Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library
New Haven, Conn.
Nature of Project
Sun control
Scope of Project
Solar film installation to protect the library’s rare books collection
Type of Film Installed
7-mil solar film
Project Detail
Yale University officials were concerned that the condition of 180,000 rare books housed in its Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library was deteriorating because of sunlight seeping in through the building windows. Commercial Window Shield was retained to install a clear solar film on 48 windows, which diffused 99.9 percent of the ultraviolet sunlight rays. At the same time, the film allowed natural daylight to filter into the building, providing the best of both worlds: solar protection and natural light.