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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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May 2020

Diversity in the (Virtual) Stacks: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Posted on May 2020 by Rebecca A. Stuhr
Origami tiger

Penn Libraries celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with an online pop-up exhibit. Current and former Penn students have recommended and described their favorite pieces of Asian Pacific American literature. Asian and Pacific Islander authors are diverse in origin and background and include writers whose ancestries reach back to East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

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Diversity in the (Virtual) Stacks: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Posted on May 2020 by Rebecca A. Stuhr
Origami tiger

Penn Libraries celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with an online pop-up exhibit. Current and former Penn students have recommended and described their favorite pieces of Asian Pacific American literature. Asian and Pacific Islander authors are diverse in origin and background and include writers whose ancestries reach back to East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

...Continue reading

Cataloging for Our Community

Student worker Oluwapelumi Ogundipe catalogs books at the Henry C. Lea Elementary School (prior to stay-at-home order). Photo by Biruktawit Tibebe.

Gina Pambianchi’s work for the Penn Libraries typically entails a considerable amount of social proximity. As Penn’s Community Outreach Librarian, a normal work-week finds her in schools across the city, collaborating closely with teachers, student workers, and volunteers. 

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Cataloging for Our Community

Student worker Oluwapelumi Ogundipe catalogs books at the Henry C. Lea Elementary School (prior to stay-at-home order). Photo by Biruktawit Tibebe.

Gina Pambianchi’s work for the Penn Libraries typically entails a considerable amount of social proximity. As Penn’s Community Outreach Librarian, a normal work-week finds her in schools across the city, collaborating closely with teachers, student workers, and volunteers. 

...Continue reading

Just Launched: U.S. Women’s and Girls’ Magazines Web Archive

Posted on May 2020 by Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation
Screenshot from Seventeen's website

The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation is pleased to announce the launch of the U.S. Women’s and Girls’ Magazines Web Archive. Developed by librarians within the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation, the archive consists of websites of women’s media that previously existed as print magazines

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Mapping (Medieval) Manuscript Migrations

Posted on May 2020
Manuscript Migrations to Philadelphia plotted with lines

MMM — an awardee of the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s Digging into Data Challenge — is a collaboration between Penn Libraries’ Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, the e-Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT) in Paris, and the Semantic Computing Research Group at Aalto University in Helsinki.

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Mapping (Medieval) Manuscript Migrations

Posted on May 2020
Manuscript Migrations to Philadelphia plotted with lines

MMM — an awardee of the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s Digging into Data Challenge — is a collaboration between Penn Libraries’ Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, the e-Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT) in Paris, and the Semantic Computing Research Group at Aalto University in Helsinki.

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Foundation Maps

Foundation Maps logo

Trying to track down funding data from around the world? Penn Libraries now offers access to Foundation Maps by Candid, a key database for anyone exploring philanthropic trends and data. Foundation Maps provides useful visualizations such as map views, charts, and constellation views that show connections between funders, recipients, and grants.

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Featured (e)Books: Libations

Photo of assorted beverages

When Penn Libraries’ Stacks staff put together a Featured Books Display last May in celebration of food and cooking, they encountered an abundance of books dedicated exclusively to beverages — far too many to fold into the food exhibit. Consider this month’s salute to potations a long-awaited sequel.

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Mapping COVID-19 Sentiments

Map of U.S. with social media icons transposed

“The Libraries is the only place on campus where anyone from any department or center can get help with GIS and mapping,” says Girmaye Misgna, Penn’s Mapping & Geospatial Data Librarian. The Data & GIS team’s typical duties include consultation on theses, capstones, and papers for faculty and students

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Mapping COVID-19 Sentiments

Map of U.S. with social media icons transposed

“The Libraries is the only place on campus where anyone from any department or center can get help with GIS and mapping,” says Girmaye Misgna, Penn’s Mapping & Geospatial Data Librarian. The Data & GIS team’s typical duties include consultation on theses, capstones, and papers for faculty and students

...Continue reading

Yoga in Yuma, Pizza in Peoria — What's It Cost? Use the C2ER Cost of Living Index Calculator

Posted on May 2020 by Lauris Olson
C2ER logo

The C2ER Regional Economic Data Toolkit includes the Cost of Living Index Calculator and three databases on U.S. state business and economic development programs. C2ER's COLI has been the most consistent source of city-to-city cost comparisons quarterly for decades. 

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Yoga in Yuma, Pizza in Peoria — What's It Cost? Use the C2ER Cost of Living Index Calculator

Posted on May 2020 by Lauris Olson
C2ER logo

The C2ER Regional Economic Data Toolkit includes the Cost of Living Index Calculator and three databases on U.S. state business and economic development programs. C2ER's COLI has been the most consistent source of city-to-city cost comparisons quarterly for decades. 

...Continue reading

Diversity in the (Virtual) Stacks: Performing Arts

Posted on May 2020 by Chelsea Rizzolo, Music Library Intern
Four dancers holding hands

From the Annenberg Center to the Albrecht Music Library, performing arts play a leading role in research and pedagogy  at the University of Pennsylvania. “Performance is core, of course, to the Music, English, and Theater Arts Departments,” explains Nick Okrent, Coordinator and Librarian for Humanities Collections. “But performing arts are also important for fields like education, anthropology, law, and design.” 

...Continue reading

Diversity in the (Virtual) Stacks: Performing Arts

Posted on May 2020 by Chelsea Rizzolo, Music Library Intern
Four dancers holding hands

From the Annenberg Center to the Albrecht Music Library, performing arts play a leading role in research and pedagogy  at the University of Pennsylvania. “Performance is core, of course, to the Music, English, and Theater Arts Departments,” explains Nick Okrent, Coordinator and Librarian for Humanities Collections. “But performing arts are also important for fields like education, anthropology, law, and design.” 

...Continue reading

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