Russian, Slavic, East European, Eurasian Studies: Getting Started

• Search for books in the Library Catalog (formerly called Franklin). The previous catalog, Franklin, is still available at this link.

• Using keywords and wildcards will make your catalog searching vastly more efficient. Find expert guides on how to do this in the Franklin Guide (still relevant to the new catalog).

• Use both Cyrillic and Library of Congress Transliteration to search for Russian materials, since many older books don't contain Cyrillic in their catalog records. You can find transliteration tables at the Library of Congress Romanization Page.

• Most recent English-language academic scholarship is in eBook format at Penn. Penn subscribes to the eBook front lists of all major University Press publishers. If a recent publication of that sort is not showing up, check our eBook databases:
• The DeGruyter Platform for University Press books contains many current and recent scholarly books. Often the books are available at DeGruyter before they show up in the Penn catalog.
• Find other eBook Platforms at the eBook Databases Page in the Penn catalog.

• Current Penn faculty, students, and staff may request scans of book chapters and journal articles.
• If it is an item in the Penn Libraries collection: after you find the item you would like scanned in the library catalog, select "Email me a chapter or a section."
• If it is an item not owned by Penn Libraries, you may request a scan of an article or book chapter using the Article Request Form.
• These scans may only be used for your own personal scholarship, and are subject to Fair Use copyright restrictions. There is a maximum of 5 requests per day, and you may only request one chapter or article at a time.
• More information on Scan Requests is at the "Digital Delivery at the Penn Libraries" Guide.

• Find scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in Articles Plus. Filter your search with the "Options" link, and select "full text" if you'd like to access only works you can get directly through Penn immediately. De-select that option if you'd like see articles we don't have, but that you can request through Interlibrary Loan.
• The Using Franklin Articles+ Guide provides information on limits, filters, and other advanced search tips.

Library of Congress Call Numbers

• Library of Congress Call Numbers are an excellent way for finding books at Penn or other libraries. By browsing the stacks near call numbers that interest you, you will find books you might never have otherwise discovered.
• The complete LC Classification systems are at the Library of Congress Classification Outline page.
• Familiarize yourself with the call numbers most relevant to you. For instance, DK covers Russian History, as well as the history of all of the former Soviet Union, while PG covers all of Russian Literature as well as other Slavic Literatures.

The Van Pelt Library Stacks

• You will find a unique arrangement of Russian books at Van Pelt.
• Russian Books at Penn are organized on the shelves by language, not call number.
• Books in Russian, regardless of call number, are located in the Center for Global Collections on the fifth floor of Van Pelt Library.
• Books in English on Russian topics are on the third and fourth floors.
• You will find most History books at DK (3rd floor), and Russian/Slavic Literature books at PG (4th floor).
• Floor Plans
• Stacks Directory
• Many additional books are located in the library storage facility at Libra: you can request them to be delivered to Van Pelt for you to pick up.

• Cinema & Media Studies Research Guide

• History Collection Research Guide

• Political Science Research Guide

• Major Microform Sets in the Penn Libraries

• Medieval Rus' Research Guide

• Old Church Slavonic Research Guide

• Russia 2010 Census Data Guide

• The Quick Start Guide provides an overview to the Library Website, including: how to find a Subject Librarian or Research Guide, how to rent a library space or request scans of articles, and more.

• In the Library Service Guides you can find information on borrowing policies, Ebooks, printing, and workshops.