Explore Collections / Using Special Collections

Using Special Collections

  • Researchers looking at rare books with librarians in the Beinecke Reading room
    Beinecke Library reading room    Learn more »
  • Librarian assists researcher with glass slides at the Divinity Library
    Divinity Library reading room    Learn more »
  • A librarian points to artist book open on table where researcher is seated. A second researcher is seated to the right looking at another book.
    Arts Library Special Collections reading room    Learn more »
  • View of tables and in the Manuscripts and Archives Reading Room
    Manuscripts and Archives reading room, Sterling Memorial Library
  • Researcher in the Walpole Reading Room with materials spread across wood table
    Lewis Walpole Library reading room, Farmington, CT    Learn more »
  • Illuminated manuscript laid open with library staff and student seated at table in the background
    Music Library Special Collections    Learn more »
  • Close up view of medical illustration of head and brain in an open book
    Medical Historical Library Special Collections    Learn more »
  • A trio of researchers gather over a long table in a bright room lined with wood cabinets
    Yale Center for British Art Study Room    Learn more »

Welcome to Special Collections. We are free and open to all with a simple registration process.

What are Special Collections?

Special Collections are rare or fragile materials you must request for use in designated reading rooms. They include rare books, manuscripts, archives, maps, photographs, prints and drawings, recordings, digital content, and much more. Students, researchers, and other visitors use these materials to explore the past and create new knowledge. Whether visiting us in person or requesting scans remotely, you will first need to register for access.

Yale Library Special Collections are held in seven libraries: Beinecke Library, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Divinity Library, Gilmore Music Library, Haas Family Arts Library, Lewis Walpole Library, and Sterling Memorial Library and at our off-campus Library Shelving Facility. Each library has staff with specialized expertise and a designated Special Collections reading room where you will acess the materials you have requested. The designated reading room depends on the collection requested.

Please note that the Lewis Walpole Library is located in Farmington, CT, about 40 miles from the Yale New Haven campus.

The Yale Center for British Art (YCBA) uses the Yale Library Special Collections registration system, discovery tools, policies, and procedures for access to YCBA’s collections of prints and drawings, rare books and manuscripts, and archives. Materials requested from the YCBA collections may be viewed by appointment at YCBA’s Study Room.  
 
Hundreds of thousands of special collections items have been digitized and are available online through our Digital Collections (for images and text) and Aviary (for audiovisual material).  
 
Questions? Contact us at special.collections@yale.edu.

Register  |  Find Materials  |  Accessing Materials  |  Digitization  |  Copyright and Permissions

Create Your Account

Before you come to a reading room for the first time or request scans/digital copies, you must create a Special Collections (“Aeon”) Account. Once you have your account, you can request materials for use in the reading room or for scanning/digitization. 

By registering for a Special Collections Account, you agree to the terms of the Yale University User Agreement for Special Collections as a condition of access to our materials. 

Registration Steps:

  1. Go to the account registration form (below).
  2. If you have a valid Yale NetID, use the left side to create your account.
  3. If you don’t have a valid Yale NetID, click the “Sign Up” link on the lower right to:
    • Provide a username, email, and password
    • Enter a verification code that will be sent to the email you provided
    • The code will be sent immediately, and you have 24 hours to enter it.
  4. Complete the required fields on the registration form, assent to the User Agreement, and click the “Submit Information” button.

Register Now

Find Materials

Special Collections are described in a variety of search and discovery tools. See below for how to find and request materials in all formats. We ask that you request materials at least two business days in advance of your visit, in order to give us time to retrieve materials. Reference librarians and archivists are always able to assist you in finding or requesting materials. Contact special.collections@yale.edu if you have any questions or need assistance. 

Quicksearch: Combines multiple search tools for expansive results
Quicksearch unites several search services in one search tool.  It includes Orbis (the Yale Library catalog), Morris (the Law Library Catalog), Archives at Yale (our database of finding aids for archival and manuscript collections), Digital Collections (collection materials we have digitized and put online), and many electronic resources licensed by Yale Library, such as databases, articles, and ebooks.   Quicksearch is a good place to start your search when you want to search across many Yale Library search services. Please remember that Yale Library staff are always happy to help you construct search strategies.
 
After you conduct your search, you will notice facets to help you limit your results by subject, language, format, genre, etc. Some archives or manuscripts materials in Quicksearch may direct you to Archives at Yale. Quicksearch also includes an option to narrow your results to focus on materials that are available online, so that you can see only materials that are available digitally within your search results. Note that, within each record, you can click on subject headings to find similar results.   
 
 
Request links in Quicksearch are located after the item's description

How to Request from Quicksearch

 
Books, microfilm, and other individually cataloged items from Special Collections can be requested directly from a record. Materials requests are fulfilled in one of our reading rooms. The request process is expedited by a link from the Quicksearch record to your Special Collections Account, which you set up when you complete our registration process.  
 
This illustration highlights where to find the Request link in a Quicksearch record. 
Orbis: For targeted searches in the Yale Library catalog

Advanced searching in Orbis is one strategy to construct targeted, sophisticated searches for specific collection materials. Consult Help with Special Collections in Orbis for further information on searching in Orbis.

Request links in Orbis are located in the location field of each item.

