News

Selected stories from the Beinecke Library, YaleNews, and external media outlets (the latter noted by source in parentheses after title of article).

How Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' is still teaching environmentalists in 2026 (CT Public)
June 22, 2026
It's been more than 60 years since environmentalist Rachel Carson's book, "Silent Spring," challenged the widespread use of synthetic pesticides like DDT and helped launch the modern environmental movement. This hour, we learn about Carson's life, work and her enduring legacy through a new exhibit at Yale's Beinecke Library. We'll also examine a current environmental challenge: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. This a class of man-made chemicals can be found in drinking water systems across Connecticut and the country. We'll explore the health concerns surrounding PFAS, efforts to limit exposure and what Carson's story can teach us about responding to today's environmental risks.
An Edith Wharton Story Is Published About 100 Years Later (New York Times)
June 6, 2026
The short story, which is set during World War I, is believed to have been printed for the first time on Friday. The story is thought to have been written no earlier than July 1918.
Building maps to connect New Haven’s past with the present
May 29, 2026
The New Haven Digital Atlas, an interactive map created by Yale’s New Haven Environmental History Project, invites users to explore how the city’s historical landscape has changed over time.
Authorized? Unauthorized? Garry Trudeau Calls a New Biography ‘Unopposed’ (The New York Times)
May 28, 2026
Back at the Yale library that holds his archive, the low-key creator of “Doonesbury” reunites with the journalist who pieced together his life story.
Kress Fellow Ivy Drew tells America’s complex story through her exhibition of artists’ books
May 21, 2026
“An Artist’s America: Toward a More Perfect Union” will be on view at the Haas Family Arts Library from June 8 through Nov. 8. The exhibition features 30 artists’ books from Yale Library Special Collections—including photography, accordion-style, flag-style, and pop-up books—to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary. Curator De’Ivyion “Ivy” Drew selected objects that communicate the cultural, socioeconomical, and polticial complexities of the American experience.
Giacomo Sotti ’27 receives Yale student employee award for work on Beinecke Library exhibition
May 15, 2026
A part-time Yale Library job earned Giacomo Sotti ’27 a deeper knowledge of Japanese history, transferable research skills, an appearance in a Japanese television documentary—and, most recently, a special award.
How a Radical Historian Saved the Schlock of ’76 (New York Times)
April 30, 2026
Yale’s Bicentennial Schlock collection offers a window into the star-spangled commercialism that swept the country 50 years ago
Mohamed Diallo ’26 reassembles the story of Yale’s early Black students with archival research and ArcGIS mapping
April 23, 2026
As a Community Engagement intern at Beinecke Library, Mohamed Diallo ’26 played a central role in the creation of the online resource “Shining Light on Truth: Early Black Students at Yale.” The website features profiles of Black students who attended Yale from 1830 to 1940— the first known comprehensive effort to identify the Black students in Yale’s history.
Eight writers awarded Yale’s Windham-Campbell Literature Prizes
April 8, 2026
Authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama received this year’s international award, which offers a bit of financial security and creative freedom.
Handling with care
April 6, 2026
Yale archivists recently worked their magic to open the Sylvia Plath Family Papers to researchers worldwide.
Five Things to Know… ‘Unfurling the Flag’ at the Beinecke Library
April 2, 2026
A new exhibition draws on numerous items in Yale’s collections — from the first printed copy of the Declaration of Independence to drafts of Langston Hughes’ poetry — to trace how American patriotism has been defined, contested, and reshaped over 250 years.
Yale exhibit highlights historical impact of Black communities in New Haven (NBC Connecticut)
March 4, 2026
An exhibit at Yale University features 300 years of history exploring how the Black community has impacted New Haven over the centuries. Visitors can view the exhibit through March 8.
At the Beinecke, students explore archives from the dawn of the Nuclear Age
March 3, 2026
In an undergraduate seminar, global affairs majors use the Yale Library’s archival collections to bring a historical perspective to contemporary questions about diplomacy and national security.
Object lesson: Hints to an enslaved family's history
March 1, 2026
This is a story about what has been kept, forgotten, and can be recovered. It began for me in 2017 with a mark on a map of New Haven from 1748 made by James Wadsworth, a Yale College senior from nearby Durham. It tracks to Ashmun, Grove, and York Streets, now a small city park adjacent to Grove Street Cemetery.
Music Library’s 3rd Miles Hoffman Concert features newly acquired guitar manuscripts
February 20, 2026
On March 5 at 4 p.m., Professor João Luiz Rezende and his students will present Yale Library’s Third Miles Hoffman Concert at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The performers will present works written by and for famed guitarist Andres Segovia. The concert is free and open to the public.
‘The Roots of Healing’: The books that fed our knowledge of medicinal plants
February 9, 2026
An exhibit at Sterling Memorial Library traces six centuries of “herbals” — guides to the medicinal properties of plants — highlighting the enduring intersection of art, science, and the humanities in the pursuit of better medicine.
The Daily Heller: Mixed Messages of American Patriotism (Print)
February 6, 2026
American patriotism demands more than displaying a flag lapel pin. To be patriotic is acceptance of the fundamental moral, ethical and legal principles without which the United States would cease to exist. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of this nation, Unfurling the Flag: Reflections on American Patriotism at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (March 16–Sept. 27), will explore what this charged word and concept means.
‘Revolutionary Barcelona’: in the archives, history comes to life
February 3, 2026
In an undergraduate course, Yale students examined historical objects from the Spanish Civil War — and engaged with history hands-on in Barcelona.
Yale Library announces the return of 12th-century manuscript to the Republic of Poland
January 29, 2026
Yale University Library has announced the transfer of a liturgical manuscript known as the Cistercian Collectar (Beinecke MS 883), from the collection of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library to the Republic of Poland. The library welcomed representatives from Poland to New Haven on Jan. 29 to retrieve the manuscript in person.
Newly processed archival collections at the Beinecke, October through December 2025
January 21, 2026

The following information on recent archival processing work at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was written by Mary Caldera, Associate Director for...