Visitor's Guide
Contact Information  Location  Directions  Hours  
Doing Research in Archives & Special Collections  Fees & Permissions

Contact Information

• Phone: (212) 305-7931
• Fax: (212) 305-6097
• Email: hslarchives@columbia.edu

By mass transit: The A, C, and 1 subway trains stop at the 168th Street station on Broadway, one block east of the Health Sciences Library. All four lines have stops at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 41st Street and Pennsylvania Station at 34th Street. In addition, the A train stops at the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal at 178th Street. The M4 bus stops at the corner of 168th Street and Fort Washington Avenue.

By car: The Columbia University Medical Center is conveniently located near the George Washington Bridge, Henry Hudson Parkway and other major highways. See the Map for more details.

Parking: The New York-Presbyterian Hospital maintains a parking garage at 165th Street and Fort Washington Avenue, just three blocks south of the library.

To better serve our patrons, it is always best to call or email us first before visiting. Researchers planning to work with manuscript or archival material should always call in advance to discuss their research topic with a staff member. Many requests, especially genealogical requests, may not require a visit and can be answered by departmental staff by letter or email.

University administrators and staff members needing information or records from the Columbia University Medical Center Archives should also call first with their request. Staff members will try to locate the information or documents first, before asking you to make a visit.

Because of the rare or unique nature of the materials in Archives & Special Collections, researchers will be asked to follow the regulations below. Only in this way can our holdings be preserved for the use of future generations.

• All coats and bags must be checked.
• Be prepared to present photo identification.
• Materials must be paged by a staff member, and must be used in the Archives & Special Collections Reading Room.
• Only pencils are permitted.
• Materials may only be photocopied by a staff member. The Department reserves the right to refuse photocopying if it might damage the material, overburden department staff or violate U.S. Copyright Law.
• Permission to publish or reproduce materials in Archives & Special Collections must be applied for separately.
• Please review our Access Policies: General for detailed information.

Photographic Reproductions

• Fees for the reproduction of still images from Archives & Special Collections are set by the Columbia University Center for Biomedical Communications. Click here for fee schedule.

Photocopies

• Photocopy fees are .20/page for black & white, .80/page for color. For mail orders there is a $5.00 handling and postage charge.
• Archives & Special Collections reserves the right to add an additional fee for unusually large or difficult photocopy requests.

Digital Reproductions

Source Document	Columbia/NYPH (does not include Weill-Cornell students or faculty)	Non-Columbia U.
4x5 b&w negative 4x5 transparency 35mm slide photographic print (8x10 or smaller)	$10	$20
object: book, manuscript, drawing, etc .	$1/page	$2/page
Copy of existing file	$5	$15

There is a $5 handling and postage charge for all orders. All scanning is done to CDs (included in price). TIFF is the default file format; researchers must indicate alternate formats, if desired. Scanning is done at 600 dpi.

Turn-around time is 1-5 days depending on size and complexity of the order and the department's workload. Expedited orders are possible for an additional fee to be negotiated.

Permission Fees

PUBLICATION POLICY AND FEES

To arrange for the publication of materials held by Archives & Special Collections, a request-to-publish letter must be sent to the Head of the department. This letter must contain the following:

• information about the forthcoming publication, including format - print, audio-visual or electronic/digital - title, expected date of publication, and name of author
  
  
• name and contact information of publisher
  
  
• information about the item(s) to be published, including name of author or creator, name of collection, date of creation, and page or item numbers, where available.

The letter will be acknowledged by Archives & Special Collections with a copy of the department's Permission to Publish form which must be completed and returned with the permission fee.

The following fees are for non-University users. All permission is for non-exclusive, world-wide rights for a single edition in a single format and a single language for five years. Fees for reuse, or for use in other editions or media, must be negotiated separately and in writing. Permission is for physical rights to the material; users may have to negotiate copyright separately with the copyright holder. Non-profit entities should be prepared to show proof of non-profit status.

Reduced fees may be negotiated in cases of extensive use of Archives and Special Collections materials.

All items published must be identified as being from "Archives & Special Collections, Health Sciences Library, Columbia University."

All fees are per image. Payment must be received in advance of publication.

I. STILL IMAGES

Books & Periodicals
Dissertations & Theses	$0
Academic & Non-Profit (501C3) Presses: Print run up to 5,000 (If run is greater than 5,000 commercial rates apply)	$25
Commercial:
Print Run up to 5,000	$50
Print Run 5,001+	$100
Advertising Brochures, Promotional Materials, Dust Jackets, Album Covers
Academic & Non-Profit (501C3) Presses: Print run up to 5,000 (If run is greater than 5,000 commercial rates apply)	$50
Commercial:
Print Run up to 5,000	$100
Print Run 5,001+	$250
Electronic Publication (CD-ROM/DVD)
Same as print publication, including additional fees for use on cover or packaging as above
Internet/Online
Dissertation	$0
501C3	$25 per image
Personal use	$50 per image
All other	$100 per image

Exhibitions
	Up to 1 Year	Permanent Exhibit
Commercial	$100	$150
Non-Profit (501C3)	0	$ 50
Use in brochure, publicity material
Commercial	$50
Non-Profit	$30
Use in catalog or poster: same as fee schedule for books and periodicals.

Television/Cable/Satellite Broadcast
Local	$100
National	$125
Worldwide	$200
Feature Films/Videos
Commercial Film	$150
Educational/Non-theatrical	$ 50

II. MOVING IMAGES

$250 per image, per minute, per medium. After one (1) minute, time is pro-rated in 15 second intervals at $67.50 per quarter minute. Minimum payment $250.

Arrangements for filming within individual libraries must be made in advance and may involve a fee to cover staff time.

III. ONSITE COMMERCIAL FILMING

For charges and procedures contact the Manager of Special Events and Commercial Filming at:
     B-230 East Campus
     Columbia University
     410 West 118th Street, Mail Code 3413
     New York, NY 10027
     (212) 854-8607 Fax: (212) 854-1955

WAIVERS

Publication fees for images or excerpts are waived for current Columbia University faculty, staff members and students. If a whole or nearly whole work is to be published or if more than 40 illustrations are required, a royalty arrangement should be negotiated.

METHODS OF PAYMENT

Invoices will be sent with the Permission to Publish form. The following methods of payment may be used:

1. Checks drawn on American banks or on branches of foreign banks located in the United States and payable in U.S. dollars to Columbia University

2. Credit cards: MasterCharge or Visa, only. Please send card number, name as it appears on the card, expiration date, and authorize charge with your signature either by letter or by fax.

Please enclose with your payment the original signed copy of the Archives & Special Collections' Permission to Publish form.