Collections in the media: A 400-year-old Dutch bond, musical scores, a poet’s papers, and more
Local, national, student, and international media report on the activities of Yale Library staff and on the library’s resources, programs, exhibitions, and events. Login access or subscription required for some links.
January 12
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) spotlighted a nearly 400-year-old “perpetual bond” from Yale Library Special Collections. A five-minute segment in the audio “Bonds: Heroes or Villains?” features the vellum manuscript, one of the first known private bonds in existence. A Dutch government water authority issued the bond in 1648 to finance improvements to a local dike system. Geert Rouwenhorst, Robert B. and Candice J. Haas Professor of Corporate Finance in Yale School of Management, explained that the “perpetual” bond still accrues annual interest in Carolus gilders, currently the equivalent of approximately $13.
January 6
Both CT Insider and the New Haven Register featured the Yale Library news story about the library’s recent acquisition of “previously unavailable” materials documenting the life and work of the American poet Sylvia Plath.
December 18, 2025
“Fine Books & Collections” magazine published “How Japanese ‘Chirimen’ Books Found Fame in the West,” by Rachel Herschman, program director of Exhibitions and Publications at Beinecke Library. The article also appeared in the magazine’s Winter 2026 print issue.
November 17
“Yale Daily News” published a review of the Beinecke Library exhibition “Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan” by reporter Mary Lee Murray.
November 12
“America: The Jesuit Review” published an article about the exhibition “Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Medieval Art and Life” at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, featuring a photograph and special mention of one of the objects in the Morgan’s exhibition: the prayer book of St. Thomas More, held at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
November 7
“Mirage” published “Textured Stories: Crepe Books Bridge Cultures,” a brief writeup about the Japanese folktale “Chin Chin Kobakama,” one of the crêpe-paper books included in the exhibition “Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan.”
October 29
The Associated Press of Pakistan and the Kazinform International News Agency covered a special event at Sterling Library, held to celebrate the donation of books and musical scores by Kazakh thinkers and composers to Yale Library Special Collections. Ruthann McTyre, director of the Gilmore Music Library; Mark Bailey, head of the Historical Sound Recordings Department; and Suzanne Lovejoy, music librarian for Access and Research Services, were among the staff members gathered for the event.
October 24
The “Asian Art Newspaper” published a feature story about “Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan,” on view at Beinecke Library through May 3.
October 24
Michael Morand, director of Community Engagement at Beinecke Library, was quoted in the “Yale Daily News” article “Two Black Fraternities at Yale Survive on One Member Each” by Olivia Cyrus. Morand spoke about the efforts of the university and the library to “address the gap in the history of Black Yalies.”
October 18
“Mirage” featured a close look at the artist’s book “What’s Happening with Momma?” by Clarissa Sligh, one of the objects included in the Beinecke exhibition “Unfolding Events: Exploring Past and Present in Artists’ Books,” on view at Beinecke Library through March 1.
October 17
In its “Arts & Culture” section, the “New Haven Independent” published the story “Documentary Keeps a Holocaust Survivor’s Story Alive” by Paul Bass. The article features the documentary “I Am Free … But Who Is Left?” by Joanne Rudof, former archivist with the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies. Rudof was inspired by the recorded testimony of Frederick Orenstein, a survivor of time spent in five Nazi concentration camps. The article also features a YouTube link to Bass’s video interview with Rudoff.
—Deborah Cannarella
