About Us
The Yale University Library system has a dozen libraries and locations, more than 500 staff members, vast physical and digital collections, and wide-ranging services to support library users in their teaching, learning, research and practice. All these elements are connected and activated by technology, staff expertise, and the evolving needs of library users.
Our unique special collections and archives, amassed over three centuries and widely used in teaching and research, are a distinctive feature of a Yale education, alongside the holdings of Yale’s museums. We continue to build and care for these collections to preserve, disseminate, and create knowledge now and in the future. Through digitization and other technology innovations, we are working to make our collections even more open and available to the Yale community and to the world. Explore collections »
In support of University priorities and initiatives, assisting faculty, students, and staff who are working with data is a focus across all disciplines. We invite you to book a research consultation with us at any point in your process, starting with development of initial research questions. As projects take shape, we help library users discover, acquire, describe, analyze, manage, store, preserve, publish, and share data.
Mission
We advance teaching, research, learning, and practice through staff expertise, diverse collections, inclusive programs and services, and welcoming spaces.
Vision
We aspire to be a catalyst for individual and societal growth. We will foster a culture of curiosity and discovery to advance the University’s mission. We will commit attention and resources to address systemic inequities by making knowledge more broadly available.
Barbara Rockenbach is the Stephen F. Gates University Librarian. In the role, she leads a university library system that encompasses a dozen libraries and locations and a unified set of services, programs, collections, and resources to support research, teaching, learning, and practice.
Rockenbach began her library career at Yale as the second Kress Fellow in Art Librarianship in 1998 and progressed to successively broader leadership roles. She rejoined Yale as university librarian in 2020 after serving as associate university librarian for research and learning at Columbia University Libraries. Her reaappointment as university librarianwas announced in February 2025 by President Maurie McInnis and Provost Scott Strobel.
Five associate university librarians oversee major areas of the library system.
- Michael Bell, Associate University Librarian for Administration and Technology
- Lauren DiMonte, Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning
- Daniel Dollar, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources
- Martin Kurth, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services
- Michelle Light, Associate University Librarian for Special Collection
For more information, see the Directory of Departments and Libraries.
Under the leadership of University Librarian Barbara Rockenbach, Yale Library encompasses more than a dozen libraries and locations:
• Bass Library
• Beinecke Library
• Classics Library
• Divinity Library
• Gilmore Music Library *
• Haas Arts Library
• Lewis Walpole Library
• Marx Science and Social Science Library
• Sterling Memorial Library
• Yale Film Archive *
• Yale University Archives *
* Located within Sterling Memorial Library
See all libraries and locations »
Some Yale Library staff work at locations that are not open to the public, including:
• 344 Winchester Avenue, New Haven (Technical Services, Digitization Services, and the Center for Library Preservation and Conservation)
• The Library Shelving Facility in Hamden, Conn.
The Lillian Goldman Law Library is administratively separate, but shares many Yale Library services and systems, including a unified library catalog. The reference library of the Yale Center for British Arts also participates in Yale Library systems.
For more information, see the Directory of Departments and Libraries.
Where we direct resources and effort in support of University initiatives
1. Transformative digital access. More of Yale Library’s physical collections and born digital archives should be available online. Access library collections digitized at scale, organized for research, and structured as data for computational analysis.
2. Smarter search, better results. Finding specific items should be straightforward; exploring new directions should surface what's relevant. Improved search will get to the right item quickly and easily while offering tailored suggestions for going deeper.
3. Spaces that work as hard as you do. Choosing to work at the library should be worth the trip. Varied spaces across the library system will offer better hours, comfortable furniture, good lighting, and reliable technology to support teaching and learning, deep focus, group collaboration, or a quiet place to settle in.
4. Expert help that finds you. Research can be hard, getting help should be simple. Proactive outreach and accessible service points will make it easier to find the right expert, at every stage of the research process.
Revised: July 2026
Enduring principles that guide our work and decisions
1. Library-Wide Solutions. We work across organizational boundaries to improve user experience, connecting each initiative to the library's whole.
2. Organizational Health. We advance a culture of learning. We invest in staff development and shared accountability, while building trust that allows staff to thrive.
3. Sustainable Stewardship. We build, manage, and provide access to collections that serve Yale’s research and curricular needs, with a clear-eyed attention to the staff, expertise, systems, spaces, and resources required to sustain access to them long term.
4. Community Impact. We deliver services and programs with clear purpose and results for Yale, New Haven, and scholars worldwide.
Revised: July 2026
These staff values, developed by and for Yale Library staff, are intended to set the tone for our collaborative work, communication, and interactions with library users. Yale Library patrons and visitors are invited to embrace and practice these values in community with us.
We commit to cultivating a supportive and inclusive work environment. We hold ourselves and each other accountable for embodying these values in our shared work:
- Access We champion equitable, ethical access to the record of human thought and experience.
- Diversity We value our differences and promote inclusion and mutual respect in our community, discourse, and spaces.
- Creativity We nurture a culture of curiosity and innovation.
Revised: August 2022
Contact us
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven, CT 06520-8240
203-432-1755
Ask Yale Library
Ask us anything. You can call, text, chat, or e-mail.
Research Consultation
Tell us about your research project, and we will connect you with a librarian or other expert to help.
Nota Bene
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Working at Yale Library
Library staff have deep subject-area knowledge as well as expertise in digital humanities; geographic information systems; the acquisition, use, and management of research data; and the use of AI in research. Access Services staff assist patrons in using library spaces, collections, and services. Preservation and Conservation staff develop and apply leading-edge technology to maintain collections, thereby supporting increased access to collections, exhibition programs, and teaching with primary sources.
The library employs librarians, curators, and archivists, as well as a wide range of professional, managerial, technical, and administrative staff. Administrative and technical staff keep the library humming, assist patrons in-person and online, and, together with library security, make visitors feel welcome in our spaces. With more than 300 student employees, Yale Library is one of the largest student employers on campus. Learn more about working with us.
Library Updates
Advisory Groups
The University Library Council (ULC) is a group of distinguished Yale alumni and friends of the university who support Yale Library through strategic introductions, networking with individuals and foundations, and facilitating regional events. Learn more. [NEED ANCHOR LINK?]
The Library Advisory Committee is convened by the provost to provide guidance and assistance to the university librarian on the policy matters pertaining to Yale’s libraries. Learn more.
The Student Library Advisory Committee (SLAC) is an opportunity for Yale students in any major or program to shape how Yale Library serves students. Members work with library leadership to provide feedback on library initaitives and to turn student ideas into tangible improvements to study spaces, online resources, and library programming. Learn more.
The Yale Library Associates (YLA) encompasses all supporters who make financial or collection gifts to support Yale’s libraries. They are invited to attend special events throughout the year. Learn more. [ANCHOR LINK NEEDED?]
The Board of Managers for the Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, Conn., includes ex-officio members from the university and representatives from the wider community. Learn more.
The Medical Library Associates provide financial support for projects, resources, and other aspects of the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. Learn more.
