In 1930 Dr. James Hosmer Penniman, D'1918, honored his mother with the establishment of this fund for the purchase of books for the Maria Hosmer Penniman Education Library. Upon the founding of this library, the dean of Penn's School of Education wrote that it was a "fitting tribute to a remarkable woman" and noted that Maria and husband James Lanman Penniman "were well known for their devotion to all humane attainments."

Originally a separate education library, the Penniman Library was later integrated into Van Pelt Library collections.