Built for yale university and completed in 1963, the rare book library and archive was designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. Groups may request to use a consultation room at the service desk. The beinecke houses outstanding special collections devoted to american literature, german literature, western americana, and british literary and historical. Sep 30, 2014 yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library is the largest building in the world dedicated to the containment and preservation of rare books, manuscripts, and documents. Following my appointment with jessica quagliaroli, architecture records archivist at yale university, school of architecture, my first architectural stop at the campus was the beinecke rare books and manuscript library designed under the leadership of gordon bunshaft of somnyc office and completed in 1963. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. Digital collections at the beinecke library beinecke rare. Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the reading room on the court level after researchers register with the beinecke. Stunning university libraries around the world you need to. May 7, 2016 beinecke rare book and manuscript library.
The originals are held by another archival repository, the manuscripts and archives department of yale university. Literary rights, including, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. To enter the building, use the revolving door entrance across from woolsey hall. Art and architecture beinecke rare book and manuscript. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library, new haven, ct. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library digital collections. Aug 31, 20 beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. This pamphlet contains some basic information to help your visit with us be as productive as possible.
Its collection of 500,000 rare books and more than 1. Completed in 1963 and situated on yale universitys campus, in new haven, connecticut, the library has room for approximately 780,000 volumes. The library will reopen its doors in the fall of 2016 better equipped than. The beinecke library manuscript and rare books library at. The beinecke library contains yale universitys principal rare books and literary manuscripts and serves as a research center for students, faculty, and other scholars. Established by a gift of the beinecke family and given its own endowment, the. Deborah harkness is a historian of science, professor at the university of southern california, and the author of the new york times bestselling all souls trilogy. One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, the library has room in the central tower for 180,000 volumes and in the underground book stacks for over 600,000 volumes. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library is located in the beinecke plaza or hewitt quadrangle. Beinecke preparing to close iconic building in may 2015. Beinecke is a noncirculating, closed stack library. Architectural daylighting case study a case study of the beinecke rare books library at yale university in regard to architectural daylighting.
Selden shares some of beinecke s unique holdings, along with rare books in the cushingwhitney medical library, the yale center for british art, the yale law library, and james gamble rogers cathedral of learning, sterling memorial library, home of the papers of benjamin franklin project. This book takes the visitor through the building with gorgeous views of the gordon bunshaft structure and into the reading room, with essays by library curators on. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you conduct your research. Its preeminent collection provides extraordinarily rich resources for the study of sexual modernism and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender life and culture in the twentieth century. If you have any questions during your time here, feel free to ask any of the staff. This rare book and manuscript library is one of the largest facilities of this kind in the world 86.
Yales renovated beinecke library to reopen september 6. One of the most prized buildings in modern american architecture, the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university represents on the most novel uses of stone in the built environment. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library exhibition materials is the physical property of the beinecke rare book and manuscript library, yale university. You will need to bring appropriate photo id the first time you register. The building originally accommodated roughly 25 staff and a modest level of acquisition of rare material. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library home facebook. It also reflects the wonderful collaboration between engineers and architects. Fifty works from yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library. For further information, consult the appropriate curator. Established in 1963, yales beinecke library celebrated its 50th anniversary on 20. See more ideas about architecture, gordon, rare books.
Nov 9, 20 cigna connecticut general life insurance, beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Paul rudolph, the then dean of the yale school of architecture, decided to hold a competition between four firms for the privilege to design the beinecke library. Som yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Over time, other yale library digital collections will be moved to this platform to create an even more seamless user experience across multiple collections and repositories.
The purpose of the building is to serve as a research center for students. In uncommon carriers, john mcphee admires a restaurants display of a glass tower of recumbent wines that may have been an architectural reference to the glass column of visible books in the beinecke library at yale. Where can i find the architectural plans for the beinecke. The beinecke library, one of the worlds greatest repository of books and manuscripts documenting the humanities, is also one of the gems of 20thcentury modernist architecture. Known for his glassandsteel curtain wall designs, bunshaft knew that large windows would be a risky. Reading room guidelines welcome to the beinecke library s reading room. In the once and future spy by robert littell, an assassination attempt is made on a cia analyst at the beinecke library. The langston hughes papers span five decades of his career and contain the published and unpublished drafts of plays, short stories, newspaper columns, childrens books. It sits in the heart of yale campus, new haven, connecticut, and it is one. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library amusing planet. Yale university library on tumblr yale university library on instagram yale university library on twitter yale university library facebook page branch. Yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Beinecke library of yale university yale university press. Stephen jones, head of access services at the beinecke library, shared with the news some of the most widespread rumors and absurd myths that abound on campus.
It is one of the largest buildings in the world entirely dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. The beinecke library s robust collections are used to create new scholarship by researchers from around the world. To ask them about the possibility of getting copies of these, please contact them at. Dedicated to rare manuscripts and rare books, it was financed by the beinecke family and is one of the largest facilities in the. Introduction the beinecke rare book and manuscript library is one of the worlds largest buildings devoted to rare books and manuscripts housing about 180,000 volumes in the central tower and over 1 million that are kept in the underground book stacks. Under the plaza where it was built there are some other spaces used as offices and workrooms. Beinecke library is one of those amazing nonhidden structuresif you know how to stare at it. Construction started in 1960 as a sixstory aboveground structure supported only by four big corner columns, following weidlinger and bunshaft design. Jan 04, 2019 the beinecke rare book and manuscript library, yale university, new haven the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university is arguably the most unique building on a campus of. Digital collections at the beinecke library beinecke. In the late 1950s, interest in rare books, the philanthropy of the beineckes, the universitys pressing need for a special collections library, and the design by the architect gordon bunshaft, created the beinecke library. Its preeminent collection provides extraordinarily rich resources for the study of sexual modernism and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender life and culture in the twentieth century, especially in the united states. One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and. Its collection of 500,000 rare books and more than 1 million volumes make it one of the worlds most important research facilities.
One of the worlds largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, it is yale universitys principal repository of literary archives, early manuscripts, and rare books. Chris history corner the beinecke rare book and manuscript. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library continues to serve the purpose for which it was designed. Since its opening in 1963, the marble exterior of beinecke rare book and manuscript library has kept hidden yales most obscure texts and invited the speculation of visitors and students alike. Catalogue of medieval and renaissance manuscripts in the beinecke rare book and manuscript library, yale university, edited by barbara shailor et. Rare books and manuscripts may be consulted only in the reading room. Yales beinecke rare book and manuscript library turns 50. Following my appointment with jessica quagliaroli, architecture records archivist at yale university, school of architecture, my first architectural stop at the campus was the beinecke rare books and manuscript library designed under the leadership of gordon bunshaft of. Paul weidlinger and gordon bunshaft from som were the engineer and architect in charge of the design of this beautiful building. One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, the library can accommodate 180,000 volumes in the central tower and more than 600,000.
One of the worlds largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. Renovating one the worlds largest rare books libraries is a uniquely challenging task, but one that we are prepared to meet with as little disruption as possible, says beinecke library director e. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library, som gordon bunshaft. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill.
Beinecke library reopens, a gem for scholars and students. This unique design, very much in the modernist lineage but in contrast to the revivalist styles of the rest of yales campus, has only become. Regretfully, the beinecke library does not have scans of its architectural plans available online. One will showcase recent acquisitions to the library s collections. The new interface is now home to all beinecke library digitized images as of january 2021. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library docomomo.
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