Recognizing the importance of Central American Studies, the Penn Libraries recently acquired a substantial collection of ephemera, books, and audiovisual materials from the region.
Blog post search
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
February 2020
Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers
Archive of pioneering author and artist comes to Penn Libraries
In museums: Suffrage, scandal, sloths, and rebellion
February 2020
Andrew Hart to Join the Penn Libraries as MacDonald Director of Preservation

In his new role, Hart will manage the Preservation, Conservation, and Physical Processing units of the Penn Libraries, including oversight of both print and digital preservation, the 3,200-square-foot Steven Miller Conservation Laboratory, and physical processing, repair, and binding.
Penn Libraries Releases Strategic Priorities for Feedback

The Penn Libraries provides services and collections to further the University of Pennsylvania’s research, teaching, and learning mission and to address the essential challenges and opportunities presented by a rapidly changing world. Our 2020-2025 strategic plan aligns our work with the Penn Compact 2020 pillars of inclusion, innovation, and impact and the University’s goal of advancing knowledge for good.
Featured Books: Black History Month

Visitors to the Penn Libraries can commemorate Black History Month through a number of curated book displays — including the first of its kind at the Math/Physics/Astronomy Library. The inaugural Math/Physics/Astronomy Library Featured Book Exhibit features selected works in the Penn Libraries' collection authored by African American mathematicians, physicists, and astronomers.
Probing the “Time Capsule” of the Cairo Geniza at Adath Israel Synagogue

In mid-January, Emily Esten visited the Adath Israel synagogue in nearby Merion Station to deliver two presentations on the Cairo Geniza, one tailored to adult synagogue members and the other to children. “The Cairo Geniza is unique among digital humanities projects,” says Esten, who is the Penn Libraries’ Judaica Digital Humanities Coordinator.
Probing the “Time Capsule” of the Cairo Geniza at Adath Israel Synagogue

In mid-January, Emily Esten visited the Adath Israel synagogue in nearby Merion Station to deliver two presentations on the Cairo Geniza, one tailored to adult synagogue members and the other to children. “The Cairo Geniza is unique among digital humanities projects,” says Esten, who is the Penn Libraries’ Judaica Digital Humanities Coordinator.
Patricia Guardiola Named Director of the Fisher Fine Arts Library

The Penn Libraries is pleased to announce that Patricia Guardiola has been named the new Director of the Fisher Fine Arts Library. Guardiola joined the Penn Libraries in 2015 as Assistant Director of the Fisher library. Before coming to Penn, she was a Kress Fellow in Art Librarianship and then Reference and Instruction Librarian in the Haas Family Arts Library at Yale University.
'Making the Renaissance Manuscript: Discoveries from Philadelphia Libraries' Opens February 10

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries is pleased to present Making the Renaissance Manuscript: Discoveries from Philadelphia Libraries, on display in the Goldstein Family Gallery on the sixth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center from February 10 to May 19, 2020.
A Rare Discovery: Celebrating Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with The Philadelphia Orchestra

A wholly unexpected musical discovery was at the center of a collaboration between the Penn Libraries and The Philadelphia Orchestra, as the two institutions partnered to celebrate the only known recording of composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his last major orchestral work, Symphonic Dances.
A Rare Discovery: Celebrating Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with The Philadelphia Orchestra

A wholly unexpected musical discovery was at the center of a collaboration between the Penn Libraries and The Philadelphia Orchestra, as the two institutions partnered to celebrate the only known recording of composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his last major orchestral work, Symphonic Dances.
Behind the Scenes: Curators Reflect on 'Making the Renaissance Manuscript' and 'Medieval Life'

Drawing from the collections of the Penn Libraries and other area institutions, two exhibits in spring 2020 use lesser-known treasures to capture and convey elements of Renaissance culture and Medieval life.