Beinecke Library's New Processing Facility
Ellen Doon, Yale University


In March of this year Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library opened a new, off-site archival processing facility. The new operation expands its existing Manuscript Unit to include eight new positions, as part of the Library's commitment to process its backlog and keep up with new accessions.
The Beinecke Library is fortunate to have a robust acquisitions budget, and over time this has resulted in an archival processing backlog of over 12,000 linear feet (and growing). Until 2007, six Beinecke archivists divided their time between archival processing, cataloging of manuscript items and small collections, and other responsibilities within the Unit and the Library. Archival processing was done in cubicles with some adjacent shelving, but this space made efficient processing of large collections difficult. In 2005, the Library decided to expand the Unit, adding more staff and providing them with enough space to process large collections quickly.
The Library hired New Haven-based architect Craig Newick to design a flexible processing unit in leased space in an office building near the Yale campus. The result is a highly functional and pleasant workspace in one large room, which occupies nearly an entire floor of the building. The layout of the space places archivists within easy reach of their projects. Workstations line one wall, with movable partitions to allow for reconfiguration and reallocation of space. Down the center of the room is a row of tables, which are lightweight enough to be moved easily to accommodate any desired configuration. Fixed shelving lines the opposite wall, totaling 1800 linear feet, so that the entirety of a large collection is accessible to the archivist during processing. The space also includes a supply and copier room, a meeting room, a staff lounge, and an office.

Under my direction, five archivists (Susan Brady, Lisa Conathan, Heather Dean, Sandra Markham, and Molly Wheeler) and two archives assistants (Andrea Benefiel and Clayton McGahee) have now begun work in the new facility. This space is intended for processing the richest of Beinecke's large archival holdings: among the collections the new staff will process in the near future are the Joseph Brodksy Papers, the archive of the Theatre Guild, the William Carlos Williams Papers, the Archibald MacLeish Papers, and the Livingston Family Papers. We will be experimenting with processing these collections at varying levels of description, depending on the complexity, research value, and preservation needs of the material. Collections are closed to researchers while in process, and the Unit is committed to returning collections to the Beinecke by established deadlines, which are published on the Beinecke Library's Web site, at http://www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/index.html.
The additional space and staff allow Beinecke's Manuscript Unit to meet its goals of processing both backlog and newly acquired large collections, while continuing to provide access to a high volume of new acquisitions of small collections and single items. This has been a year of great change for the Unit and the Library, and we now look forward to getting down to work.