As alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, you are eligible to purchase borrowing privileges at a discounted annual rate of $200. Building access to the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, and other Penn Libraries, on nights and weekends is included with borrowing privileges (with a valid Alumni Penn Card). For more details on the policies around alumni borrowing, please visit the Courtesy Borrowing tab of the Van Pelt Library Circulation Policies webpage.
For details regarding visiting Penn Libraries please see the Visiting the Libraries tab of this guide. Building access policies for all the Penn Libraries by name can be found on the Access to Penn Libraries page of our library website.
To purchase borrowing privileges, please visit the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center Circulation desk located on the first floor. Please make sure to bring your valid, not expired, Alumni Penn Card to the circulation desk with you.
We accept all forms of payment including all major credit cards, cash, and check. Please call the Van Pelt Dietrich Library Center Circulation Desk if you have any questions regarding payment: 215-898-7566.
Once you've purchased an alumni library account, we can enable your account to request items from Penn Libraries through our library website including our offsite facility LIBRA. You can arrange for pick up of these items at any of our library locations.
Alumni requesting is not done with your PennKey, but with your enabled library account authentication. To enable authentication, please contact the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Circulation Desk at 215-898-7566 and ask for the social login activation letter. We will send you a link and directions to authenticate with our library system and enable requesting. Additionally, this action will allow you to check your library account online, including due dates, and renew your books.
To log in to our library website for requesting, select "registered alumni and courtesy user login" from the Login menu options.
To check your library account, click on your name, which will appear at the top of the page after you have successfully logged in. On the following box, click "no pennkey, click here". You will then be prompted to authenticate with your linked social login credentials.
Contact us at the Van Pelt Library Circulation Desk:
Email Us:
For library account concerns or questions about building and database access, please e-mail us at: vpcircdk@pobox.upenn.edu
Call Us:
215-898-7566
