Yale University

The Yale University Library is one of the world’s leading research libraries and a highly valued partner in the teaching and research mission of Yale University and scholarly communities worldwide. It is committed to fostering intellectual growth by collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. One of the Library’s distinctive strengths is its rich spectrum of resources, which include more than 15 million volumes and information in all media, ranging from ancient papyri to early printed books to electronic databases. Housed in 15 libraries, including Sterling Memorial Library, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library and the new Center for Science and Social Science Information. For additional information about the Yale University Library, please visit the Library’s website at www.library.yale.edu.

Specialty

Research university; library system with holdings in many areas.

Collections

Medical Historical Library, Harvey Cushing/ John Hay Whitney Medical Library: http://historical.medicine.yale.edu/ The Medical Historical Library holds one of the country’s largest collections of rare medical books, journals, prints, photographs, and pamphlets. It was founded in 1941 by the donations of the extensive collections of Harvey Cushing, John F. Fulton, and Arnold C. Klebs. Special strengths are the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Vesalius, Boyle, Harvey, Culpeper, Haller, Priestley, and S. Weir Mitchell, and works on anesthesia, and smallpox inoculation and vaccination. The Library owns over fifty medieval and renaissance manuscripts, Arabic and Persian manuscripts, and over 300 medical incunabula. The notable Clements C. Fry Collection of Prints and Drawings has over 2,500 fine prints and drawings, and 4000 American and global health posters, from the 15th century to the present on medical subjects. Although the Historical Library does not house the official archives of the Medical School, it does own a number of manuscript collections, most notably the Peter Parker Collection, papers of Harvey Cushing, and the John Fulton diaries and notebooks. The Library also owns an extensive Smoking advertising collection, and smaller collections of patent medicine ephemera. 

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library: http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/ The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is Yale University’s principal repository for literary papers and for early manuscripts and rare books in the fields of literature, theology, history, and the natural sciences. In addition to its general collection of rare books and manuscripts, the library houses the Yale Collection of American Literature, the Yale Collection of German Literature, the Yale Collection of Western Americana, and the Osborn Collection. The Beinecke collections afford opportunities for interdisciplinary research in such fields as medieval, Renaissance, and eighteenth-century studies, art history, photography, American studies, the history of printing, and modernism in art and literature. Soon, Yale’s Map Collection, one of the largest university map collections in the country, especially strong in pre-1850 maps of the United States, will be relocated to the Beinecke.

Manuscripts and Archives: http://web.library.yale.edu/mssa Collections in Manuscripts and Archives document a wide array of persons, organizations, and subject areas. Many have a strong link to the university, either to the institution itself; to the faculty, students, alumni, and other members of the Yale community; or to areas in which Yale has had strong teaching and research interests. Manuscripts and Archives also works closely with the University Library’s area curators to collect materials with an international focus. Major highlights of the collections include holdings related to the United States, Latin America, South Africa, East Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. For the United States, especially well documented are the fields of social commentary, diplomatic history, legal history, health policy, environmental policy, architecture history, and the history and culture of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders. International collections of note document the history of colonial Latin America, especially Peru and Mexico and the history of southern Africa. Of special note for the Consortium are the following collections, located in these guides: Contemporary Medical Care and Health Policy Collection Subject Guide The Contemporary Medical Care and Health Policy Collection Subject Guide is an annotated list of personal papers and organization records in Manuscripts and Archives which document the development, evolution, and politics of health care and health policy in the United States during the twentieth century. Western Medicine in China, 1800-1950: Guide to Collections at Yale University This guide provides summary information and finding aid links for archival collections on the topic of western medicine in China from the Divinity School Library, Manuscripts and Archives, and the Medical Historical Library, all part of the Yale University Library. The guide was created as part of the collaborative Western Medicine in China, 1800-1950 project.

Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library Special Collections: web.library.yale.edu/arts The Arts Library Special Collections (ALSC) are composed of materials from the former Art+Architecture and Drama libraries, as well as the Arts of the Book Collection. ALSC holdings include contemporary catalogues raisonnés, 18th- and 19th-century works on artists and architecture, a broad selection of fine press and artists’ books, rare research materials in support of these subject areas, and the FaberBirren Collection of Books on Color. In addition, ALSC has manuscript and archival holdings in book arts, art history, and drama. Theatrical production is documented through photographs, production books, scrapbooks, and ephemera. The Yale Bookplate Collection contains ex-libris prints and process materials, such as original sketches, plates, and woodblocks. The Arts of the Book Collection maintains archives of Fritz Eichenberg, Fritz Kredel, Richard Minsky, Carl P. Rollins, and many smaller collections about the book arts.

Divinity Library Special Collections: China Records Project. The Divinity Library also has a notable collection of Missionary Bibles.

Music Library Special Collections: http://web.library.yale.edu/music/collections#special The Irving S. Gilmore Music Library possesses a remarkable array of special collections, including approximately 4,000 linear feet of archival materials, 500 individual music manuscripts, 45,000 pieces of sheet music, and 50,000 photographs. The Library owns a large number of rare books and scores printed before 1850; its holdings are particularly strong in historical treatises on music theory, as well as early publications of opera scores, chamber music, and works for keyboard and plucked-string instruments. The Music Library’s archival collections emphasize American music (including classical, jazz, and musical theater) and German music between the two World Wars, and feature the papers of Charles Ives, Benny Goodman, Vladimir Horowitz, Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, and Virgil Thomson. The Paul Hindemith Collection focuses on the composer’s American years, while the Plaut and Dance Archives contain thousands of photographs of classical and jazz musicians. Individual manuscript holdings include autograph manuscripts by J.S. Bach, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann, and Franz Liszt.

