Alumni Make the Most of Their Library Benefits

Columbia at Home Draws Biggest Audience with Alumni Library Resource Seminar

Nothing, it appears, can keep the Columbia community from its libraries. 

Recently, I had the pleasure to host what was expected to be a cozy, for book-nerds only Columbia Alumni library webinar. The director of the Science, Engineering & Social Sciences libraries, Amanda Bielskas, kindly agreed to craft together a 40-minute introductory boot camp for alums. She’d walk our community through the practicalities of gaining library credentials and offer tips for getting efficient search results out of the diverse and amazing collections available at Columbia University. 

Being a professional analyst and researcher, I personally couldn’t wait. But let’s be honest. A chat about libraries is not the usual Columbia Alumni glitzy affair featuring Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners: I figured 20 people would attend. At most. 

But I failed to consider that this is Columbia University. Nobody winds up here unless they’re passionate about one idea or another. So, once word got out that the alumni association would be offering powerful tools to stoke our community’s intellectual passions, the response was overwhelming. 

Attendees to the virtual event reached 725. We easily fielded more than 130 questions. For me, it was the largest audience I had presented to in years. 

In hindsight, the interest in Columbia’s collections makes sense: There are 14 libraries, 22 million available books, and digital assets. Parts of the collection date back to the 2nd millennium BCE. Amanda’s presentation made it clear that Columbia’s libraries give us all the best chance to be the best version of ourselves.

Below is a list of best practices to access the full range of resources available to all alumni. By all means, if I’ve missed something—or you have any questions or ideas—just direct-message me on the Online Alumni Community board. 

I am happy to direct and host as needed.

I: What’s Available to Columbia Alumni?

Not surprisingly, the University places most assets available to alumni in a single web location. Here you will find a clearly laid out virtual space containing visitor information, access and circulation privileges, plus all the needed health and user guidelines for a safe visit. 

The needed credentials for an in-person visit can be arranged at the Library Information Office in Butler Library, Room 201. Borrowing privileges are available for $30 a month. But hefty fines do apply. Trust me, overborrowing does not pay. And no, alumni cannot enter the lottery for a Butler library locker. 

The alumni web space also lays out the available free e-resources. Access is brokered through the Columbia UNI account. (More on that in a moment.) Here alumni will find deep collections on business information, the humanities, and news and current events. 

Similar to the brick-and-mortar libraries, the e-collection is vast and not readily searched from a single search engine. Instead, differing resources must be explored individually. Interested in pursuing recent peer-reviewed papers on various topics? Click on the Academic Search Primer. Or if business information is more your interest, try the Proquest ABI/Inform Complete. 

Quick-Start Tip: I like to check in with the JSTOR Scholarly Archive. Simply enter some keywords or topics of interest. The image search and ebook archive is especially deep. Terms of service are flexible, assuming proper citation and referencing. 

II: Which Libraries Are Open and To Whom?

Currently, due to COVID-19, access is limited to Butler Library. In theory, however, all the major libraries are available for in-person access to alumni. Though, there are some permanent restrictions at the Law School, Teachers College, and Health Science Libraries. 

However, a major caveat applies: actual visiting hours and libraries open to alumni can change as conditions merit. 

I’m afraid there’s no shortcut to checking in on the available visiting hours before you make the trip to campus. Double-check with the Visitor’s page and the Library Status Updates to confirm your visit meets current guidelines. 

As of the posting of this story:

• Only Butler Library is open to visitors. 
• Cloth masks are no longer allowed. Only fiber disposable surgical masks are considered safe. Please consult with the CDC's latest guidelines of face coverings. 
• Butler Cafe is open. However, eating is strictly prohibited in library spaces. Drinks must be in spill-proof containers.
• Beginning February 28, visitors will be required to present proof of a booster vaccination in compliance with the University’s booster vaccination mandate.

Insider’s Tip: In-person visits to the extraordinary Rare Book and Manuscript Library can be arranged. Please consult the contact information for the distinctive collections to arrange for access. Keep in mind, you will be sharing access with all external visitors, not just alumni. 

Do be prompt, courteous, and efficient when accessing the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. 

III: How To Get a Columbia UNI?

Access to the computer and e-resources at Columbia University is managed through the “Help with your UNI” page. Here accounts can be activated, credentials can be established and updated, and security features enabled. 

Be sure to follow reasonable security practices for robust passwords and update them at reasonable intervals. 

I found the user experience for gaining UNI access to be reasonable and secure. However, access to the e-resources usually times out after roughly 10 minutes of inactivity. I keep the alumni library access in an easy-to-find bookmark on my browser to speed logins.

Insider’s Tip: In this day and age, there is simply no reason (or excuse) not to enable the two-factor authentication for your Columbia UNI account. Columbia uses the well-tested My Duo protection tool. It keeps your information, and the rest of the Columbia community, safe from malicious use.

IV: Key Research Tools and Their Uses.

Using the e-resources available to alumni feels pretty much like using Columbia’s actual libraries: What’s available is vast. Searching can take a deft touch. One never knows what one will uncover. It’s all part of the fun. 

Here then are my utterly unscientific top-3 research areas and their relevant tools: 

• Business Information: Both the Mergent Online and Business Source Premier offer top-tier financial news and company data. Mergent Online is easy to use and requires no special commands, say as a Bloomberg terminal does. I have found it organizes disparate financial information into well-structured, exportable datasets. 

• Historical Research. Deep assets that document the past are available at the Columbia University Archive, the Cambridge Histories Online, and Project Muse. To me, lifetimes of primary researchable assets are available. I particularly like the Oral History Portal, which leads to droves of eye-witness accounts for major recent events. Great work lies here untouched.

• News and Current Events. Much of the Proquest range of news assets are available. They include general-purpose and targeted news streams, like the Ethnic Newswatch, GenderWatch and Health Management resources. If your Google searches are feeling a bit thin, take your topic area here. Fresh perspectives await. 

Hidden Gems: Over the years I have found various resources are available to alumni that are not centrally linked in the main Alumni Page. Here are my top picks, for those hardcore researchers who stuck with me through this entire story:

• GIS and Spatial Data: A surprising amount of spatial and digital mapping data is available.  Expertise in geographical information systems is required. But the resources are robust
• Theological and Religious Data: The divine works in strange and subtle ways. The alumni access to this collection of ecumenically themed resources is clearly one of them. 

Finally, my handy go-to tool when wrestling with a new topic, is to explore the libraries via Columbia’s powerful Research and Topic Guides. These well laid guides organize the vast collection by theme. 

A few clicks should lead to easy-to-navigate areas of interest, with relevant works, and access to the most important library asset of all: The relevant librarian. I have found the librarians at the Columbia Library to be well informed and happy to share their knowledge. 

Be warned: Alumni privileges are often gated for off-campus access to some resources, for remote access cough through from the Library’s Alumni Page. But usually access to most assets can be arranged, with some planning and an onsite visit.