The Harvard-Yenching Library

Welcome to the Harvard-Yenching Library, the premier destination for East Asian studies in the United States, located at 2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Our library boasts the most comprehensive East Asian collection of any American university, featuring an impressive array of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Western materials. With over 1.5 million volumes, our collection includes more than 900,000 Chinese, 400,000 Japanese, 200,000 Korean, 30,000 Vietnamese, 55,000 Western languages, 4,000 Tibetan, 3,500 Manchu, and 500 Mongolian texts.

Our Special Collections are a treasure trove of rare books, archival materials, manuscripts, photographs, scrolls, rubbings, and maps, available in numerous languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Naxi. Researchers can explore these unique collections in our dedicated reading room, with many items digitized for convenient access via CURIOSity and HOLLIS Images.

Each semester, we offer specialized research orientation sessions to help you navigate our vast array of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean e-resources and databases. Missed a session? No problem—schedule a personalized research consultation with our knowledgeable staff.

We welcome researchers from all backgrounds, regardless of academic affiliation, to delve into our rare books, historical photographs, manuscripts, and archival collections. Please note that researchers not affiliated with Harvard must register with the Harvard Library Access & Borrowing Office prior to accessing our library.

Discover the legacy of Ko K'un-hua (Ge Kunhua), a distinguished Chinese scholar whose documents form the core of our collection. Among our prized possessions is a book with only two known copies in existence—one of which resides at the Harvard-Yenching Library.

Visit us to explore these unparalleled resources and uncover the rich history and culture of East Asia.