Rare Books and Translucent Marble: Discover Yale's Beinecke Library

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is both a remarkable example of Modernist architecture and a state-of-the-art holding facility for some of the world’s most valuable and fascinating texts.

Yale’s collection of rare books was originally housed in the Sterling Memorial Library, but by the 1950s it has become inadequate both in terms of the physical space required for the growing collection and the necessity for updated methods to prevent damage and deterioration. Designed by Gordon Bunshaft, the American Modernist architect responsible for the Lever House in Manhattan and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library aimed to provide ample space for the collection in a six-story climate-controlled enclosed tower in the center of the building. This way, the books and manuscripts would be visible to the public, but protected from handling. Another unique feature is that the exterior façade consists of translucent marble rather than windows. Sunlight enters the building through 1 ¼ inch marble panels, but is diffused so as to prevent damage to the collection.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library opened to the public on October 14, 1963, and remains accessible to visitors today. Some of the collection’s highlights include the Voynich Manuscript, a fascinating undeciphered text from the late 15^th or early 16^th century, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Japanese Buddhist prayer scrolls from approximately 764-770 CE, Islamic manuscripts, and Medieval illuminated books. More recent additions original manuscripts by notable writers including Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Edgar Allen Poe, and the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, which contains over 12,000 hours of recorded video testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust.

While you might overlook the rectangular structure nestled into the Gothic Revival buildings that make up most of Yale’s campus, or assume that you need special permission to enter the library, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library is a fascinating stop on your visit to New Haven and shouldn’t be missed. Many members of the general public will never handle the rare books inside, but seeing them inside the central tower is an awe-inspiring experience and inspired contemplation of the centuries of human knowledge contained within.