Beinecke Collections | Yale Library Skip to main content User account menu Hours & Libraries Bass Library Beinecke Library Classics Library Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Divinity Library Gilmore Music Library Haas Family Arts Library Lewis Walpole Library Lillian Goldman Law Library Marx Library Sterling Memorial Library Yale Center for British Art Yale Film Archive Ask Yale Library My Accounts Enter search Main navigation Find & Request Find Quicksearch Catalog Databases Articles+ Archives at Yale Digital Collections FirstSearch (WorldCat) E-Journals Request & Use BorrowDirect Interlibrary Loan Purchase Request Course Reserves Using Special Collections General Collections E-Resources Research Support Getting Started Services & Tools Data & Computational Support Workshops Research Consultation Personal Librarians Subject Specialists Research Guides Using AI in Research Visit All Libraries Places to Study Room Reservations Policies on Library Access & Use Sterling Library Tours Collections Using Special Collections Digital Collections General Collections E-Resources University Archives Collection Development About Us About the Library Working at Yale Library Prizes Directory of Departments & Libraries Yale Staff Directory Giving Contact News & Events Exhibitions All News All Events For the Media Beinecke Navigation Plan Your Visit For Students For Researchers For Instructors For the Public Beinecke Collections About Us Breadcrumb Home Beinecke Library Beinecke Collections Beinecke Collections Beinecke Library is Yale Library’s primary home for special collections. Get started below with exploring the rare books, manuscripts, archives, and more that illuminate human history, creativity, and culture. Learn more about using Special Collections » History of the Collections The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library holds one of the world’s largest and most dynamic collections of rare books, manuscripts, and archives. Curatorial Areas Americana The Beinecke Library’s ever-growing collection of Americana inspires research and teaching across diverse places, histories, languages, and materials which showcase the Western Hemisphere. Early Books and Manuscripts The Collection of Early Books and Manuscripts encompasses a global tradition of the written record. Early Modern Collections The early modern collections reflect the cultural encounters, intellectual exchanges, and colonial expansions that characterize the mid-fourteenth through eighteenth-century across the globe, with historic strengths in European materials. East Asian Books and Manuscripts The nucleus of the East Asian holdings in the Beinecke Library is the singular gift made by the Yale Association of Japan in 1934, which contained Japanese, Korean, and Chinese manuscripts. Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies The Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies consists of over 4,400 testimonies of Holocaust survivors, witnesses, and liberators, comprising over 12,000 recorded hours of videotape. Indigenous Collections The Indigenous Collections at Beinecke Library center Native and Indigenous peoples, sovereignty, languages, cultures, histories, and knowledge systems across North America and the globe. Islamic World Collections The Islamic World collections at the Beinecke Library encompass the breadth of scholarly, artistic, and cultural traditions from North Africa to South and Southeast Asia. James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection The James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection documents and celebrates the cultural and artistic achievements and the intellectual and political activities of African Americans. Maps Collection One of the largest collections of its kind in the country, the Beinecke Library holds more than 20,000 maps in over 24,000 sheets, accompanied by more than 4,000 atlases and a few dozen early globes. Modern Books, Manuscripts, and Archives The Collection of Modern Books, Manuscripts, and Archives documents artistic, cultural, and social life, especially in the United State and Britain. Modern European Books and Manuscripts The Collection of Modern European Books and Manuscripts consists of printed and archival material, photographs, artwork, audio-visual, ephemeral, and production material documenting the history, philosophy, literature, arts, and social movements of Continental Europe since 1800. Natural and Environmental History Collections The Natural and Environmental History Collections document human engagements with and conceptions of the natural world across eras and geographies, especially in the United States and Europe. Osborn Collection The Osborn Collection documents literature, history, court culture, and colonial encounter across the United Kingdom and the British Empire. U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Relations Collection Over the past century, Yale University librarians, curators, and archivists have built a deep collection centered on the U.S.'s engagement with the world. Yale Collection of American Literature The Yale Collection of American Literature documents the creative lives, the artistic communities, and the literary achievements of American writers. Yale Collection of Western Americana The Yale Collection of Western Americana’s breadth and depth make it one of the premier collections for understanding the region’s past and present. Yale History Collections The Beinecke Library holds illuminating collections documenting the history of Yale University within the Yale University Archives; in publications produced by or about the University; and in the records and collections of individuals affiliated with the University. Yale Papyrus Collection The Yale Papyrus Collection documents Egypt and the Greco-Roman world in the Pharaonic, Ptolemaic, Roman, Byzantine, and medieval eras. Digital Collections Digitization of collections is a Yale Library strategic priority. Millions of images, texts, and recordings are already available on line, and new materials are being added regularly, based on uniqueness and research demand. We are working to structure and describe our digital collections in ways that support computational research and make materials easier to discover through the widest possible range of research platforms and tools. Text and Images Access millions of digitized books, manuscripts, documents, and images through Yale Library Digital Collections. New materials are added regularly. Audiovisual Collections Access digitized audiovisual materials from Yale Library collections through the Aviary platform. Yale Daily News Historical Archive Access digitized versions of printed issues of the the oldest college daily newspaper published in the U.S., founded on January 28, 1878. EliScholar Visit Yale Library’s digital platform for scholarly publishing to access research and scholarly output selected and deposited by university departments and centers on campus. Collections News Yale Library displays tarot treasures in new Morgan Library exhibition, through Oct. 4 June 25, 2026 New collections feature Caribbean and Chicano cultures, dance in New Haven, and born-digital Boswell April 7, 2026 Yale Library announces the return of 12th-century manuscript to the Republic of Poland January 29, 2026 Collections in the media: A 400-year-old Dutch bond, musical scores, a poet’s papers, and more January 20, 2026 In the Media Fine Books & Collections “How Japanese ‘Chirimen’ Books Found Fame in the West” New York Times “How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76” Mirage “Textured Stories: Crêpe Books Bridge Cultures” P.O. 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