Visit and Study / Haas Family Arts Library
Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library
What can we inspire you to create?
We welcome the Yale community, researchers, and the public to explore and find inspiration at Haas Arts Library.
With beautiful spaces, ample places to study, and a distinctive architectural history, Haas Arts Library is the primary collection for the study of art, architecture, and drama at Yale and is one of the largest collections of its kind in the United States.
Our expert staff are available to help you navigate the library’s extensive collection of exhibition catalogs, playscripts, catalogues raisonnés, periodicals, databases, archival and special collections and more.
Whether you are conducting in-depth academic research or simply seeking creative inspiration, Haas Arts Library accommodates a wide range of creative interests and scholarly pursuits.
While you are here, be sure to visit our current exhibit.
Visiting | Workshops | Now On View | Arts Events | Researching Art, Architecture, and Drama | Special Collections | News
Visiting
Food and drink policy
Help us preserve our space and collections by following our policies:
- Food is not permitted in the Haas Family Arts Library.
- Non-alcoholic beverages may be taken into the library in approved, spill-proof containers.
- Open containers and disposable cups with lids are not permitted.
Group study rooms
Reservations can be made here, up to a week in advance.
Patron shelves
Patron shelves are located in the Paul Rudolph Reading Room on the Main Level across from the Current Periodicals section. Each shelf is identified with a number label.
Requesting a Patron Shelf
Yale-affiliated individuals with active status may request a personal patron shelf to hold circulating materials from the Arts Library for the duration of the academic year. Request a shelf by completing the Patron Shelf Request Form or visit the service desk to fill out a paper form.
Shelf holders will receive a courtesy reminder to renew their shelf by June 1 if they wish to continue use and retain the materials stored on the shelf. To request an early expiration, please contact us.
Shelves requested during the spring term will remain active through the following academic year; no renewal is required until the next cycle.
Patron Shelf Policies
- Only circulating materials from the Haas Arts Library are permitted on patron shelves.
- Non-circulating items including the following materials may not be placed on the shelves:
- Course Reserve items
- Serials and Periodicals
- Reference items
- Interlibrary Loan and BorrowDirect items
- Materials from other Yale Libraries
- Personal books and items
- Once a shelf is assigned, shelf holders must check out items to their patron shelf account and fill out a yellow shelf card for each item before placing it on the shelf.
- Patrons can remove materials from their own or another patron’s shelf for regular checkout to their personal account, but shelf holders will not be notified. Items taken out of the library must be checked out at the service desk, with the yellow shelf card remaining in the item. When returned, the yellow card ensures the material is charged back to the original shelf account.
- Patrons are asked to keep shelves neat and place books upright to prevent damage to materials. Bookends are available at each shelf.
- For collection preservation, please do not place sticky notes in library materials. Sticky notes left in books will be removed.
Proxy borrowing
Yale faculty and museum curators may designate up to two research assistants to use the proxy service during the academic year. This authorization allows assistants to pick up library materials on behalf of the faculty or curator. To register, complete the proxy form. A courtesy reminder will be sent to renew proxy access by June 1. Requests submitted during the spring term will remain active through the following academic year; no renewal is required until the next cycle.
- Proxies may not use this service to check out library materials for their own personal use.
- Faculty members are personally responsible for any charges assessed to their account for library materials damaged or lost while checked out under this proxy service.
Technology
Scanning
The Arts Library offers several scanning options:
- Two flatbed scanners and two book scanners are available free of charge. Users can create PDFs, JPEGs, TIFFs, or Word documents and choose to email the files or save them to a USB drive.
- Two multifunction copier/printer/scanner machines for a fee of 0ドル.01 per scan. These machines include a document feeder for efficient multipage scanning.
Yale readers who make use of scanners are expected to abide by the regulations of the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Any violations of the Copyright Law at self-service machines are the responsibility of the reader and are not the responsibility of Yale Library.
Printing and Copying
There is a multifunction machine to support color copying and printing on each floor.
Copying or printing require a BluePrint account. Costs are:
- Black-and-white: 0ドル.10 per one-sided page, 0ドル.02 for the second side
- Color: 0ドル.25 per page
Computers
On the main level are two "quick lookup" computers, two computer stations, and two laptop docking stations with planar monitors. There is one computer station on the lower level. Computers are administered by Yale ITS and include standard academic computing software.