How to Request from Orbis

Books, microfilm, and other individually cataloged special collections items can be requested directly from an Orbis record. Materials requests are fulfilled in one of our reading rooms. The request process is expedited by a link from the Orbis record to your Special Collections (“Aeon”) Account, which you set up when you complete our online registration process. This illustration highlights where to find the Request link in an Orbis record.  Note that the link names the specific Special Collections reading room where the material will be delivered for your use.
Archives at Yale: For focused searching of archival collections

Archives at Yale is the interface for searching finding aids. Finding aids describe in varying levels of detail the contents of archival and manuscript collections. Because it is important to understand the context of the materials that an archival or manuscript collection comprises, finding aids provide information about collection creators–individuals, families, and organizations–and the functions and activities that caused the materials in the collection to be created, accumulated, maintained, and used over time. Archives at Yale is a good place to start your search when you know you are interested in archival resources and want to dive deeper into those resources, since Archives at Yale provides more flexible and focused search functionality for that material. The help page for Archives at Yale contains instructions for searching and requesting materials.   

The Request button is the next button after "Search the Archives" on Archives at Yale pages.How to Request from Archives at Yale

Archival material can be requested directly from a record. Materials requests are fulfilled in one of our reading rooms. The request process is expedited by a link from the Archives at Yale record to your Special Collections Account, which you set up when you complete our registration process.  

 
This illustration highlights where to find the Request link in a Archives at Yale record.

Harmful Language Advisory

Yale Library aims to create archival description—including finding aids, catalog records, and other metadata—that is inclusive, respectful, and does not cause harm to those who interact with our collections. Please read our full Statement on Harmful Language in Archival Description and learn more about the Reparative Archival Description Working Group.

Accessing Materials

Each year, we welcome thousands of researchers to work in-person with Special Collections materials in our reading rooms.

Request Materials in your Special Collections Account
Once you have clicked the Request link from Quicksearch, Orbis, or Archives at Yale, the request form in your Special Collections Account will be pre-populated with information about the item(s) you are requesting.  You can: 
  • Request Digitization, or 
  • Schedule your visit date and press the Submit Request button, or
  • Save Request for Later to save the item(s) without ordering; this allows you to save up any number of requests. This can be helpful, because most of our Special Collections libraries limit the number of items you may order per visit.     
You can find all your requests by selecting an option under Order History, found in the top navigation menu.
Verify your ID on your first visit
The first time you come in person to a Yale Library Special Collections reading room you must:
  1. Show one of the following forms of identification:    
    • A currently valid Yale photo ID, or
    • A government-issued ID bearing your name, your photo, and an expiration date indicating current validity (Examples: driver’s license, passport, U.S. state-issued identity card, military ID, green card)       
  2. Have your photo taken by a Special Collections staff member.   Researcher photographs are stored in a registration database available only to authorized Yale Library staff.
After your first visit, you can sign into any of our Special Collections reading rooms without presenting an ID each time. We will prompt you annually to update your account information and have a new photo taken.
 
If you have a question about the ID requirement, please contact special.collections@yale.edu.
Accessibility Services

While all Special Collections reading rooms are ADA-compliant, we encourage you to contact us if you need special accommodations to ensure the success of your visits. We are happy to work with you to meet your accessibility needs. 

Make a request

Reading Room Guidelines
Non-Yale patrons under the age of eighteen should contact special.collections@yale.edu two weeks prior to their visit. For more information see this policy.
 
Patrons can help us ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of our collections by following our guidelines.
  1. You must be registered.   
  2. All materials must be requested through online systems.      
  3. Up to ten items can be requested for use at a time. Materials will be held for five business days unless other arrangements are made.    
  4. You can track requested materials through your online Special Collections (“Aeon”) Account.  Circulation records are retained permanently for security purposes.     
  5. All materials used on site must be used in a Special Collections reading room. Born-digital materials may not be copied, emailed, or otherwise transferred from the reading room.      
  6. Wifi is available in all reading rooms through YaleSecure (for Yale faculty, students, and staff); YaleGuest (for Yale visitors); and Eduroam (for affiliates at other universities/colleges).  
  7. You are required to deposit all personal property in nearby lockers before entering a reading room. This includes briefcases, laptop and camera cases, and any clothing that will not be worn while in the reading room. Outerwear should be placed in the lockers or hung on the coat racks. Hats may be worn in the reading rooms, unless they obstruct the view of cameras monitoring the use of materials.    
  8. No food, drink, or chewing gum is permitted in reading rooms.    
  9. You may select any open seat in the reading room, but at the discretion of the staff, some materials may need to be used at specific locations.    
  10. As a courtesy to other researchers, please refrain from loud conversations and silence all electronic devices. You must leave the reading room to make or receive phone calls. Please speak with staff if you need to dictate from materials, or need other options for space to work with materials. 
  11. Pens are not allowed for taking notes. Pencils will be provided if needed. Other items, including laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, printed materials needed for reference purposes, and notes, may be brought into the reading room with permission and after examination by a staff member. These items will also be inspected when you leave the reading room. 
  12. Staff will assist you in the proper handling of materials, which should be handled with care and always rest in plain view on the table.    
    • Open books only as far as they will open easily, and use book supports to hold them. Special weights are available from staff to keep books open or rolled items flat.    
    • Leave materials as you found them, without adding or removing any marks.    
    • Nothing except tools provided by staff should be placed on or affixed to the materials.   
    • Keep items in the order in which they were found. Remove one folder from a box at a time.       
  13. All collection materials must be returned to reading room staff when you leave for the day. Materials may be inspected by a staff member upon return. Arrangements for future use can be made at this time.  Collection materials and personal belongings left unattended may be removed from the reading room by staff and placed in a holding area.

Request Digitization

Learn more about how to request digitization/scans, formats and limits, and delivery and turnaround time.

Learn More

Copyrights and Permissions

Copyright is a law granting authors and creators exclusive rights for using their works for a limited period of time. These protective rights encourage people to continue to create new works. Yale Library makes materials available for research and scholarship, and your permission to reuse them depends on the materials, and your intended use of them. You are responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions for your use of materials.

Learn more