Penn Libraries News

Main content

Blog post search

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. 

...Continue reading

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.

...Continue reading

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. 

...Continue reading

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. 

...Continue reading

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. 

...Continue reading

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.

...Continue reading

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.

...Continue reading
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. 

...Continue reading

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.

...Continue reading

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

...Continue reading

April 2020

Considering ethics during a time of crisis

Source: Chemical & Engineering News
Published:

Book Hunter

Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette
Published:

Rapid response to COVID-19 puts the power of innovation to the test

Source: Penn Today
Published:

The Rise of the D.I.Y. Haggadah

Source: The New York Times
Published:

'Re-Covering the Ney'

Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette
Published:

April 2020

Ebony, Esquire and U.S. Mass Media Magazines

Posted on April 2020 by Nick Okrent
Ebony Magazine Covers

During much of the 20th century there was no greater bearer of mass market culture in the United States than the popular magazine, which was designed for a general audience across geographical regions and was not limited by the form or function of newspapers, books, or specialty publications.  These magazines are essential resources for studying social, cultural and political trends and thoughts. 

...Continue reading

Brigitte Weinsteiger Appointed Associate Vice Provost for Collections and Scholarly Communications at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Posted on April 2020
Brigitte Weinsteiger

In this role, Weinsteiger directs the strategy, advancement and growth of the Penn Libraries’ preeminent collections while promoting academic engagement both on campus and with the Greater Philadelphia community.

...Continue reading

voxgov: 50 Million U.S. Federal Government News Items

Posted on April 2020 by Lauris Olson
voxgov logo

voxgov ingests social media and official government releases published on thousands of U.S. federal government websites and from government Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts from all branches of government from the year 2000 to just a few minutes ago.

...Continue reading

voxgov: 50 Million U.S. Federal Government News Items

Posted on April 2020 by Lauris Olson
voxgov logo

voxgov ingests social media and official government releases published on thousands of U.S. federal government websites and from government Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts from all branches of government from the year 2000 to just a few minutes ago.

...Continue reading

voxgov: 50 Million U.S. Federal Government News Items

Posted on April 2020 by Lauris Olson
voxgov logo

voxgov ingests social media and official government releases published on thousands of U.S. federal government websites and from government Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts from all branches of government from the year 2000 to just a few minutes ago.

...Continue reading

voxgov: 50 Million U.S. Federal Government News Items

Posted on April 2020 by Lauris Olson
voxgov logo

voxgov ingests social media and official government releases published on thousands of U.S. federal government websites and from government Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube accounts from all branches of government from the year 2000 to just a few minutes ago.

...Continue reading

Cooking Under Quarantine

Posted on April 2020
Photo of three almond puddings on plate

What can we learn from the writers of centuries-old recipes, who were no strangers to crisis and scarcity? It's a question that Marissa Nicosia is well-suited to answer. Nicosia curates Cooking in the Archives, a public food history project that translates centuries-old recipes into standard measurements, recognizable ingredients, and processes replicable by contemporary cooks.

...Continue reading

Librarians at Large: 3D-Printing Personal Protective Equipment from Home

Photo of Varvara modeling plastic face shield with 3D printed headband

Varvara Kountouzi never imagined she’d be running a 3D printing operation out of her spare bedroom. As Head of Digital Media & Virtual Services team at Penn’s Biomedical Library, Kountouzi has years of experience working with 3D printers — on campus. Though she’s dedicated to her work, there was never cause for Kountouzi to consider establishing her own high-tech cottage industry. 

...Continue reading

Librarians at Large: 3D-Printing Personal Protective Equipment from Home

Photo of Varvara modeling plastic face shield with 3D printed headband

Varvara Kountouzi never imagined she’d be running a 3D printing operation out of her spare bedroom. As Head of Digital Media & Virtual Services team at Penn’s Biomedical Library, Kountouzi has years of experience working with 3D printers — on campus. Though she’s dedicated to her work, there was never cause for Kountouzi to consider establishing her own high-tech cottage industry. 

...Continue reading

Diversity in the Stacks: Dalit Literature

Posted on April 2020 by Jef Pierce
Dalit Lit Conference logo of hand raised with pen

Rigid hierarchies of caste in South Asia have sanctioned the subjugation and exploitation of so-called “untouchable” communities for centuries. Now frequently referred to by the term Dalit (a word derived from the Sanskrit dalita, meaning “scattered” or “broken”), these oppressed peoples are fighting for greater recognition and equality. 

...Continue reading

Diversity in the Stacks: Dalit Literature

Posted on April 2020 by Jef Pierce
Dalit Lit Conference logo of hand raised with pen

Rigid hierarchies of caste in South Asia have sanctioned the subjugation and exploitation of so-called “untouchable” communities for centuries. Now frequently referred to by the term Dalit (a word derived from the Sanskrit dalita, meaning “scattered” or “broken”), these oppressed peoples are fighting for greater recognition and equality. 

...Continue reading

HathiTrust Provides Emergency Temporary Access to Copyrighted Books

Posted on April 2020
HathiTrust Logo outline of elephant head

The Penn community now has temporary access to a collection of e-books that mirrors the more than 1.2 million HathiTrust volumes in the Penn Libraries print collections. This includes digitized versions of 40% of the Penn Libraries physical materials presently inaccessible to students and faculty. 

...Continue reading

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Online Resources

Posted on April 2020 by Amanpreet (Aman) Kaur
Sexual Assault Awareness Month logo hands holding light blue ribbon

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), an annual public health campaign. As the Community Health & Engineering Librarian, I worked with Yen Ho, an intern at the Biomedical Library, to put together the linked guide for online resources on sexual assault, rape, and sexual violence.

...Continue reading

Featured (e)Books: National Poetry Month 2020

Slices of wood marked with Joy Harjo poem hanging from tree

“Poetry offers an escape, a distraction, a confidant to whom we can relate in this moment of crisis,” says Library Assistant Megan Brown Olsen. “For example, ‘First Days Back at Work,’ from Elise Patridge’s Chameleon Hours, speaks to the current sense of what may be our near future.” Such nimble kneaders, my fingers / used to be. / Will the loaf still rise? // I strain / like an old tug / hauling copses of logs.

...Continue reading

Recent Posts