Research Inquiries

The staff at Arts Library Special Collections can assist you with your research in a number of ways. If you have a general question in the arts, one of these subject specialists may also be able to assist you.  Librarians are trained to assist researchers to find materials of interest and to teach researchers the skills needed to find desired materials on their own.

For the Yale community

Students

The staff at ALSC look forward to assisting you with your research questions, from “Do you have this book?” to “How do I start my research paper?” We can provide suggestions of interesting primary source materials in addition to providing access to the many catalogues raisonnés and other important reference materials held in ALSC. The staff at ALSC can assist you in scheduling a group study session in the ALSC classroom, where you can look at materials with your classmates and discuss them in person.

Faculty

The librarians at ALSC are eager to partner with you in developing instruction sessions using the rare and unique materials in our collections to further your teaching goals. We regularly develop instruction sessions designed specifically to the course syllabus and in collaboration with faculty.  A visual literacy exercise based on the vast holdings of the Yale Bookplate Collection is also available and can be tailored for a variety of audiences.

The librarians at ALSC are also available for consultation on personal research projects.

For non-Yale patrons

ALSC staff can spend up to one hour of time on your research question.  If your question is not answered to your satisfaction with the information we can find in that time, we can assist you in locating a student research assistant, who can be hired to continue your research on-site.  The Arts Library is open to the public and we encourage researchers to visit in person whenever possible. Contact an ALSC staff member at 203.432.1712 or haasalsc@yale.edu for further questions about access to the collections.