Americana

The Beinecke Library’s major strengths in general Americana span the colonial period to the middle of the nineteenth century, complemented by important collections of twentieth century writers and photographers.

  • Beinecke Library unites past and present in spring exhibit (Yale Daily News)

    February 8, 2023

    On Jan. 27, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscripts Library unveiled its spring exhibit “Revisiting the Past — Imagining the Future.” Featuring artifacts spanning centuries and cultures, the exhibit is intended to add new perspectives to popular readings of history. The process for building the exhibit began about a year ago when Timothy Young, curator of modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke, reached out to his colleagues at Sterling Memorial Library, sparking a new collaboration between the Beinecke and other collections at Yale.

  • Campus events honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

    January 10, 2023

    The Yale and New Haven communities will commemorate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. during a series of campus events, including a keynote address by his eldest son, Martin Luther King III. The campus celebrations, which also will include library exhibits highlighting King’s contributions, a poetry slam, an exploration of King’s influence on environmental justice, and a love march, are part of the university’s annual campus commemoration of the famed civil rights activist and preacher.

  • New Haven Black history ready to be explored at Yale's Beinecke library (New Haven Register)

    November 14, 2022

    If there's one thing New Haven has plenty of, it's history — and for as long as there have been African Americans in New Haven, that history has been recorded along with the stories of all the ethnicities that call or have called New Haven home. Much of it has been recorded, catalogued and preserved by historical societies and libraries, including the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University which will provide an opportunity Sunday in conjunction with The Greater New Haven African American Historical Society for people to come in an explore.

  • Mississippi Revealed (NHK World Japan)

    October 28, 2022

    Journey with Cannon Hersey as he explores parallels between battles over voting rights today and the historic struggles of the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi. With his grandfather, famed writer John Hersey's groundbreaking "A Life for a Vote" as a roadmap, Cannon reveals how black farmers cultivated freedom by tending the earth, and are still striving to overcome a legacy of systemic oppression.

  • A Postcard from New Haven, CT (Contingent Magazine)

    July 29, 2022

    Although I spent only two days researching at Yale, I found several pertinent sources for my dissertation. Most of that time I worked at the Beinecke Library, located next to the law school. Tall and modern, the exterior of the Beinecke looks drastically different from the more traditional gothic buildings nearby. Walking inside the library, visitors like myself find a large enclosed glass case of rare books. The library holds over 1 million books, and it’s quite something to see many of them in such a unique display. The library’s reading room offered great space to read through its many collections, small or large, without the pressure of hovering over other researchers.