World's premier library, Beinecke back open again

After a massive facelift, one of the world's premier libraries is now open once again. And you don't have to travel far to find it. News 8's anchor Scott McDonald steps inside the Beinecke Library on Yale's campus. That's tonight's Closer Look. It can hold over a million books. It is. It's breathtaking. The Beinecke Library in New Haven is home to some of the rarest books and manuscripts on the planet. Books that were printed between the printing of the Gutenberg Bible and 1500. They're very old and printed with very different and interesting and developing technologies of bookmaking. Treasures of time, like the Gutenberg Bible. Fewer than 50 survive in the world today. It's the first book ever printed by movable type and one of the most valuable books in the world. It's the beginning of a revolution of what's possible in terms of how knowledge can be disseminated. Speaking of advancing knowledge. These are two books that came from Isaac Newton. Math and physics books donated to Yale by one of time's most influential scientists. You can think about how this traveled all the way across the ocean. It sat on the shelf and it survived on the shelf. And it's now sitting here so you and I have had the opportunity to look at it. And that's just the start. It's more than just rare books and manuscripts. It's also photographs. It's maps. Today we also collect digital data, so people's e-mails. It's also collecting archives, posters. So anything that documents the history of human knowledge and experience. It's unique design of extraordinary architecture. Translucent Vermont marble panels allowing light to illuminate the tower of knowledge. The structure of the building actually makes it so that we can see the collection in this way. With this little bit of natural light without risking doing any damage to the book. Recent technology upgrades go even further. Temperature is kept very stable. Waterless fire suppression systems. The oxygen vacuumed out giving the flames no fuel to feed. We have a whole range of security systems in place. Those who work inside cherish it just as much as those who stroll through in awe. It must be like a dream job. It's an extraordinary job. It's a really wonderful place to be. Making new discoveries by looking back. Scholars are always able to read through all the materials, understanding them in new ways. The library is a space where we both collect and store and preserve knowledge. But it's also a very live and dynamic space where new knowledge is coming to our culture in all different kinds of ways. And working to make sure the Beinecke evolves right along with mankind. One of the questions in 200 years is what does a book even look like? What's a title page? What's an index? And we will have that available for someone to discover. In New Haven, Scott McDonald, News 8.