Penn Libraries

The Official page for the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Find out what's happening at the Penn Libraries.

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01/24/2025

Looking for a new book to read this year? Stop by our Featured Books display in Van Pelt Library to check out recommendations from our librarians! This month, we're featuring biographies and memoirs, including:

Year of a Tiger by Alice Wong
Nobody Needs to Know by Pidgeon Pagonis
Finding Me by Viola Davis
Move Like Water by Hannah Stowe

And much more!

01/22/2025

We’re pleased to announce the appointment of Alexa Pearce as Gershwind & Bennett Family Associate Vice Provost for Collections and Scholarly Communications. Pearce will lead a team of 90 staff, oversee a $30 million collections budget, and steward the Libraries' world-renowned collections of 9.8 million print and electronic volumes and vast array of digital resources.

As a member of the Libraries' senior leadership team, Pearce will direct collection strategy, scholarly communications, academic and community engagement, and the administration of eleven departmental libraries and centers.

01/20/2025

The semester has begun, and Penn Libraries events are back! This week, join us for workshops about data management or web scraping, meet up with peers who want to expand their GIS skills, or hop online for Coffee with a Codex!

Here’s a look at everything happening this week. https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

01/17/2025

Happy birthday to our most famous Quaker! Polymath, founding father, and University of Pennsylvania founder Benjamin Franklin was born on this day in 1706. Here's a peek at some of the Benjamin Franklin materials from the University archives.

01/15/2025

We're pleased to announce the appointment of Claire DeMarco as Associate Vice Provost for Operations for the Penn Libraries! In this senior strategic role, she will lead efforts to integrate advanced technologies and sustainable practices across all facets of library operations, enhancing the Penn Libraries' ability to support the university's research and educational missions.

DeMarco will enhance the Penn Libraries' ability to support the university's research and educational missions.

01/14/2025

Tomorrow is the first day of classes! Feeling a little scattered? Get your semester off to the right start with the help of our Quick Start Guide, which lays out some of the most important resources the Penn Libraries has to offer. https://www.library.upenn.edu/quick-start-guide

01/13/2025

On January 20, join us for a day of kid-friendly fun! Children ages 3-8 can participate in a theatrical storytime experience, explore a unique university library, and even create a book of their own to take home.

Join us for a day of kid-friendly fun! Children ages 3-8 can participate in a theatrical storytime experience, explore a unique university library, and even create a book of their own to take home.

01/10/2025

The Penn Libraries offers a number of digital tools that can help anatomy students and instructors with learning and teaching. Here are just a few of them.

The Penn Libraries subscribes to several digital tools designed both to help anatomy students improve their learning and anatomy instructors to enhance their teaching.

01/06/2025

Love to be alone in the library? This is the week for you! Though the semester hasn’t started yet, we’re open for business. Come borrow books, study, use our databases, and more. Check out our website to find out when your favorite library location is open.👇 https://www.library.upenn.edu/about/hours

01/03/2025

The Penn Archives includes the papers of Raymond Pace Alexander and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, Penn alums and trailblazers who established a legal practice in Philadelphia to serve African American communities. Sadie was born on this day, January 2, in 1898.

Sadie T.M. and Raymond P. Alexander in their North Philadelphia home, 1708 W. Jefferson Street, looking at some of their home movies, 1952 (Alexander Family Papers, UPT50A374SR, Box OS 12, ff 8). O…

01/01/2025

Happy Public Domain Day! Starting today, all materials published in the United States in 1929 enter the public domain. That means that they are no longer subject to copyright restrictions, and anyone is free to share, remix, reimagine, or reuse the material in any way they choose. Highlights include The Maltese Falcon, A Farewell to Arms, The Sound and the Fury, and Marian Anderson’s first song recording!

12/30/2024

Looking for something new to read in 2025? Check out one of these recommendations from Penn Libraries staff!

Request any of these books from our catalog now, and pick them up from the Penn Libraries after January 1! Just search find.library.upenn.edu to get started.

