Yale University Library
Manuscripts and Archives
The resources held by Manuscripts and Archives include the Yale University Archives and collections of personal and family papers and organizational records. Most have a strong link to Yale, either to the institution itself or to the faculty, students, alumni, and other members of the Yale community. Besides textual materials such as letters, diaries, minutes, reports, and financial records, collections include printed ephemera, photographs, maps, sound and video recordings, and increasingly electronic records.
Manuscripts and Archives collects broadly in the areas of public policy and administration, including contemporary medical care and health policy; diplomacy and international affairs; political and social thought and commentary; science, medicine, and bioethics; legal and judicial history; the visual and performing arts; urban planning and architecture; environmental policy and affairs; and psychology and psychiatry. In addition, the department has extensive holdings on New Haven and collects publications of the University, student publications, and Ph.D. dissertations. A collection of over 4,200 videotaped interviews with witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust, the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies, is part of Manuscripts and Archives. SERVICES: The collections and resources of Manuscripts and Archives are open to the public. They are non-circulating, and only selected titles of the microfilm collection are available through interlibrary loan. The department provides reference and reprographic services. More information on these services is available on our website. Collections are described in the Yale University Library's on-line catalog, ORBIS, and in unpublished finding aids. A small fraction of the latter is available in an electronic format.
The department holds approximately 57,500 linear feet of manuscript collections and archival records and an estimated 35,000 volumes of printed resources.