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L&B IS BACK

The renovated L&B Room—Sterling Memorial Library’s “grand living room”—welcomes students, faculty, alumni, and staff

By Yale Library

July 15^th, 2024

Throughout its long history, Sterling Memorial Library has continually adapted to the changing needs of each generation of students, faculty, and staff. With an eye toward the library’s centennial in 2031, Yale Library administration and staff are once again making preparations to meet the needs of its students and faculty well into the future.

“We want to step back and look at the building holistically to ensure that it will continue to provide the best possible support for teaching, learning, research, and community at Yale into its second century and beyond,” said Barbara Rockenbach, the Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian.

One significant step toward that goal is the floor-to-ceiling renovation of the beloved Linonia and Brothers (L&B) Reading Room, which has been a cherished sanctuary for students since the library opened its doors in 1931.

At the ribbon-cutting event on April 12, 2024, then President Peter Salovey, Barbara Rockenbach, and distinguished guests spoke to gathered alumni, donors, family, and friends about the past, present, and future of the library—the “heart of the university.”

The guest speakers were donors Meghan McMahon ’87, whose husband David Swensen, ’80 Ph.D., HON ’14, had been Yale’s chief investment officer for 36 years, and J. Frederick Berg Jr. ’66, whose generous gift to the library provided the catalyst for the transformative restoration of the L&B Room.

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

“My fondest undergraduate memory of Sterling Memorial Library is the Linonia and Brothers Reading Room (L&B) where we are gathered today. I discovered L&B during my sophomore year and spent many hours after dinner and until closing time reading and studying in one of the big green leather armchairs with my feet on one of the lower bookshelves. My frequent ‘seatmate’ in L&B was Bob Rosa, my Saybrook classmate and a fellow supporter of the L&B renovation. Like most of the other undergraduates , Bob and I would study intently, popping the occasional No-Doze caffeine tablet to help us resist the urge to fall asleep in those comfortable green leather chairs.”

—Fred Berg ’66

L&B IS BACK

J. Frederick Berg Jr. ’66

“As President Griswold predicted in 1962, Yale did indeed open many doors for me and gave me the opportunity to honor my parents, who supported and encouraged me at every stage of my life. Yale also gave me the opportunity to ‘give back’ and to recognize Yale for its role in shaping me into the man that I have become. In gratitude for all that my parents and Yale have done for me, I am proud to honor my parents and to celebrate Yale with the Berg Family Foyer.”

With the renovation, the impressive foyer of the L&B Room—formerly a utilitarian space housing a bibliographic press and related printing equipment—has been cleared and opened up to allow natural light to flood into the space. Newly named the Berg Family Foyer, it is lined with shelves filled with books about the history of Yale and of New Haven.

The colorful rug is woven with designs that mirror the decorative patterns that repeat along the room’s plaster ceilings. Four significant dates are woven into the design—1753 and 1768 (the founding years, respectively, of the Linonian Society and the Brothers of Unity, the two undergraduate literary and debate societies whose donated books formed the basis for original L&B collection), 1931 (the year of Sterling Memorial Library’s dedication), and 2024 (the year of the L&B renovation).

Our goal was to make this magnificent space as beautiful as it was in 1931, while introducing amenities like improved lighting, modern heating and cooling systems, and ample electrical outlets to charge laptops and phones. We wanted to make this a space that would showcase the best of Sterling Library’s rich architectural and historical character while meeting the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s students.

—Barbara Rockenbach, Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian

L&B IS BACK

“In 1972, my father Brian McMahon—a proud Yale man, class of 1958 and 1961 Law—brought me from our home in Michigan to tour his beloved alma mater. I recall fondly the sound of the carillon bells reverberating across campus, the curve of each step at Linsly -Chittenden Hall, the wonder of gazing down from the Swiss Room balcony into the Berkeley dining hall. But it was this room—a space my dad introduced with both hushed reverence and misty fondness—that resonated deeply in my brain, or my heart, or both. And it was this room that I gravitated to years later when I arrived as a student on campus.”

—Meghan McMahon ’87

L&B IS BACK

Meghan McMahon ’87

Meghan McMahon helped name one of the alcoves flanking the great room in memory of her husband, David Swensen, ’80 Ph.D., HON ’14 .

Swensen had been Yale University’s chief investment officer from 1985 until his death in 2021. Acclaimed internationally for his financial acumen, Swensen also taught at Yale College and Yale School of Management. He was a fellow of Berkeley College and an incorporator of the Elizabethan Club of Yale University.

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

Each of the six alcoves in the L&B Room is framed with an arched entryway, with long leaded-glass windows admitting natural light. Each private nook is lined with bookshelves of contemporary works of fiction and nonfiction. All are outfitted with lamps, carpets, work surfaces, and comfortable chairs for reading.

Five of the room’s six alcoves display plaques with the names of the donors. The sixth alcove is yet to be named.

A large plaque mounted in the Berg Family Foyer recognizes the alumni and friends who generously contributed to the renovation of the L&B Room: Anonymous; Mordechai M. Beizer ’78; J. Frederick Berg Jr. ’66; Margot Tweedy Egan ’77; Friends of David Swensen ’80 Ph.D., HON ’14; Anne B. Green; Evan H. LePatner ’03 and Wesley Mittman LePatner ’03; John R. Raben Jr. ’67; Robert M. Rosa ’66, ’70 M.D.; Cornelia Cogswell Rossi Foundation; Stephen A. Stack Jr. ’67; Laurie A. Warren; and Lisa Evanson Washburn ’89.

On Monday, April 15, 2024—after a long closure during the COVID-19 pandemic and then afterward for the extensive updates and renovations—the L&B Room reopened to welcome the students, faculty, alumni, staff, and visitors who had been eagerly awaiting the moment for four years.

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

L&B IS BACK

“The reopening of the Linonia and Brothers Room marks an exciting new chapter in the history of Sterling Memorial Library. Here, the old has become new—and the new, we trust, will swiftly become beloved, as the L&B Room has been for scores of students seeking respite from the rigors of their coursework.

“As Sterling Library begins to approach its centennial in 2031, it remains at the heart of this campus, and this L&B Room, now magnificently renewed, is part of its soul.”

—Peter Salovey ’86 Ph.D., HON ’24, 23rd President of Yale (2013–2024)

L&B IS BACK

Footnotes

Visual story by Deborah Cannarella and Monica Reed. Photographs by Judy Sirota Rosenthal and Mara Lavitt. The ca. 1930 photograph of the L&B Room before its renovation is from Manuscripts and Archives, Yale Library.

FootNotes

Visual story by Deborah Cannarella and Monica Reed. Photographs by Judy Sirota Rosenthal and Mara Lavitt. The ca. 1930 photograph of the L&B Room before its renovation is from Manuscripts and Archives, Yale Library.

© 2026 Yale Library

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