What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5am Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Penn Museum Library

Home
United States
Philadelphia, PA
Penn Museum Library

The John and Ada Lewis Museum Library supports education and research in anthropology and archaeolog

Located on the 3rd floor of the Academic Wing in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the John and Ada Lewis Museum Library supports education and research in anthropology and archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania.

08/17/2026

Hot off the press! Learn how to research museum objects from our own pro, Librarian Deb Stewart 😎

Great for papers and projects but also in order to satisfy your own insatiable curiosity. Read more on the Penn Libraries blog: https://www.library.upenn.edu/news/researching-objects

07/16/2026

One of our favorite summer photos displayed in the Museum Library, "Gull-iver's Travels" was taken by Anthropology grad student Anna Luurtsema as part of our Penn in the Field photo contest. We can't wait to see all the new photos coming in September! Stop by to see the current photos before then 😍

📸: "Gull-iver's Travels taken by (Lake Michigan)

07/13/2026

Just putting together our beach bag with some of our favorite new books 👀

Any new titles you're excited about? Stop by or let us know in the comments what books are on your TBR this summer 🌞

Books shown are:
-American Archaeology: Living History, Stolen Pasts, and Defending the Future [CC175 .B87 2026]
-Echoes of Ash : Life in Herculaneum [DG70.H5 M87 2026]
-Those who walked before : how Ice Age footprints in New Mexico retell the stories of the first Americans [E78.N65 B466 2026]

06/04/2026

The people of Valencia celebrate the Festival of Corpus Christi through La Danza de la Moma. The main figure in the dance represents Virtue (La Moma) and the rest of the dancers represent the sins of humanity. Throughout the dance, La Moma strikes down each sin, achieving victory over them all.

Thank you to Marisa Kelath for this beautiful photo, submitted to our annual Penn in the Field photography contest. All Penn students are asked to submit photographs from their fieldwork, which are then displayed in the Penn Museum Library throughout the academic year. Stop by and see the rest of our current photos now through mid-September.

04/06/2026

For AI Month at Penn, stop by the Museum Library on Thursday April 9th for our workshop "From Crowned Snake to Chnoubis: Learning AI Image Enhancement" from 12-2pm. In partnership with , we will be teaching how to utilize AI to reveal details in museum objects (such as the chnoubis ring shown in the image) and showing how AI tools such as this can support research and conservation. This workshop is open to all Penn students, faculty and staff. Sign up at https://libcal.library.upenn.edu/event/16108515.

03/31/2026

When the spring weather finally shows up 🌞

📸: The Stare of a Thousand Sheep, taken in Romania by

Our Penn in the Field Student fieldwork photographs are on display until September 2026--stop by and see which one is your favorite!

03/20/2026

Come join us today from 3-4pm for Music in the Stacks as we host the Penn Glee Club, the Penn Pipers and the Penn Sirens for a wonderful performance! This event is open to everyone. Hope to see you there!

03/13/2026

For National Jewelry Day we’re highlighting some of the beautiful jewelry found in our newest exhibit, Re/Make History: Crafting the Past with 21st-Century Technologies. From 3D printed pieces to wax-casting to hydraulic presses, these pieces cover a wide range of jewelry making processes. Want to learn more? Stop by and check out our exhibit, running now through June, or check out one of our many books about jewelry and jewelry making (some titles below!).

Jewelry: 7,000 Years, NK7386 .J494 1986
Personal Ornaments in Prehistory, NK7307 .B39 2019
Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry, E98 .J48 D39 2019
Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt, NK7307.3 .P48 2001
Bracelets d’Afrique, NK7422.3 .T68 2011
Early Medieval Elite Jewellry from Great Moravia and Bohemia, NK7342 .O88 2022

02/06/2026

In honor of the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony today, we bring you some of our favorite Italian Penn in the Field photos taken by Brigitte Keslinke, Graduate student in AAMW.

Photo 1: Doric Temple, Segesta Archaeological Park, Italy

Photo 2: Fragments, Forma Urbis Museum, Italy

Photo 3: "The Bronze Runners", Naples Archaeological Museum, Italy

Come and see the rest of our Penn in the Field photos, on display now until September 2026.

01/12/2026

We invite you to experience our newest exhibit: Re/Make History: Crafting the Past with 21st-Century Technologies, on display from January 16th-June 19th, with a special opening talk from 2-3pm on JaWe invite you to experience our newest exhibit: Re/Make History: Crafting the Past with 21st-Century Technologies, on display from January 16th-June 19th, with a special opening talk from 2-3pm on January 16th.

Rare books and archaeological artifacts serve both as subjects of study and as sources of inspiration for emerging design tools and modern fabrication technologies. Drawing upon digital files and human expertise supplied by the Penn Museum and Museum Library, Penn staff and students created replicas and new works of art in three campus makerspaces: Education Commons, the Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab, and Venture Lab. Through experiential learning, the contributors to this exhibit cultivated creativity and new technological skills while deepening their appreciation of cultural heritage.

The image featured is a plushie inspired by the lion-headed snake figure of Chnoubis on a ring from late antiquity, part of the Penn Museum collections. See the ring at https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/264935.

Address

3260 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
19104

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5am
Wednesday	9am - 6pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12158987840

Website

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

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Penn Museum Library posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to Penn Museum Library:

Want your university to be the top-listed University in Philadelphia?