About the Astronomy Library

The astronomy library at Yale is a research library intended primarily to serve the members of the Astronomy Department. It maintains a small collection of astronomical literature and also has smaller collections of books on physics and mathematics.

Please note: this is a non-circulating library.

Important Links

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Astronomy Subject Guides

 

Arrangement of Library Collections

The Astronomy Library contains many types of materials, and for practical reasons and ease of use, the collections are not arranged strictly according to the Library of Congress (LC) classification scheme. Instead, several major categories of material have been defined, and each is shelved in a different section of the library having its own system of arrangement.

• Technical Astronomy Books (QB in the LC system): Shelved according to subject. Each subject is assigned a number 1 to 100. The subject number is indicated by a small round sticker on the spine of the book and on the catalog card. For most books cataloged since 1989, this number is also given in the ORBIS entry, preceding the LC number. Within each subject category, books are arranged according to the Library of Congress call card number.
• Other Astronomy Books (QB): This section contains three categories of mostly non-technical books, indicated by letters on small round stickers: (B) Biographies, (C) Collected Works, and (H) History of Astronomy. Arrangement within each category is by LC number.
• Mathematics (QA), Physics (QC), Chemistry (QD), and Geology (QE): Arranged in a separate section by LC number.
• Other Books: These include General Science (Q), Engineering (T), Navigation (V), and Bibliographies (Z) in LC order. Theses are grouped by Yale University and Other Universities, then arranged in alphabetical order.
• Journals: Shelved alphabetically by title.
• Observatory Publications: Published irregularly and arranged in two main sections. U.S. Observatories and Foreign Observatories.

• Catalogs:  Are shelved in a section of their own designated by green tape on the spine. Arrangement is by LC number. Old and Overflow Books section contains books that are outdated and other materials of relatively little current research interest. Arranged by LC number.
• Ephemerides:
• Our Collection also includes Reference Books, Slides, Video Tapes, and CD-ROM's.