Sun, 03 May 2026 11:01:55 +0000

You Won’t Believe What’s Hidden on the Columbia University Bookstore Shelves When you step into the Columbia University Bookstore, it’s easy to expect the usual academic staples—textbooks, scholarly journals, and classic literature. But hidden quietly among the rows of well-known titles is a surprising, almost secret collection that reveals the creative and diverse spirit of one of New York’s oldest academic institutions. What’s tucked away among the shelves is not just rare books or bestsellers, but a few astonishing finds that nobody sees every day. ### A Secret Nook of Literary Gems One of the most unexpected discoveries lurking behind the student favorites is a section dedicated to rare and out-of-print Columbia University Press books—volumes that chronicle forgotten chapters of local history, early campus life, and pioneering academic research. These lesser-known titles include 19th-century campus yearbooks, limited editions from Columbia’s Nobel laureates, and anthropological studies by faculty members whose work shaped modern social sciences.