The Lewis Walpole Library: http://web.library.yale.edu/building/lewis-walpole-library The Lewis Walpole Library’s collection focuses on British 18th-century studies, which includes three-quarters of the traceable volumes of Horace Walpole’s library at Strawberry Hill, and the largest and finest collection of eighteenth-century British graphic art outside the British Museum; 35,000 satirical prints, portraits, and topographical views. Its book and manuscript collections of considerable depth cover all aspects of eighteenth-century British culture: theater, literature, politics, history, art history, antiquarianism, scientific history, and many other fields. Materials include books, pamphlets, broadsheets, periodicals, and almanacs, and there is a particularly fine collection of extra-illustrated books. Lilian Goldman Law Library – Highlights include the world's most comprehensive collection of the works of Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), a preeminent collection of Anglo-American law, an exceptional collection of Roman and canon law, the largest collection of Italian statutes outside of Italy, legal manuscripts from the 12th to the 20th centuries, and over 4,000 published trial reports. The Library's rare book collection stands at more than 50,000 volumes and is actively growing. Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies – The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies is a collection of over 4,400 videotaped interviews with witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust.

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Affiliated Collections:

Peabody Museum of Natural History: http://peabody.yale.edu/collections/the-collections

Yale University Art Gallery: http://artgallery.yale.edu/

Yale Center for British Art: http://britishart.yale.edu/ The Yale Center for British Art holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of British art outside the United Kingdom, presenting the development of British art and culture from the Elizabethan period to the present day. Together with the Reference Library, the Center’s collections of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, rare books, and manuscripts provide an exceptional resource for understanding the story of British art.

Babylonian collection: http://nelc.yale.edu/babylonian-collection Founded in 1909 by a gift from J. Pierpont Morgan, the Yale Babylonian Collection is the largest collection of documents, seals, and other artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia in the United States, and one of the leading collections of cuneiform tablets in the world. It comprises about 45,000 items, ranging in date from around 3000 BCE to early in the Christian era.library in the fields of Assyriology, Hittitology, and Near Eastern archealogy.

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Descriptions of fellowships available: Medical Historical Library: http://historical.medicine.yale.edu/us/grant The Ferenc Gyorgyey Research Travel Grant is available to historians, medical practitioners, and other researchers who wish to use the collections of the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library. In any given year the award is up to $1,500 for one week of research. Funds may be used for transportation, housing, food, and photographic reproductions. The award is limited to residents of the United States and Canada.

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library: http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/programs-events/fellowship-program

-Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowships The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library offers short-term fellowships to support visiting scholars pursuing post-doctoral or equivalent research in its collections. Students enrolled in degree programs are ineligible. The fellowships pay for travel to and from New Haven and a living allowance of $4,000 per month, and are designed to provide access to the library for scholars who live outside the greater New Haven area. Granted for one month, fellowships must be taken up between September 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015. Recipients are expected to be in residence during the period of their award and are encouraged to participate in the activities of Yale University.

-Visiting Graduate Student Summer Fellowships The Beinecke Library offers a limited number of fellowships for non-Yale graduate students (doctoral candidates) wishing to conduct primary research for their dissertations or doctoral thesis. These fellowships are extremely competitive. Only applicants demonstrating a need for in-depth consultation of Beinecke materials will receive serious consideration. Granted for one, two, or three months, fellowships must be taken up between June 1 and August 31. The fellowships pay for travel costs to and from New Haven and a living allowance of $3,000 per month.

-Yale Graduate & Professional Student Fellowships Yale Graduate and Professional School students who wish to use Beinecke collections as a primary resource for their dissertations or culminating projects are invited to apply for a Research Fellowship. These fellowships are available for one, two, or three months, or for a full semester. Beinecke also offers Pre-Prospectus Summer Fellowships, from six weeks to three months, enabling Yale Graduate students to determine how Beinecke collections may serve their research needs as they prepare and hone their prospectuses.

The Lewis Walpole Library: http://www.library.yale.edu/walpole/research/fellowships.html -Visiting Fellowships and Travel Grants for scholars pursuing postdoctoral or advanced research as well as doctoral candidates at work on a dissertation. -Summer Fellowships for Yale graduate students engaged in or preparing for dissertation research.

Collections URL

Holding Highlights

The Yale University Library is one of the world’s leading research libraries and a highly valued partner in the teaching and research mission of Yale University and scholarly communities worldwide. It is committed to fostering intellectual growth by collecting, organizing, preserving, and providing access to a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. One of the Library’s distinctive strengths is its rich spectrum of resources, which include more than 15 million volumes and information in all media, ranging from ancient papyri to early printed books to electronic databases. Housed in 15 libraries, including Sterling Memorial Library, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library and the new Center for Science and Social Science Information.

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