Sterling Memorial Library
Location
Physical location is 120 High Street.
Located in the heart of today's Central Campus, the Sterling Memorial Library is one of Yale's most prominent buildings, as well as being the largest of all the Yale libraries. Completed in 1930, it was designed by architect James Gamble Rogers (Yale Class of 1889) and later named for its benefactor, John William Sterling (Yale Class of 1864). It currently houses approximately 4 million volumes on 16 floors of book stacks. It was built in the Collegiate Gothic style, resembling a European Gothic cathedral, with its 60-foot ceiling, cloisters, clerestory windows, side chapels, and a circulation desk altar. The stained glass windows throughout the building, 3,300 in all, were designed by artist G. Owen Bonawit. SML houses the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library, added in 1998, as well as numerous reading rooms and departments.
What's Available:
Hours
In this Building
| Location | Phone | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Babylonian Collection | Rooms 318 - 327 | 203-432-1837 | benjamin.foster@yale.edu |
| Benjamin Franklin Collection & Papers | Rooms 230 - 232 | 203-432-1814 | amy.jacaruso@yale.edu |
| Boswell Editions | Rooms 330 - 331A | 203-432-1864 | bosedit@yale.edu |
| Egyptology Reading Room | Room 329B | 203-436-8181 | christina.geisen@yale.edu |
Accessibility
An accessible entrance faces Cross Campus. Please ring doorbell for assistance. An elevator is located straight back from the main entrance. Men's and women's accessible bathrooms are on the ground floor in the Music Library and downstairs in the Wright Reading Room.
Access
Special note for tours: Only Yale-led tours are allowed to enter the building.
After 6:00 p.m., a Yale ID card or a library-issued pass is required to enter the building. Before 6:00 p.m., the library is open to the public. See the library hours section above for the full hours of operation.
A library-issued stacks pass, borrowing pass, or a current Yale ID is required to enter the stacks in SML.
Directions
From the New Haven Green or Phelps Gate on Old Campus, take College Street north to Elm Street. Make a left onto Elm Street. Go past Calhoun College and Berkeley College (on your right). At High Street, turn right and follow the cement pathway. The Women's Table sculpture on your right and Sterling Memorial Library will be to the left.