Strengths of the library's special collections include documentation of the Protestant missionary endeavor, records related to American clergy and evangelists, documentation of religious work among college and university students, and unofficial records related to the life of the Divinity School.

These holdings form part of the Day Missions Library, North America's preeminent collection documenting the missionary movement and world Christianity. Many of the missionary papers held by the Divinity Library were acquired in connection with the China Records Project. The Divinity Library also has a notable collection of Missionary Bibles.

Detailed information about the scope and content of particular record groups is available in collection finding aids. These finding aids are searchable as a whole via the Yale Finding Aid Database (http://webtext.library.yale.edu), and are linked to individually within the Guide to Archives and Manuscripts Collections. Many of our archival collections are now housed off-site, so it is strongly recommended that researchers utilize the on-line finding aids and submit a Request form before arriving at the library. Contact Martha Smalley, Special Collections Librarian, or Joan Duffy, Archives Assistant, for more information. Collections in microfilm or microfiche format may be available via interlibrary loan to qualified users. See http://www.library.yale.edu/div/missionsmicroform.pdf for a selected list of materials available in microform.

• The Special Collections department is open Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.  See the Library hours page for any exceptions.
• Planning your research visit:
  • It is recommended that you fill out the online registration and request form prior to your arrival: http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. Feel free to contact Martha Smalley via email or phone (203- 432-5289) for any information you need for planning your visit to the Divinity Library.
  • Location of library
  • Lodging possibilities
  • Rights and reproductions
• Research fellowship available: The David M. Stowe Fund for Mission Research is intended to support visiting researchers who come to the Yale Divinity Library to use its missions-related collections. The fund is typically made available to a researcher who plans to attend the biennial Yale-Edinburgh Group meeting hosted by the Divinity Library and intends to spend at least one week in residence in New Haven to use the Divinity Library's collections. Contact Martha Smalley regarding application procedures. For more information on the Yale-Edinburgh Group see: http://www.library.yale.edu/div/yaleedin.htm.

Overview of Special Collections at the Yale Divinity School Library

Special Collections at the Yale Divinity School Library include more than 3200 linear feet of archival and manuscript material, 300 linear feet of pamphlet collections, and extensive holdings in microtext format. Holdings include personal and organizational papers, sermons, reports, pamphlets, and ephemera related to various aspects of religious history. Particular strengths of the collection are its documentation of the Protestant missionary endeavor, its records related to American clergy and evangelists, and its documentation of religious work among college and university students. The Divinity Library collection includes personal papers of numerous faculty members, and ephemeral material related to life at the Divinity School; official archives of the Divinity School are deposited in the Yale University Archives.

Emphasis on missions documentation

Many of the papers and archives listed in this guide reflect the Divinity Library's strong emphasis on documentation of Protestant mission activity. The extensive holdings of printed works in the Day Missions Library are complemented by the personal papers of more than 300 missionaries and archives of numerous mission sending agencies. Nearly half of the manuscript and archival holdings of the Divinity Library document the missionary enterprise in China. This reflects the impact of the China Records Project, which was begun in 1968 by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and became part of the Divinity Library in 1972. Thousands of former China missionaries and their families were contacted through this project. In many cases the material sent to the library in response to China Records Project contact was small in quantity, but this guide lists China-related material regardless of quantity because taken as a whole this documentation represents the nation's largest consolidated record of Protestant mission activity in China. The Wade-Giles system of romanization for Chinese place names that was in use during the Protestant missionary era has been retained in this list.