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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

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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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October 2020

Book Builder

Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette
Published:

October 2020

Workers' Rights: Socialism to the AFL-CIO

Posted on October 2020 by Nick Okrent
Labor Party in the USA

From the radical Knights of Labor to the increasingly mainstream AFL-CIO, organizations and movements striving to secure the rights and dignity of workers made enormous strides from the 19th to the mid-20th century.  Laws and regulations protecting the rights of workers in the United States The Libraries have purchased a number of collections that cover the epic struggle for Workers' Rights during the first half of the 20th century.  This period saw the end of child labor, creation of a right to unionize

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Oxford Research Encyclopedias

Posted on October 2020
Explore by Discipline

When most students are asked about encyclopedias their first thought is of Wikipedia. When the advantages of scholarly encyclopedias are pointed out, however, they are easily convinced of their benefits. What are the benefits? Online scholarly encyclopedias provide signed articles by identified experts and undergo continuous revision with each iteration indicated.

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Penn Libraries Marks Open Access Week with New Guide for Scholars

Posted on October 2020
Icon of open book with open padlock

In recognition of International Open Access Week, the Penn Libraries has released a new guide for scholars who may want to learn more about open-access options to improve the discoverability and visibility of their work. 

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Cross-Campus Picks: Milford Graves — A Mind-Body Deal

Display of and plants in foreground with manakins in background

At the end of September, the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) reopened its doors to the public for an exhibition on the work of Milford Graves, presented by Ars Nova Workshop. Graves is perhaps best known as a progressive jazz drummer, though categorizing him as a percussionist would be akin to labeling Benjamin Franklin a postmaster. 

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Just Launched: The Student and Youth Environmental Activism Web Archive

Posted on October 2020
Screenshot from website showing photo of student activists with text A Youth-Led Call For Climate Action

The Student and Youth Environmental Activism Web Archive documents youth and student engagement in climate change and environmental issues from around the globe beginning in 2019. It contains websites and online documents created by individuals, groups, organizations, and coalitions of student and youth-led environmental activism

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Just Launched: The Belarusian Politics and Society Web Archive

Posted on October 2020
Screenshot of website with map of Belarus

Developed by librarians at Harvard and Stanford Universities, and the University of Chicago — under the auspices of the Ivy Plus Libraries Confederation — the Belarusian Politics and Society Web Archive exists to preserve material related to the 2020 presidential election campaign in Belarus and the events that followed

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Diversity in the Stacks: Pakistani Vernacular Languages

Posted on October 2020 by Elliot Montpellier, PhD Candidate, Department of South Asia Studies and Department of Anthropology
Assorted cassettes in various languages

Since the early 1800s, Penn Libraries has collected materials from across South Asia. To date, this collection includes materials in more than 20 of the 74 languages spoken in Pakistan. The strength of this collection is both in its eclecticism and expansiveness, with more than 19,000 items in Urdu alone

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Diversity in the Stacks: Pakistani Vernacular Languages

Posted on October 2020 by Elliot Montpellier, PhD Candidate, Department of South Asia Studies and Department of Anthropology
Assorted cassettes in various languages

Since the early 1800s, Penn Libraries has collected materials from across South Asia. To date, this collection includes materials in more than 20 of the 74 languages spoken in Pakistan. The strength of this collection is both in its eclecticism and expansiveness, with more than 19,000 items in Urdu alone

...Continue reading

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