Yale’s Library resources and services for the study of Greco-Roman antiquity are among the richest in North America. These include a dedicated non-circulating Classics Library within the department; a large circulating collection housed primarily at Sterling Memorial Library; and extensive collections of rare classical materials at the Beinecke Library.
The Classics Library
In-house Classics library and study space
The Classics Library, inside Phelps Hall, plays an integral role in the curricular program of the department and functions in close connection with its teaching and research. It contains a working collection of over 25,000 non-circulating volumes and is staffed by a professional librarian who coordinates library resources and services for Classics across Yale, including a vast array of digital resources. Research support and reference services are provided on-site and via email. Graduate students have study carrels in the library, which also serves as an important hub of collaboration.
The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Extensive collections originating from and pertaining to classical antiquity
The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has extensive collections including numerous Byzantine, Medieval, and Renaissance manuscripts of Greek and Latin works; early printed editions of classical texts and scholarship; and neo-Latin literature. The Beinecke’s far-reaching collections of literary and theatrical books and papers contain extensive materials for the study of the literary reception of classical tradition. The Beinecke’s collection is complemented by materials at the Medical Historical Library, the Law Library’s Rare Book Room, the Divinity Special Collections, and others.
Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library
One of the oldest and largest circulating collections of classical books and journals in the US
Yale’s Sterling Memorial Library is less than two blocks from the Classics Department. Complementing Sterling and the Classics libraries, the Haas Family Library of Architecture and Art holds materials on classical art and archaeology, and the Lillian Goldman Law Library has extensive collections on ancient law and its legacies. Access to these materials is facilitated by the Scan and Deliver service which provides on-demand digitization and delivery from the Library’s print collections. Yale is also part of the Borrow Direct consortium, enabling borrowing from other institutions and centers.
Yale’s Digital Initiative
The Classics Department participates enthusiastically in Yale’s digital initiatives, both in the Digital Humanities Lab and the growing digital collections.
