Penn Libraries

09/28/2026

Three things you can do at the Penn Libraries this week

✍️ Move Slow and Make Things: Spend a leisurely, screen-free afternoon in the Fisher Fine Arts Library

🧑‍🎓 Open Study and Office Hours: Study with friends and get practical ideas for organizing your academic life

☕ Coffee with a Codex: Learn about a 14th century manuscript with curator Dot Porter

Visit our website to register for these events and learn more! https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

09/25/2026

Find these books and films in our Featured Books and DVDs display on the first floor of Van Pelt Library

Antes que isla es volcán: poemas by Raquel Salas Rivera

Cassandro, the exotic! a film by Marie Losier

Underwater Dreams, a film by Mary Mazzio

This Bridge Called my Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, edited by Cherríe Moraga and Gloria Anzaldúa

Mosquita y Mari, a film by Aurora Guerrero

Alligator Tears: A Memoir in Essays by Edgar Gomez

09/24/2026

After retiring in 2019, the long-serving Penn figure continues his work in community outreach in West Philadelphia.

09/23/2026

A newly established bequest from Adele Santos and Michael Meister, W. Norman Brown Professor Emeritus of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, will deepen the Penn Libraries’ work to connect students and scholars with the world and foster a richer understanding of its people, cultures, and ideas.

A $4 million estate gift from Adele Santos and Michael Meister will endow a specialist librarian and provide permanent support for the Penn Libraries’ South Asian collections.

09/21/2026

Three things you can do this week at the Penn Libraries:

1️⃣ Create an embossed metal tray at the Education Commons
2️⃣ Make your own GitHub account and learn how to use it
3️⃣ Help design and test a board game that explores the impacts of AI

Learn how to attend these events and more on our website.

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.

09/19/2026

Today is a very important day for all of us at the Penn Libraries.

Why? Because on September 19, 1984, Gerald Ford got stuck in a Van Pelt Library elevator while on his way to attend an event honoring his friend, former Penn trustee, and former Secretary of Defense Thomas Sovereign Gates, Jr. Eek!

09/18/2026

The Black Hero’s Journey is a new exhibit from the Penn Libraries that traces the evolution of Black comic book heroes and creators from exclusion and harmful stereotypes to groundbreaking protagonists and visionary storytellers. Opening October 15, the exhibit is free and open to the public and located in the Goldstein Gallery on the 6th floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center.

Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, excluding holidays and other times the library is closed to visitors.

The Black Hero’s Journey, on view from October 15 to May 13, is free and open to the public.

09/17/2026

Earlier this week, we got a peek at some of the spectacular collections acquired by the Kislak Center at the University of Pennsylvania in the last year. Here’s a look at just a few of them. Swipe through, or search for these items at find.library.upenn.edu to learn more!

Cuba Libre: Poems by Nicolas Giullen, translated by Langston Hughes and Ben Frederic Carruthers. Signed by Langston Hughes for NAACP board member Amy Spingarn

Silence = Death Project poster, 1988

Edmund Kean broadside playbilll collection, early 19th century

Folding medical and astrological almanac, 1415

Dinette Menstrual Cup in original packaging, 1946

Collection of State Negro Women’s Club materials, mid 20th century

Ordinum religiosorum in ecclesia militanti catalogus by Filippo Buonanni, early 18th century

09/16/2026

Peer review is essential! In celebration of Peer Review Week, the team at University of Pennsylvania Press wishes to thank the many scholars who serve as peer reviewers for our books and journals, ensuring that the work we publish is accurate, reliable, and merits becoming part of the durable scholarly record.

September 14 to 18 is Peer Review Week and the team at Penn Press wishes to thank the many scholars who serve as peer reviewers for our books and

09/14/2026

Go on a learning adventure this week! Stop by the Penn Libraries for one of these events:

🤓 Discover library basics at Library 101
📚 See rare books and archives at the Acquisitions Showcase
💻 Become a more critical user of AI at AI Literacy Essentials
🧵 Learn how to use a sewing machine at Sewing Machine 101

And that's not all. Visit our website to find out about all our upcoming events and workshops.

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.