When attending a class session, students and instructors will follow the same guidelines as when visiting the reading room. Please leave all belongings, such as coats and bags, in a locker. Do not bring food or drink into special collections classrooms. 

For classrooms at the Beinecke Library, lockers are provided on the first floor and classrooms are located on the lower level. For the Beinecke Library’s Gates Classroom, located in Sterling Memorial Library, lockers are provided in an alcove to the left of the classroom door in the Linonia and Brothers Reading Room.

Permitted items in Beinecke classrooms

• pencils (no pens, markers, or indelible pencils of any kind)
• loose-leaf paper or notepads
• laptop (no case)
• cell phones and tablets (on vibrate please)

During the class session

• Materials may be consulted only within the classroom. No material may leave the classroom or building.
• Materials must be handled with great care. Every session in which students handle material will have a brief handling demonstration provided by staff at the beginning of class.
• Archival manuscript pages should be kept in original order. Place-holders for folders in boxes will be provided.
• No tracings, rubbings, or marks of any kind may be added or erased.
• Supports and weights will be provided to keep books open and minimize handling. Books and manuscripts should never be removed from their supports and then held aloft or passed around the room.
• We employ a standard configuration that we find best for class visits. Tables should not be moved during the class session. Typically we do not have time to change this configuration becasue of the volume of classes that we host each week during the academic year. However, if your session requires a non-traditional arrangement of materials, we will do our best to work with you to find an acceptable compromise. Contact beinecke.education@yale.edu at least two weeks before the class to discuss your needs.

Additional information for instructors:

• Every individual class session that convenes in the Beinecke, whether at 121 Wall Street or the Gates Classroom in Sterling Memorial Library, must utilize materials from Beinecke Library’s collections, including our Manuscripts & Archives collections. Materials from other Yale Library special collections may be available for use with prior notice.
• We ask that you be considerate of the high demand for class sessions at the Beinecke and plan your visit to actively use or discuss library materials for the majority of the class time.
• We expect instructors to partner with us to ensure that students abide by the requirements listed above.
• If the instructor is teaching on their own, they may not leave students unattended before, during, or after the class period. If assistance is needed, send a student to the service desk and a staff member will come to the classroom to assist.
• No more than fifteen items per unique class session may be requested. (Ten items for seminar rooms.)
• Requests for materials must be submitted by the instructor through Aeon at least one week before the class convenes in order to allow adequate time for staff to prepare the materials. Please consult the Guide for Instructors for more detailed information about preparing for a class.