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Diversity in the Stacks: Central American Political and Social History

Posted on by Brie Gettleson
Two books are stacked on a table. The top book says "Los indígenas también queremos ser guatemaltecos..." and shares author name of Alberto Esquit Choy.

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 pavilion in the Kislak Center has a full audience, with some people clapping.

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.

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University of Pennsylvania Libraries Announces Brian Vivier as Inaugural Director of the Center for Global Collections

Posted on
Brian Vivier

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. 

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Making Science Labs Safer at the University of Pennsylvania

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
A computer screen showing a spreadsheet on the left and a page from the PubChem website on the right. Most of the text is unreadable, but on the PubChem website you can see warning symbols in red boxes.

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. 

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Summer Featured Books and DVDs: For the Love of Food

Posted on by Amanda Alexander
DVDs lined up in a row with "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" in the front

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. 

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New eBook Subscription: Harvard Business Publishing Collection

Posted on by Cynthia Cronin-Kardon
Covers of three books from the eBooks package: Collision Course, Compassionate Leadership, and Beyond Collaboration Overload.

Just in time for summer reading season, the Penn Libraries has subscribed to the Harvard Business Review ebooks package from EBSCO.

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Books on the Move: Changes in the Van Pelt Stacks

Posted on
A masked individual moves books from a shelf to a rolling cart

Through Summer 2023, the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center stacks are undergoing a multi-phase refresh and reorganization.

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Diversity in the stacks

Diversity in the Stacks: Highlights from the Penn Sexuality Collection

Posted on by David Azzolina
The cover of the first issue of the magazine Blue on the front cover, showing a man with dark hair looking at the camera in a sultry manner

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. 

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Rebuilding Rare Books in a Virtual Space: A Conversation with Curator Dot Porter

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
Two people stand at the edge of the frame reaching out towards a large book sitting in a box in the middle of the table

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.

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June Featured Books and DVDs: Pride Month

Posted on by Amanda Alexander
DVDs in top row are Moonlight, The Celluloid Closet, Ammonite, and Pariah. Bottom row is Rock Hudson's home movies, The Signifyin' Works of Marlon Riggs, A Fantastic Woman, and Welcome to Chechnya.

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

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February 2020

Exhibition showcases the brilliance of Black women writers

Source: Penn Today
Published:

Archive of pioneering author and artist comes to Penn Libraries

Source: Penn Today
Published:

In museums: Suffrage, scandal, sloths, and rebellion

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Published:

February 2020

Andrew Hart to Join the Penn Libraries as MacDonald Director of Preservation

Posted on February 2020
Andrew Hart

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.

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Penn Libraries Releases Strategic Priorities for Feedback

Posted on February 2020
Moelis Family Grand Reading Room.

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.

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Featured Books: Black History Month

Posted on February 2020
Math Physics Astronomy Featured Books

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. 

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Probing the “Time Capsule” of the Cairo Geniza at Adath Israel Synagogue

Posted on February 2020
Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library

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. 

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Probing the “Time Capsule” of the Cairo Geniza at Adath Israel Synagogue

Posted on February 2020
Genizah Research Unit, Cambridge University Library

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. 

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Patricia Guardiola Named Director of the Fisher Fine Arts Library

Posted on February 2020
Patricia Guardiola inside 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.

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'Making the Renaissance Manuscript: Discoveries from Philadelphia Libraries' Opens February 10

Posted on February 2020
"Master B.F.,” Decorated letter P from the Santi Angelo e Niccolò at Villanova Sillaro choirbooks (Lombardy, ca. 1500) Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E M 76:52

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.

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A Rare Discovery: Celebrating Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with The Philadelphia Orchestra

Posted on February 2020
Yannick Nézet-Séguin in conversation with Matías Tarnopolsky

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.

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A Rare Discovery: Celebrating Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with The Philadelphia Orchestra

Posted on February 2020
Yannick Nézet-Séguin in conversation with Matías Tarnopolsky

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.

...Continue reading

Behind the Scenes: Curators Reflect on 'Making the Renaissance Manuscript' and 'Medieval Life'

Posted on February 2020
Item from Making the Renaissance Manuscript exhibit

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.

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