes a history of the University, facts and figures, and a walking tour guide to the campus on Morningside Heights. It includes photographs of the buildings on campus and information about the curriculum and student organizations. It also includes information on Barnard College, Teachers College, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, College of Pharmacy and Camp Columbia.
This brochure is mostly comprised of photographs of the buildings on the Morningside Heights campus, but also includes some artistic renderings of buildings not yet built and a floor plan of one level of Low Memorial Library. It includes some brief information on degrees offered and the various schools for prospective students.
A detailed guide to the buildings on the new Morningside Heights campus. This brochure includes drawings of the new buildings, floor plans and directories for each of the floors.
Columbia University. Dedication of the New Site. Morningside Heights. Saturday, the second of May, 1896.
A commemorative program for the dedication of the new campus on Morningside Heights. It includes the morning and afternoon exercise programs as well as a history of the two previous University sites and information about the new site in Morningside Heights.
Columbia University photo-gravures. Columbia University Press Book Store. Brooklyn: The Albertype Co., 1920.
A collection of photographs of the buildings and features of the Morningside Heights campus ca. 1920. The booklet also includes views of Broadway, Barnard College and Teachers College.
Columbia University in the City of New York: Photographic Studies. Columbia University, 1920.
A collection of photographic views of the campus taken at different times of the day, capturing different moods and perspectives by a number of photographers.
Columbia University. South Hall, Columbia University, New York. Columbia University, 1935.
Prepared after the dedication of South Hall (now known as Butler Library), this booklet details the features and equipment of the new Library, including information on the artificial illumination, ventilation/heating and the stacks. It also details the moving process from Low Library. Contains images of the Library's exterior and interior spaces as well as detailed floor plans.
Alumni Federation of Columbia University of New York. Columbia's War Work. New York, Sherwood Printing Co., 1918.
This booklet documents Columbia's contribution to the WWI efforts: from faculty participation to the Students' Army Training Corps (SATC). It includes photographs of the student training on campus.
Columbia University. School of Architecture. Columbia University Press, 1954.
A brochure for prospective architecture students. This booklet includes photographs of the classroom and work spaces as well as samples of student work.
Columbia University in Pictures, edited by Fon W. Boardman.
Columbia University Press, 1954.
A collection of photographs of Columbia "as it is today" in 1953.