The Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College offers an extensive set of resources and services to meet the needs of faculty and students in all programs of the College. The library staff is dedicated to helping patrons find and use the information that they need for all aspects of their academic work, including remote learning through resources of the library and beyond. Online and on-site services and facilities are provided to encourage the discovery and development of new resources for teaching, learning, and research.
Contact Information
The Gottesman Libraries
Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street, Box 1302 New York, NY 10027
Telephone: (212) 678-3494
The Gottesman Libraries is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive research libraries in education. The scope of its collections reflects the historic commitment to advanced study in education, psychology, and the health professions in their local, national, and international dimensions. Strengths include American elementary and secondary education, and such subject areas as psychology, particularly applied psychology; educational administration; the history and philosophy of education; guidance; special education; higher and adult education; speech and language pathology and audiology; health and nursing education; nutrition; home and family life; curriculum and teaching; communications and computing technology; recreation; and international and comparative education. Research resources in printed, non-printed, and electronic formats include all important reference works; a wide selection of monographs; extensive journals; and major indexing and abstracting services.
The Special Collections provides a broad range of unique resources through its archives, manuscripts, and rare books that are integrated into areas of collecting strength: research, curriculum, juvenile, and Teachers Collegiana. The Teachers College Digital Collections represent institutional history and scholarship in education, psychology, and the applied health sciences, organized into several broad groups, subgroups, and related groups. They include the papers of presidents, faculty, programs, and departments; records of centers, institutes; and projects; historical dissertations; children’s art collections and historical photographs; and much more.
The library’s online site, accessible from the Teachers College homepage, is the focal point for a growing array of library services that support instruction and research at the College. The website combines access to local and remote databases, news and information, and exhibits that showcase the accomplishments and contributions of notable Teachers College persons and programs, particularly as they relate to or are reflected in library collections and archives. Through advances in electronic information resources and global networks, library users have access to an expansive virtual library, providing the means to search and retrieve a growing percentage of the universe of documents and files.
Available from the top page, Educat+, the definitive record of holdings, allows you to search seamlessly for everything in our collection and more: books, media, journals, articles, curriculum, children’ literature, institutional materials, open access resources, and more.
Russell Hall Services
In addition to print and electronic collections in Russell Hall, the library provides reference materials; research guides; online support and real-time text messaging; FAQ, individual research consultation; course-specific library information sessions; workshops on popular topics; and a blog. The library facilitates access to reserve readings; special purchases, interlibrary loans, and scans for personal use.
The library building, Russell Hall, includes bookable individual and group study rooms, wireless internet access, and a full program of free events throughout the year. The Library regularly hosts talks, live musical performances by members of the Teachers College community, art exhibits. and other events. The Everett Café at the library entrance offers beverage and snack services during library hours, in addition to popular reading and ongoing news and book displays.
Students at Teachers College have complete access to the collections of the Columbia University library system, one of the nation’s top academic libraries, comprising thirteen million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, and other materials. These resources are available online at the library website and at libraries located throughout the Columbia campus.