The Penn Libraries consists of fourteen libraries. Each of them has unique resources available to you, whether you are studying dentistry, design, or anything in between. Explore our snapshot profiles below to get a look at what each of our libraries has to offer.
Fisher Fine Arts Library
Top 3 Things:
- Check out our collections, which include rare historic and contemporary titles about architecture, historic preservation, fine arts, city planning, landscape architecture, and the history of art.
- Visit the Common Press, a letterpress and book arts studio.
- Contact our experienced staff to get your question answered!
Did you know: Our Materials Library has a searchable database of over 7,000 samples, from Vantablack to 3D-printed concrete!
Annenberg Library, Annenberg School for Communication
Top 3 things:
- Access current news from the New York Times and other newspapers from across the globe.
- Get help finding data on audiences and media industry, from broadcasts to podcasts.
- Study in our light and airy library at the Annenberg School for Communication.
Did you know: Our Television Script archive includes all of Miami Vice, several hundred pilots, thousands of soap operas, and many made-for-TV movies.
Otto E. Albrecht Music Library and Eugene Ormandy Music and Media Center
Top 3 Things:
- Borrow musical instruments and equipment.
- When the Music Library is physically open, record in our podcast studio.
- Stream music and videos for study or pleasure.
Did you know: We regularly host performances in the library and share our collections through online exhibits.
Library at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies
Top 3 Things:
- Explore the Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica.
- See historical photos in the Holy Land Collections at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
- View manuscripts from the Dropsie collection of Judaica and Semitica.
Did you know: You can transcribe medieval fragments through the Scribes of Cairo Genizah Project. Our downtown Philadelphia location, with its Rare Book Room (8,000+ printed books & 500+ manuscripts in 13 languages) and Archives Room (50+ collections), holds the original fragments.
Biotech Commons
Top 3 Things:
- Check out our Libguides or contact one of our librarians to learn about topics like bioinformatics, 3D printing, and evidence-based medicine.
- Learn about anatomy using our new Anatomage Table.
- Follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date on all our happenings.
Did you know: The Biotech Commons is our redesigned, state-of-the-art home of our biomedical library. Newly renovated and reimagined during 2021, it will be opening sometime this fall.
Van Pelt Library
Top 3 things:
- Use our new contactless automated lockers to pick up reserved books and other materials whenever the library is open.
- Check out books with our Meescan app, now available for iOs and Android, or using kiosks found in many library locations.
- Residential students, get your books delivered to your College House Monday through Friday.
Did you know: The library building may have been closed to visitors during the pandemic, but our staff never stopped making library materials available to the Penn Community.
Math/Physics/Astronomy Library
Top 3 Things:
- Learn LaTeX, the typesetting language for math and scientific articles, dissertations, and homework.
- Learn research techniques for specialty resources like MathSciNet.
- Find required textbooks for most math, physics, and astronomy courses and use them inside the library.
Did you know: Need a quiet space brimming with natural light to study or recharge? Visit the MPA Library on the third floor of the David Rittenhouse Laboratory.
Leon Levy Dental Medicine Library
Top 3 Things:
- Help us translate the oldest dental book in the world!
- Take classes on database searching, bibliographic managers, and evidence-based methodologies.
- Our beautiful and serene reading room is one of the quietest spaces on campus.
Did you know: Currently, the Dental Library is only open to dental students.
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts
Top 3 Things:
- Make an appointment to use our materials, which include Shakespeare's First Folio, draft storyboards for The Simpsons, and much more.
- Explore the John Mauchly Papers. He invented the world's first electronic computer ENIAC right here at Penn.
- Visit the beautiful Henry Charles Lea Library.
Did you know: Our "Discovering Marian Anderson" website lets you explore digitized scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, sheet music, and recordings of famous opera singer and icon of African American history.
Veterinary Libraries
Top 3 Things:
- Explore our veterinary anatomy software and collections, including dog anatomy flashcards.
- At our Kennett Square campus, you can visit The Horseshoe Museum at duPont Library.
- Check out VetLexicon portal puts clinical veterinary literature at your fingertips.
Did you know: Our veterinary anatomy computer-based learning programs and atlases allow you to examine, in 3D, a pig's stomach, a cat's skeleton, and much more.
Penn Museum Library
Top 3 Things:
- Our Anthropology collections include the collection of Daniel Garrison Brinton, one of the founders of American Anthropology.
- Explore one of the premiere collections of published archaeology in the world.
- Expand your research world when you take one of the Museum Library Workshops and Exhibits.
Did you know: Located in the Penn Museum, the quiet, studious Museum Library offers over 180 seats in a variety of styles, from ergonomic office chairs to comfy lounge chairs to graduate-student carrels.
Lippincott Library of the Wharton School
Top 3 Things:
- Access key business publications like the Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review.
- Get your research questions answered with Business FAQ, a 24/7 knowledge bank.
- Use Document Delivery for Wharton students to request digital delivery of articles and chapters.
Did you know: We can help you locate business and economic datasets, consult about statistical procedures, and support analysis and visualization in Excel, R, and other software.
Center for Research Data and Digital Scholarship
Top 3 Things:
- Learn GIS and mapping.
- Find our how to develop digital storytelling projects with programs like Omeka and Scalar.
- Get help with research data management.
Did you know: We can help you learn how to find, manage, and visualize data; create a scholarly podcast, journal, or website; and increase the impact of your research!
Chemistry Library
Top 3 things
- Searching the chemical literature can be tricky. We teach you to do it effectively.
- Search for chemicals by drawing their pictures (structures or sequences) using databases like Reaxys, SciFinder, and NCBI BLAST.
- Understand how to use the chemical information you retrieve ethically and the rationales behind ethics rules.
Did you know: Learning to search for chemical information is a part of many undergraduate chemistry classes.