Orientation and NSOP Schedule Books

The Orientation Booklets’ collection contains the publications distributed to the new students at Barnard College. The earliest examples were assembled by students to welcome the freshmen to campus. These guides include glossaries to campus terms and traditions: from the school mascot, the Jake, Greek Games, snack bars to used bookstores and coffee shops in the neighborhood. They also include a directory of the incoming class: student names and home addresses. Some of the guides include advertisements from neighborhood merchants and student associations. There are also supplemental publications describing the neighborhood or teaching students how to determine the cross-streets. By the 1970s Barnard and Columbia combine their orientation program and the official guides – no longer a student publication – list all of the events and information sessions for new students on both campuses. The publications include campus maps and are also supported by ads. By the 1990s there are two separate schedule books: one for first-years and one for transfer students. From the late 1990s, there are copies of an additional publication aimed at the parents of new students.