YALE: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

It was so overwhelming…

“An Inspiration to All who Enter”

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library contains the principal rare books and literary manuscripts of Yale University.

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 more than a million volumes. Temperature and humidity controls ensure that stored materials are protected for future generations.

That’s one dream job isn’t it?!

The white, gray-veined marble panes of the exterior are one and one-quarter inches thick and are framed by shaped light gray Vermont Woodbury granite. These marble panels filter light so that rare materials can be displayed without damage.

Dante’s Divine Comedy (1477, Venice!)

SPECIAL EXHIBITION: Celebration Dictionary Day

Smallest dictionary?
Surely very small!!!!

Roughly 20-30 words per page and around 900 pages!!!!

The bookcase is indeed a handy magnifying glass…

Noah Webster Jr. (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education”. His “Blue-backed Speller” books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read. Webster’s name has become synonymous with “dictionary” in the United States, especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language.