Recognizing the importance of Central American Studies, the Penn Libraries recently acquired a substantial collection of ephemera, books, and audiovisual materials from the region.
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Penn Libraries Establishes Lecture Series on Global Subjects

The newly endowed Park-Choi Lecture Series supports the Penn Libraries’ ongoing commitment to meaningful engagement with individuals, institutions, and communities through scholarship support and programming.
University of Pennsylvania Libraries Announces Brian Vivier as Inaugural Director of the Center for Global Collections

In his new role, he will provide strategic vision, leadership, and oversight for the Center in building world-class distinctive global collections and engaging programming.
Making Science Labs Safer at the University of Pennsylvania

It’s the job of Penn's Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS) to develop, implement, and manage the systems that keep the university's many science labs as safe as possible. But in the last few years, the team has begun turning to chemistry librarian Judith Currano as a vital partner in these processes.
Summer Featured Books and DVDs: For the Love of Food

Some of us eat to live, and some of us live to eat. For some of us, making and eating food can also be a rich source for cultural analysis and storytelling. This month’s featured materials show some of the many ideas and values food can represent.
New eBook Subscription: Harvard Business Publishing Collection

Just in time for summer reading season, the Penn Libraries has subscribed to the Harvard Business Review ebooks package from EBSCO.
Books on the Move: Changes in the Van Pelt Stacks

Through Summer 2023, the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center stacks are undergoing a multi-phase refresh and reorganization.
Diversity in the Stacks: Highlights from the Penn Sexuality Collection

The Penn Sexuality Collection will add materials to the Penn Libraries that fall outside the usual purview of academic libraries, helping to make the Libraries a destination for sexuality researchers.
Rebuilding Rare Books in a Virtual Space: A Conversation with Curator Dot Porter

We recently sat down with curator Dot Porter to talk about how she tries to bring very old books to life in the digital world.
June Featured Books and DVDs: Pride Month

Penn’s LGBT Center will be kicking off their Pride activities with a Queer Dance Class on Friday, June 3 , and will be hosting special events throughout the month. In the meantime, LGBT Center staff provided the Penn Libraries with the following recommendations, each of which offers an an inspiring and enriching reading or watching experience
May 2019
Walt Whitman put on trial for his 200th birthday
Walt Whitman bicentennial celebration kicks into high gear for his birthday
May 2019
Penn Museum Library Shares Rare Books in Monthly Pop-Up Exhibits

When Deb Brown Stewart became Head of the Penn Museum Library in December of 2016, she discovered a trove of rare books among the Museum Library’s 145,000 on-site volumes. Stewart also found that many faculty were unaware the Museum Library possessed rare books beyond the famed Daniel Garrison Brinton Collection.
...Continue readingBlack Thought and Culture

Collection of non-fiction writings by American black leaders—teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, and others—covering 250 years of history. In addition to works by major figures such as W.E.B. Dubois, Malcolm X and Ida B.
...Continue readingMarion Leary: VR Visionary on Libraries and Innovation

“I’m a huge fan of the Penn Libraries!” says Marion Leary, RN, MSN, MPH, FAHA. The Penn School of Nursing’s very first Director of Innovation, Leary conducts advanced research in resuscitation science that frequently entails collaboration across disciplines — including strategic partnerships with libraries and librarians. “Innovation requires everybody’s knowledge and experience,” she explains.
...Continue readingNow Available: Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union Web Archive

The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation has launched the Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union Web Archive. The archive — which is now freely available for public use — preserves at-risk web content determined to be of lasting scholarly interest and includes websites published by a diversity of Slavic sources such as NGOs, artists, activists, intellectuals, and political parties.
...Continue readingFeatured Books Display: Food & Cooking

“First we eat, then we do everything else,” renowned foodie MFK Fisher once wrote. In celebration of the cultural significance of food, May’s Featured Books Display in the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center will spotlight titles related to “Food & Cooking.” The exhibit features both cookbooks as well as a broad selection of food-related holdings, with sub-topics ranging from cinema to Judaism to railroads to Shakespeare.
...Continue readingWhitman at 200’s Look-alike Contest Draws Multitudes to Philadelphia Brewing Company

The Penn Libraries’ Kislak Center is hosting a year-long series of events celebrating the 200th birthday of Walt Whitman collectively titled “Whitman at 200: Art and Democracy.” The series organizers consider Whitman’s 200th birthday an opportunity for Americans to reflect on the relation of Whitman’s work to the politics of his day — and of ours.
...Continue readingCNN and BBC Streaming Video

Two new collections have been added to our Academic Video Onlinedatabase. The CNN video collection includes feature programming on business, technology, environmental studies, health, women’s studies, and human rights. Launching with 450 videos, this collection will continue to grow. Highlighted content includes:
...Continue reading