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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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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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Penn Libraries Joins Elsevier Open Access Pilot

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
A tall, long aisle between two bookshelves reaching into the distance

As part of this three-year pilot, authors who have published with many Elsevier journals and who were affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania at the time of publication will retroactively have their articles made open access.

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Meet Our Spring 2022 Library Interns!

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
Two men and one woman stand in a row in front of the information desk in Van Pelt Library

Just in time for National Library Week, we sat down with our interns to learn about their backgrounds, their experiences working at the information desk in Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, and what they think every Penn student should know about using the Penn Libraries.

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Shedding Light on History Using Linked Data: An Interview with L.P. Coladangelo, LEADING Fellow

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
L: a close up of elaborate text from an illuminated manuscript; R: A screenshot of an online database, which reads  Title: Book of Hours Manuscript Dates: circa 1500 (1490 to 1510) Languages: Latin (recorded as Latin) Materials: Parchment (Parchment) Places: France, Europe (France) Manuscript Uses: Paris Folios: 115 Height: 192

Last month, we sat down with Coladangelo to learn about his work with SIMS, what it taught him about communicating across disciplines, and how he hopes his work will help researchers enrich their understanding of the past. 

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New Year, New You: Five Things You Didn’t Know the Penn Libraries Could Help You Do in 2022

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
Two students, shown in silhouette, walk down Van Pelt Library's stairs in front of an open window

This semester, spend some time exploring what your library has to offer beyond books.

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Penn Libraries Unveils First Read and Publish Agreement with Cambridge University Press

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
A woman wearing a face mask stands in front of an empty bookshelf, looking down at a large book that is resting open on the shelf

The Penn Libraries' first transformative agreement seeks to "expand open access publishing while centering the values of sustainability and equity in scholarly publishing.”

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How Health Sciences Librarians Are Building Global Partnerships, from Philadelphia to Gaborone

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
Manuel and Richard sit at a table, wearing masks and looking at the camera. A medical illustration decorates the wall behind them

For the last 13 years, librarians at Penn and the University of Botswana have worked together to build the capacity of University of Botswana librarians to serve medical students and clinicians.

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How Penn's Librarians are Using Linked Data to Make the Web Better

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
A design resembling a visualization showing a blue cloud of interconnected nodes

“Linked data is the language of the web,” says Beth Camden, Director of Information Processing. “It’s building the infrastructure that makes the web better.”

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Featured Books: Native American Heritage Month

Posted on by Rebecca Ortenberg
A pile of books with titles visible that include Prudence, The Sound of Silence, American Indian Stories, and Masulindians

A selection of novels, memoirs, histories, and poetry collections chosen by our librarians for Native American Heritage Month.

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