This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/15/2017 07:30 AMA visit to Yale University in New Haven isn’t complete without a trip to the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Like its neighbor the Sterling Memorial Library, it looks like something that might be encountered on the fictional campus of Hogwarts. Perched atop stone piers overlooking a courtyard fitted with a sunken statuary garden, the library protects its valuable collection by filtering light through its iconic windows, which are made of translucent marble panels just over an inch thick. Inside, a glass-faced, six-story stack tower with space for 180,000 volumes greets guests; less visible, the underground stacks can house more than a million volumes.
When it was constructed in the 1960s, the Beinecke was the largest freestanding rare book manuscript library in the world—a title that it may still hold. And at the center of it, as its director since January 2011, is Edwin Schroeder of Clinton, called E.C. by his friends. E.C. recently saw the library reopen in September after extensive renovations that had closed the building for more than a year.
“Seeing it again in all of its glory, if you will, just reminds you this library documents much of human knowledge, so it’s pretty exciting,” says E.C. “It’s not a subtle building—we want you to know you’re in a library.”
The 15-month renovation included a complete replacement of all the mechanical systems. The air conditioning and heating system was replaced; a critical system relied upon to provide the proper environmental conditions for its treasures, which include, on permanent display, a Gutenberg Bible and James Audubon’s Birds of America.
Two new classrooms that can serve as undergraduate lecture halls were also added, along with a space for preparing exhibits. The fire suppression and security systems were updated, too, and the lights were all replaced with LEDs.
Outside, the abstract white marble statues were lifted out of their courtyard for conservation work. The floor of the courtyard—a roof to an underground level of the library—had to be replaced.
“Sometimes things got thrown over the side, the marble got stained and damaged,” says E.C. “We also had some bad frost heaves, so there were cracks that needed to be fixed as well.”
The library’s distinctive marble facing also had cracks that needed repairing. And, despite the Beinecke’s already impressive size, it was time for an upgrade in terms of scale, too.
“We built a whole new [40,000-square-foot] complex to do our cataloging, digitization, and also conservation,” says E.C. “That’s in an all-new space.”
While E.C.’s lifework is his care of this incredible collection of everything from third-century papyrus and medieval manuscripts to modern letters, his hobby here in Clinton is similar in theme, though smaller in scale. As vice president of the Clinton Historical Society—and past president—E.C. has overseen the expansion of its library of Clinton history, housed behind the Old Brick on East Main Street.
“We have newspapers; it has photographs, letters, books about Clinton, manuscript diaries, old bibles that have genealogy of town residents, maps as well,” says E.C., who in 1992 moved to Clinton with his wife, Larissa.
The historical society library is open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon and by appointment. While it may not have the attraction of the Beinecke—which according to E.C. has hosted 55,000 visitors since its reopening—it still contains many items of interest in particular to Clinton residents.
As a combination of those two interests, E.C. will lead a tour of the Beinecke Library for Clinton Historical Society members on Saturday, Feb. 18. The tour will include a display of items related to Clinton on display at the Beinecke, including letters between Jared Eliot and Benjamin Franklin, and early maps of Connecticut.
“It’s a bonus of becoming a member, which is very inexpensive to do,” E.C. notes of the tour.
The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Tour for members of the Clinton Historical Society is on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. Registration is required. For more information or to register, contact chsoldbrick@gmail.com. The Beinecke’s current exhibit, Gather Out of Star-Dust: The Harlem Renaissance & The Beinecke Library, runs through April 17.