Yale University Library

Yale University Library
Book tower of Sterling Memorial Library
Map
LocationNew Haven, Connecticut, United States
TypeAcademic library
Established1701
Branches15
Collection
Size14.9 million volumes[1]
Other information
BudgetUS$118.8 million (2015–16)[2]
DirectorBarbara Rockenbach[3]
Employees550 full-time employees
WebsiteOfficial website
"A Library is a summons to scholarship." Sterling Memorial Library, winter 2016.

The Yale University Library is the library system of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.[4] Originating in 1701 with the gift of several dozen books to a new “Collegiate School," the library's collection now contains approximately 14.9 million volumes housed in fifteen university buildings and is the third-largest academic library system in North America and the second-largest housed on a singular campus.[5]

The centerpiece of the library system is the Sterling Memorial Library, a Collegiate Gothic building constructed in 1931 and containing the main library offices, the university archives, a music library, and 3.5 million volumes. The library is also known for its major collection of rare books, housed primarily in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library as well as the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, the Lillian Goldman Law Library, and the Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, Connecticut. Many schools and departments at Yale also maintain their own collections, comprising twelve on-campus facilities and an off-campus shelving facility.

The library subscribes to hundreds of research databases. Along with the Harvard Library and Columbia Libraries, it was a founding member of the Research Libraries Group consortium. The library is also a member of Borrow Direct, allowing patrons to check out volumes from major American research universities.

  1. ^ Mian, Anam; Roebuck, Gary (2020). ARL Statistics 2018-2019. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries. p. 45. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  2. ^ Patrick, Amanda (2016). Nota Bene: Annual Report Issue, Winter 2016-17 (Report). Yale University Library. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Barbara Rockenbach appointed Yale's next University Librarian". YaleNews. Yale University. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  4. ^ Richards, David Alan. (2022). I Give These Books: The History of Yale University Library 1656-2022. First ed. New Castle Delaware: Oak Knoll Press.
  5. ^ Mian, Anam; Roebuck, Gary (2020). ARL Statistics 2020. Washington, DC: Association of Research Libraries.