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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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July 2020

Just Launched: Indian Citizenship Amendment Act Protest Movements Web Archive

Posted on July 2020 by Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation
Photo of protest

The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation is pleased to announce the launch of the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act Protest Movements Web Archive. Over the past two years, the Government of India under its ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and promoted other regulations, such as the National Register of Citizenship (NRC), designated to change the rules for who can and who cannot be or become an Indian citizen

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Just Launched: Indian Citizenship Amendment Act Protest Movements Web Archive

Posted on July 2020 by Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation
Photo of protest

The Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation is pleased to announce the launch of the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act Protest Movements Web Archive. Over the past two years, the Government of India under its ruling Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and promoted other regulations, such as the National Register of Citizenship (NRC), designated to change the rules for who can and who cannot be or become an Indian citizen

...Continue reading

Borrow Books Again! Penn Libraries Connects Patrons to Physical Collections with Delivery, Scanning, and Pickup Services 

Posted on July 2020
Patron picking up books

When campus closed in March, Penn Libraries staff mobilized, working long hours to render services and collections virtually accessible. “To give a sense of how dramatic the shift was: we went from ordering a few dozen ebooks per month to ordering hundreds per week,” says Jeanne Shuttleworth, Director of Acquisitions, Access, & Licensing. Since then, the Libraries has acquired approximately 75,000 new ebooks

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Featured (e)Books: Cities of the World

Posted on July 2020
Photograph of Berlin at night

With restrictions and travel bans in place across many states and countries, long-distance trips are an impossibility for most travellers this summer. To satisfy patrons’ wanderlust, Eileen Kelly (Head of Collection Management) and Megan Brown Olsen (Library Assistant) have created a virtual exhibit that grants perusers the opportunity to “visit” cities around the globe.

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Featured (e)Books: Cities of the World

Posted on July 2020
Photograph of Berlin at night

With restrictions and travel bans in place across many states and countries, long-distance trips are an impossibility for most travellers this summer. To satisfy patrons’ wanderlust, Eileen Kelly (Head of Collection Management) and Megan Brown Olsen (Library Assistant) have created a virtual exhibit that grants perusers the opportunity to “visit” cities around the globe.

...Continue reading

Marian Anderson Collection, Newly Digitized by the Penn Libraries, Now Accessible Online

Posted on July 2020
Marian Anderson

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has completed the digitization of more than 2,500 items from the collection of Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. The body of primary sources in the collection — including letters, diaries, journals, interviews, recital programs, and private recordings 

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Marian Anderson Collection, Newly Digitized by the Penn Libraries, Now Accessible Online

Posted on July 2020
Marian Anderson

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has completed the digitization of more than 2,500 items from the collection of Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. The body of primary sources in the collection — including letters, diaries, journals, interviews, recital programs, and private recordings 

...Continue reading

Marian Anderson Collection, Newly Digitized by the Penn Libraries, Now Accessible Online

Posted on July 2020
Marian Anderson

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries has completed the digitization of more than 2,500 items from the collection of Marian Anderson, one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century. The body of primary sources in the collection — including letters, diaries, journals, interviews, recital programs, and private recordings 

...Continue reading

Re-Covering the Ney Collection: An Online Exhibit

Posted on July 2020 by Chelsea Rizzolo, Music Library Intern
Screenshot of ney online exhibition

Although the Otto E. Albrecht Music Library might be physically closed, we still seek to support the University’s music students. One such student is Juan Castrillón, doctoral candidate in Ethnomusicology in the Department of Music, who curated the multi-modal Music Library exhibit, Re-Covering the Ney Collection.

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