Visit this helpful guide to help you start researching your topic! Below is an abridged version of the guide.
This website is a subject guide! Subject guides are websites prepared by Yale staff that can help students navigate research in certain majors or programs - they feature helpful databases and and resources to help guide research on a particular topic. Please visit the complete list of Yale subject guides for more information.
For help on researching something within your specific major or discipline, find your subject specialist in this directory.
Below is an example of the library guide website (simply click on the plus sign symbol to view library guides on the subject).
Finding Aids are inventories created by library staff of archival and manuscript collections (photographs, diaries, letters, and other unpublished materials) the library has, including the holdings of Manuscripts & Archives, Beinecke, the Yale Center for British Art and many more. Archives at Yale
Step #1: Search the finding aid database by subject.
Step # 2: Find the relevant collection and open it by clicking on the collection title.
Step #3: After you find and open the relevant collection, scroll down to the Overview subsection "View/Search" and click the "full HTML" link. This expands the finding aid and offers descriptions of particular items in the collection sorted by box.
Step #4: If you find a relevant item and would like to view it, click the "Request Box #" link left of the descriptions. It will open a new page.
Step #5: Fill out the request form, where you can describe the box you want and schedule the date you would like to come in to the reading room to view the item (most items in the Beinecke, etc. are non-circulating). When you have submitted the form, you will be given a transaction number. You can order up to ten items at a time.
Below is an example request:
Aside from the vast number of physical volumes Yale owns, the library also has e-Books students can check out. You can filter Orbis searches for online books. Simply click on the “quick limits” dropdown menu and select “online books and serials” (Note: you can only use this filters if you are searching by “keyword” or “title”).
There are many services Yale uses for eBooks, among them Overdrive and Ebrary. Some websites only allow you to view the eBook online. For those websites that allow you to "check out" (download) the eBook for a limited time period, Adobe Digital Editions is a helpful reading app you can download for free here.
Many of the images Yale owns are digitazed and easily searchable - visit the Digital Collections page. For access to more digital collections, browse the Digital Collections list.
If you know the name of the database you are looking for (such as ProQuest or Latin American Women Writers), please look up the database on this website.
To look up articles on a specific subject, please visit Articles+.
To access online journals and newspapers and other online resources, please visit this website.
To search for more online materials, such as books, videos, dissertations, etc., use QuickSearch. If you have any feedback about our QuickSearch service, please fill out this form.