St. Mark’s Library and Burke Library (Directions & Hours) at Union Theological Seminary have had reciprocal borrowing privileges for time immemorial. The agreement has been in place for such a long time that the original paperwork has been lost to the dustbins of history. In 2004, Union transferred its library holdings to Columbia and Burke is now part of the Columbia University Library System. This makes using library a bit more complicated for the GTS community.
Although there are still some kinks to work out, the directions for obtaining borrowing privileges at Burke Library are posted below. Please note that you may visit Burke with a valid GTS ID, but you will NOT be able to check out books without a Columbia University ID.
1. Make sure you have two forms of ID: a valid GTS ID card (get a sticker for the current semester) and a government issued ID.
2. Go to the Library Information Office (LIO) in Butler Library at Columbia University (Map, Directions & Hours)
3. Pay $20 by personal check, MasterCard, or Visa (no cash) to obtain a Columbia University ID (CU ID)
4. You are now able to borrow items from Burke Library.
Some notes:
-Circulating materials are charged for 28 days.
-The CU ID is valid for one year and can be renewed without an additional fee with valid GTS status. Lost IDs are replaced for a fee.
– Offsite Materials can be paged using a login account, called a UNI, distributed along with the CU ID.
-All overdue fines and lost book charges are the responsibility of the borrowing patron.
If you have any questions, leave a comment so everyone can see the answer.
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It’s really quite easy to get your Columbia library card and go to the Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary. They are close together. I just did mine today, so a couple of comments. The main entrance to the Butler Library at Columbia, where you have to go to get your card, is on the inside quad side of the building. The map of Columbia on their website looks like the entrance is on 114th st.
Also, when you search CLIO for things at the Burke Library, the designation “offsite” means that the item is stored in New Jersey. They are happy to retrieve it for you, but it takes at least 24 hours. Before you waste a trip to Union, check this out. You can submit a request on line through their library website to have the item retrieved. After the item arrives, they will hold it for you and contact you via e-mail to set up an appointment to look at it.
Sean