C. Benton Kline, JR. Special Collections & Archives

Reference services and on-demand digitization for the C. Benton Kline, Jr. Special Collections and Archives are currently available on a limited basis. If digitization is not sufficient for research needs, researchers—including, but not limited to, current Columbia faculty, students, and staff—can make reservations to view materials in the Special Collections Reading Room, Monday–Friday, 9am–4pm.

For appointments and inquiries, please contact the public services archivist by phone at 404-687-4628 or by email at archives@ctsnet.edu.

• Archives Catalog
• Digital Collections
• Archives Policies & Procedures
• Archives FAQ

A note on access: The policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is to restrict access to all official denomination records on deposit that are less than 50 years old. If researchers wish to access these records, we require that they secure written permission from the records’ owners. If you believe this restriction will affect your research, please contact us for further instructions prior to visiting.

The Archives curates rotating physical exhibits in the display case in the main library reading room. These can be seen digitized along with other digital exhibits below.

• A Century of Change: The Presidents of Columbia Theological Seminary
• Celebrating the Beauty, Brilliance, and Boldness of Being Black

The below timeline was constructed over the course of a year by Courtney Anne Henry, a 2024 MDiv/MAPT student.  This timeline is the beginning of an ongoing project to document the invisible history of queer people and their experiences at CTS—all information that Courtney was able to gather is contained within, and she knows (and we know) there is more to tell.  Many stories are still missing, and new history is always being made.  If you have information about the history of queer people at CTS that you would like to see added to the timeline, please contact the Archives.

• Queer History of Columbia Theological Seminary

The Presbyterian Women History Collection is unique to the C. Benton Kline, Jr. Special Collections & Archives.  Presbyterian Women groups have been submitting annual congregational reports since the 1930s, first to Montreat and later to Columbia Theological Seminary.  Over 5,000 congregations are represented in the collection.

To access the histories, please contact an archivist.

• List of Presbyterian Women Histories by State
• How to Submit a History