12/27/2024

On January 1, 2025, all books published in the United States in 1929 will enter the public domain. This means that their copyright has expired and anyone is free to copy, share, remix, remake, or reimagine them in any way they wish.

This year, a number of major works will enter the public domain, including Marian Anderson's first musical recording, John Steinbeck's first novel, a groundbreaking essay on feminism from Virginia Woolf, and Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical tale of World War I.

Here's a peek at early editions of these works that you can find in our collection. Can you guess what they are?

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, Penn Libraries family! Whether you spend December 25 opening gifts, eating delicious food, going for a hike, reading a good book, or sleeping in, we hope you have a good one.

12/23/2024

This holiday season, settle in with a cozy mystery! Wherever you are in the world, you can read and listen to these books and audiobooks (and more) with Libby. Just download the app onto your phone or tablet, add University of Pennsylvania as your library, and enter your PennKey.

12/20/2024

The fall 2024 semester is over, and that means you've made it through another year, Penn! You've already accomplished so much, and we can't wait to see what trails you blaze in 2025!

12/18/2024

It hasn't always been common for libraries to collect comics and graphics novels, but today the Penn Libraries has hundreds of titles from all over the world. Here's more about what you can find in our collections.

Explore the history of comics and graphic novels and learn about some of the titles in Romance languages that you can find in the Penn Libraries collections.

12/16/2024

You’ve almost made it, Penn! Let the Penn Libraries help you get over the finish line. Stop by one of our library locations to study, chill out, get help from library staff, or come to one of our events. Here’s a look at everything happening this week.

With engaging events, compelling lectures, and skill-building workshops, the Penn Libraries is a hub for cultural and educational activity at the University of Pennsylvania. Many library events and exhibitions are open to the public.

Address

3420 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA
19104

Website

http://www.library.upenn.edu/

Alerts

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Videos

Looking for something new to read in 2025? Check out one of these recommendations from Penn Libraries staff! Request any of these books from our catalog now, and pick them up from the Penn Libraries after January 1! Just search find.library.upenn.edu to get started.

The fall 2024 semester is over, and that means you've made it through another year, Penn! You've already accomplished so much, and we can't wait to see what trails you blaze in 2025!

We won’t bury the lede: this week, therapy dogs are returning to the Penn Libraries! And that’s just one of the study break options we’ll have available during reading days and finals. Here’s everything we have going on in the coming days. https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

Class of 2024 retrospective

It's been a wild four years, but you've made it to the end of your very last final, class of 2024!

Study Spots

Looking for your new favorite study spot? Here are some recommendations! Check out our website for hours and for information about studying in all of our 19 library locations across campus. https://www.library.upenn.edu/libraries-locations

Don't miss any of the events happening at the Penn Libraries this week! Find out what we have going on and how to attend on our website. 👉 https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

Library good day

Have a good day - nay, a good week! - with a little help from your library friends. Stop in to ask a question, use a printer, browse books, record a podcast, study, and much more. Or attend one of our upcoming events! Here's what we have going on this week. 👉 https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

That's a wrap! See you in 2024, Penn Libraries friends.

We can help!

Need help accomplishing YOUR goals this semester? Join us for one of our events! Visit www.library.upenn.edu/events to find out what we have going on this week.

We're back!

And we're back! Now that the new semester has started, don't forget to come say hello to your friendly neighborhood librarian. We're excited to see you!

What are you reading?

Looking for your latest book rec? For Book Lovers Day, we asked our library staff what they're reading right now. Here's what they told us!

In the stacks

Want to borrow any of these lovely books over the summer? It's easy! 1️⃣ Visit franklin.library.upenn.edu and log into your library account 2️⃣ Search for the book you're looking for 3️⃣ Click "Get It" and "Request In Print" 4️⃣ Select "Pick Up At Penn" and choose your preferred location 5️⃣ Pick up the book from the library front desk, or from one of our handy-dandy self-serve lockers! Not in Philly? Choose "Books By Mail" to have the book shipped to your address at no cost to you!