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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 2021

Van Pelt–Dietrich Library is Making Its Return

Source: 34th Street Magazine
Published:

February 2021

Fair Use and Dr. Seuss

Posted on February 2021 by Christine E. Weller
Cartoon depicting dozens of men in 19th century dress wearing old-fashioned judge's robes and wigs

What can "Oh the Places You'll Go!" teach us about fair use? 

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Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture: The Oliveira Lima Library

Posted on February 2021 by Joseph Holub
Woodcut of Prester John of the Indies

Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture: The Oliveira Lima Library consists of over 5,700 items nearly evenly divided between those characterized as monographs and the rest as pamphlets (nomenclature is a question of length: monographs have more than 50 pages).

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Diversity in the Stacks: Veterans and Ancient Greek Literature

Posted on February 2021 by Rebecca A. Stuhr
A ceramic cup with a black background and an illustration of ancient Greek soldiers falling to the ground.

The works of Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, continue to speak to modern audiences from a diversity of cultures and regions.

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Diversity in the Stacks: Veterans and Ancient Greek Literature

Posted on February 2021 by Rebecca A. Stuhr
A ceramic cup with a black background and an illustration of ancient Greek soldiers falling to the ground.

The works of Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, continue to speak to modern audiences from a diversity of cultures and regions.

...Continue reading

20th Century Ethnic Newspapers

Posted on February 2021 by Nick Okrent
Ethnic Newspapers

Writing about the Black Press, Dr. Kim Gallon (GSAS, 2009 and former Africana Studies librarian at Penn Libraries) writes that it countered the mainstream press "by exposing truths that 'objective' reporting overlooked.

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The Ethics of Information: Meet ACS Fellow and Chemistry Librarian Judith Currano

Posted on February 2021 by Rebecca Ortenberg
Headshot of Judith Currano, a woman with short brown hair, wearing a bright blue blouse.

Head of the chemistry library Judith Currano shares her thoughts on chemical information, ethics in chemistry, and teaching in the era of COVID-19.

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Featured Books: Black History Month

Posted on February 2021
Black and white photo showing singer Marian Anderson in a close-up of her face with her hands resting on her cheeks.

In 1925, historian Carter G. Woodson, together with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, announced the creation of Negro History Week. First celebrated in February of 1926 to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, it was quickly endorsed by Black history clubs, teachers, and intellectuals.

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