The Sterling Memorial Library , located at 120 High St., is the largest library on campus and serves as the center of the library system. It has 15 stack levels with books and journals devoted primarily to the humanities and social sciences. The stacks are closed to those without a valid Yale picture I.D. or a special visitor's access pass. Isamu Noguchi are some of the holdings visitors can see at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library . Constructed of Vermont granite and translucent marble panels, the building is one of the largest in the world devoted to rare books and manuscripts.
Special exhibitions are on view throughout the year.
The fall exhibition celebrates the centenary of the birth of Thornton Wilder with a selection of books, manuscripts, letters, photographs and memorabilia drawn from the playwright's papers and from the Wilder family archive. From late October through December, the library will show photographs by Yale graduate David Plowden. The library is closed Saturdays during Yale recesses, Labor Day, Thanksgiving weekend, Dec. 21-Jan. 2, Memorial Day and July 4. Staff is available at the individual libraries to acquaint library users with the many resources, help with research problems, teach them how to use printed or computerized reference tools in various fields, and assist them in finding books at Yale or other libraries around the world. Orbis, the online catalog, attempts to provide a uniform access to the collections housed anywhere in the library system.