This fall, "fall" in love with the Penn Libraries! Our semester-long passport program will give you a chance to go beyond the most popular study spots and find your own favorite nooks and niches.
STEP 1: Pick up a passport. (Sorry, we're all out of passports for the rest of the semester. Thanks for the enthusiastic response!)
STEP 2: Explore the libraries while collecting stamps and selfies. At each stamp stop, a member of our staff will be on hand to stamp your passport. At each selfie stop, post your photo to Instagram using #PennLibrariesPassport, and write your Instagram handle in one of the passport squares along with the number of the stop. Check below for the full list of stops.
STEP 3: Get a limited-edition tote bag if you complete at least 10 stops by November 10. We'll distribute prizes during our finale event on November 10 from 1pm to 3pm in Education Commons. Register in advance to secure your spot!
Have questions along your passport journey? Contact Alexandrea Glenn. If you're unable to attend this event but still want your bag, just fill out this form and we'll make alternate arrangements with you.
The Judith and William Bollinger Digital Fabrication Lab is located under the bright graphite lights on the ground floor of the Holman Biotech Commons. Take a selfie in front of the display case. If the lab is open when you visit, come on in to learn about our Poster and 3D Printing services.
Library Location: Holman Biotech Commons
Take a selfie at the Anatomage table located near the circulation desk at the Holman Biotech Commons. This digital anatomy table renders fully segmented real human anatomy. You can use it to visualize anatomy exactly as you would on a cadaver!
Library Location: Holman Biotech Commons
After entering the Penn Museum for free with your PennCard, you can find the Penn Museum Library sandwiched between the Upper Egypt Gallery and the Anthropology department (and right above the museum café where you can buy an actual sandwich!) Take a selfie that shows the traditional H’mong textile, which hangs above the library’s computers. This is one of several artifacts that can be found in this quiet 3-story library.
Library Location: Museum Library
Visit the Education Commons info desk to get your stamp and create your own personalized décor to adorn your new home away from home during your time at Penn. We can make a key holder for your front door with laser etched "Home Sweet Home" and GPS coordinates of your hometown or an arrow pointing in the cardinal direction of your home showing just how far you've traveled.
Library Location: Education Commons
The Materials Library is located on the ground floor of the Fisher Fine Arts Library near the restrooms and Common Press, accessible from the main stairwell in the stacks. Find the VantaBlack sample on our color wall, visible when entering the Materials Library, and notify a staff member to learn more about the material to receive your stamp.
Library Location: Materials Library (within the Fisher Fine Arts Library)
For a chance to win a portable Jupiter Bluetooth speaker, visit the MPA Library on the 3rd floor of David Rittenhouse Laboratory from Sept 20 to 27. Otherwise come in on weekdays from 9am to 5pm to stamp your passport at our Coloring Book Coffee Table.
Library Location: Math/Physics/Astronomy Library
Wanna Borrow Textbooks? Make an appointment to visit Rebecca Stuhr's office (Van Pelt room 218) to find out more about borrowing textbooks from the library and get your passport stamped.
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Take a selfie in front of the Schattner Building, which serves as the main entrance to School of Dental Medicine (SDM). The SDM houses the Levy Dental Library and is open only to Penn Dental students, staff, faculty, clinicians, and patients.
Library Location: Dental Library
Vitale II is located in the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts on the sixth floor of Van Pelt, room 623 in the classroom area behind the Rittenhouse Orrery. Kislak digitizes all our premodern manuscripts; scan the QR code in the window of Vitale II to learn about our 15th century herbal. Take a screenshot of the screen for your stamp.
Library Location: Vitale II (within the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)
Stop by the manuscript curator's digs (Room 608 in Van Pelt) and switch an "illuminated" lampshade on and off. If you stop by on Sept 26 you will be able to meet the curator and receive a stamp.
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Come by the Community Engagement offices (room 528 in Van Pelt) to take a selfie in our picture book themed photobooth! While you’re here, we hope you’ll take some time to learn about the work PLCE does to promote literacy in Philadelphia through school and community partnerships, library advocacy and family literacy programming!
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Come and take a selfie at the Conservation Lab! The Steven Miller Conservation Laboratory (Van Pelt 504) cares for the physical materials held in the Penn Libraries collections across the entire library system. We are a team of conservators and conservation technicians who work with other librarians, catalogers, and curators in the Penn Libraries to stabilize and repair collections materials like books, manuscripts, parchments, archives, art on paper, and more.
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Come take a selfie with the East Asia Comics Collection! This circulating collection of comics and graphic novels from Japan and Korea is housed in Van Pelt Library (in the East Asia Comics section of the fifth floor) and intended for language learners and international students alike to enjoy. The Japanese comics have a special focus on LGBTQ characters and stories, while the Korean manhwa are largely comics that first appeared online.
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Visit room 208 Van Pelt Library (2nd floor east side toward Walnut Street) to see the National Atlas of the Ukraine, learn about different types of reference books, and get a Ukraine Tryzub stamp!
Library Location: Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
Come to the Eugene Ormandy Music and Media Center to find our namesake as seen in the pages of Stereo Review Magazine, Al Hirschfeld’s famous cartoon portrait of Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Eugene Ormandy.
Library Location: Eugene Ormandy Music and Media Center (within Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)
Visit the Lea Library on the sixth floor of Van Pelt Library to see a display of rare and unique materials from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, and take a selfie with the bust of Henry Charles Lea!
Library Location: Lea Library (within the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)
The Pickup@Penn automated lockers are a way to request books from Penn Libraries and pick them up in our Undergraduate Study Center on the ground floor of Van Pelt, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Find the lockers (or better yet, request a book and pick it up from a locker!) and take a selfie with the lockers in the background.
Library Location: Undergraduate Study Center (within the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)
Keep up with the news by signing up for access to the Wall Street Journal. To receive a stamp, come to the Lippincott Library Information Desk and show us on your phone or laptop that you've created a WSJ.com account.
Library Location: Lippincott Library (within the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center)
Pick up a Sticky Data Sticker and learn about all the services we offer at the Research Data and Digital Scholarship, including workshops and regular meetups for the R Penn Group (RPG), Python User Group (PUG), and Mapping & GIS Club (MGIS).
Library Location: Room 233, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center