Researchers not affiliated with Yale are encouraged to bring a personal device or laptop. Affiliates and visitors with borrowing privileges or stacks access can use the public terminals in Sterling Memorial Library only. Check the list of software for Sterling Library computers.
History of the library
By Jesse Vestermark, 2008-2009 Kress Fellow in Art Librarianship
The Collection Begins
The Yale School of Art was founded in the late 1860s, and within the following decade, a small book collection began taking shape in Street Hall. Between 1908 and 1916, the study of architecture was gradually incorporated into the Yale program along with a related library in Weir Hall. The Drama, Slide and Photo collections began within the Art Library but eventually moved into their own respective locations. The Art and Architecture collections grew steadily until Street Hall’s occupation by the Navy during WWII forced a merger, conveniently placing core materials for both disciplines in Weir.
Growing Pains
In 1953, the Art and Architecture Library moved to the former sculpture wing of the Yale Art Gallery. This shift required heavy weeding and left room only for a "working" collection, giving momentum to talk of a new building. Paul Rudolph, chair of the School of Architecture during the late 1950s, had been part of the library planning committee and was hired to design a School of Art and Architecture building within which a new library would reside.
The new building opened in 1963 and was hailed as a landmark for Rudolph and his sculptural style, which combined Brutalist textures and materials with a post-modern interlocking of 36 levels. After Rudolph left Yale in 1965, the "A & A" was subjected to increasingly haphazard patch-ups and re-designs that continued long after the 1969 fire that destroyed the upper floors.
Triumphant Rebirth
Architect Charles Gwathmey, a former student of Rudolph’s, was chosen to return the building to its current, more dignified state. The Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library brings together not only the disciplines of Art and Architecture, but also Drama, Visual Resources and a wonderful, expanded Special Collections area. We hope you share in our excitement over this powerful new space and its myriad resources.
Jesse Vestermark. "History of the Rise and Progress of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University" Art Libraries Journal 36.2 (2011): 5-11.
Workshops
Come learn with us! Join us for workshops to build your research skills or enjoy creative, hands-on activities.
Now on View
Arts Events
Researching Art, Architecture, and Drama
[画像:Haas Arts chair]Architecture Research @ Yale
Get started researching architecture topics.
Art History Research at Yale
Explore the many art history resources available to you at Yale.
Art Practice Research
How to use library resources for your art practice.
Image Resources
Locating image resources for educational use.
Arts Library Special Collections
Learn more about selected collections and subject strengths of the Arts Library Special Collections.
Theatre Studies, Drama, and Dance
All things theatre: acting, theatrical design, directing, playwriting, etc.
All Arts Research Guides
Browse our research guides by subject.
Arts Library Special Collections
Arts Library Special Collections features artists’ books and volumes on the book arts, fine printing, typography, and illustration, as well as archival materials and thesis projects from the Schools of Art, Architecture, and Drama.
Holdings include contemporary catalogues raisonnés, 18th- and 19th-century works on artists and architecture, a broad selection of fine press and artists’ books, rare research materials in support of these subject areas, and the Faber Birren Collection of Books on Color.
In addition, it contains manuscript and archival holdings in book arts, art history, and drama. Theatrical production is documented through photographs, production books, scrapbooks, and ephemera. The Yale Bookplate Collection contains ex-libris prints and process materials, such as original sketches, plates, and woodblocks. The Arts of the Book Collection maintains archives of Fritz Eichenberg, Fritz Kredel, Richard Minsky, Carl P. Rollins, and many smaller collections about the book arts.
Arts News
November 12, 2025
October 21, 2025
June 13, 2025
Today's Hours
The Arts Library is located at the corner of Chapel and York Streets. Enter through the street-level door for the Loria Center, 190 York Street, and proceed straight ahead to enter the library.
During the semester, a valid Yale ID with activated swipe access is required for entry after 6pm Monday through Friday, and all day on weekends.
Contact Us
203-432-2645
Arts Library Special Collections: haasalsc@yale.edu
Haas Arts Library
190 York Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Directions