How to access the descriptive records

Archives at Yale

Archives at Yale contains descriptions of every item in the Yale Papyrus Collection and includes images when items are digitized. You can browse by acquisition within the finding aid, or you can use the search features in Archives at Yale to search for a specific call number or for other terms.

Papyri.info

You can also view a complete inventory of everything in the Yale Papyrus Collection at papyri.info.

To search for a specific Beinecke call number in this database, you will need to change the default search option in papyri.info from Text to Metadata. After you do that, you should wrap the call number in quotes, add it to the search form, and then hit the Search button.  For example, here is the URL that performs a call number search for P.CtYBR Inv. 1 qua.

How to view digitized images of the papyri

All of the papyri in the Yale Papyrus Collection that have been digitized are available in Yale Library’s Digital Collections. As additional material is digitized, it will be added to Digital Collections. If an item has been digitized, an image or a link to an image will also appear in Archives at Yale along with the description.

Please note that even though most of the collection has been digitized (about 95%), there are still some items that have yet to be digitized.

Additionally, if an item has been digitized, then the record that is in papyri.info will have a link to Digital Collections. You will find that link in the Catalog Record portion of the papyri.info record, after the heading Images. 

How to request the materials for on-site use

To request anything from the Yale Papyrus Collection, do so from within Archives at Yale. From the description of the item you would like to call for, click the “Request” button at the top right on the screen.

Please note that some items are restricted pending conservation and cannot be accessed in our reading room. Images of these items may be requested, however.

For more information about conducting research at the Beinecke, please see the Planning Your Research Visit webpage on the Beinecke website.