| Sterling Memorial Library | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Facade and tower of Sterling Memorial Library | |
  | |
| General information | |
| Type | Library |
| Architectural style | Collegiate Gothic |
| Address | 120 High Street |
| Town or city | New Haven, Connecticut |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°18′41″N 72°55′45″W / 41.3113°N 72.9291°W |
| Completed | 1930[1] |
| Opened | April 1931[1] |
| Cost | $8 million[1] |
| Owner | Yale University |
| Height | 150 feet (46 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 16 |
| Floor area | 441,651 square feet (41,030.7 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | James Gamble Rogers |
| Website | |
| web.library.yale.edu/building/sterling-library | |
Sterling Memorial Library (SML) is the main library building of the Yale University Library system in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Opened in 1931, the library was designed by James Gamble Rogers as the centerpiece of Yale's Gothic Revival campus. The library's tower has sixteen levels of bookstacks containing over 4 million volumes. Several special collections—including the university's Manuscripts & Archives—are also housed in the building. It connects via tunnel to the underground Bass Library, which holds an additional 150,000 volumes.
The library is named for John W. Sterling, a lawyer representing Standard Oil, whose huge bequest to Yale required that an "enduring, useful and architecturally beautiful edifice" be built. Sterling Library is elaborately ornamented, featuring extensive sculpture and painting as well as hundreds of panes of stained glass created by G. Owen Bonawit. In addition to the book tower, Rogers' design featured five large reading rooms and two courtyards, one of which is now a music library.
While the library's nave and main reading rooms can be visited on guided tours, its collections are restricted to cardholders.