diff --git a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/library.py b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/library.py
index 05858c97..a74c4ac6 100644
--- a/buildingmotif/dataclasses/library.py
+++ b/buildingmotif/dataclasses/library.py
@@ -340,6 +340,9 @@ def _load_from_directory(
 
         # read all .yml files
         for file in directory.rglob("*.yml"):
+            # if .ipynb_checkpoints, skip; these are cached files that Jupyter creates
+            if ".ipynb_checkpoints" in file.parts:
+                continue
             lib._read_yml_file(file, template_id_lookup, dependency_cache)
         # now that we have all the templates, we can populate the dependencies
         lib._resolve_template_dependencies(template_id_lookup, dependency_cache)