Penn Libraries

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For all your birding needs

Grab a Birdwatching Backpack!

Spring is finally here, so why not go for a walk with one of our birdwatching backpacks? These handy kits come with binoculars and birding guides, and are perfect for a weekend getaway or an afternoon stroll.

Borrow one today
two individuals immersed in nature, standing with their backs to the camera. One is using binoculars to look for bird, and the other holds a camera. The one with binoculars is also wearing a green backpack with the Penn logo visible.

Using the Library

Quick Start Guide

Search the Franklin Catalog

Use Franklin to find books, journal articles, databases, CDs and DVDs, and anything else in the Penn Libraries collections.

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Get Off-Campus Access

Need to access subscription materials like journals, databases, and ebooks when you’re not on campus? Check out our cheat sheet.

Looking at a laptop screen displaying the homepage of the Criterion Collection.

Request Scans

Our library staff can scan book chapters and articles for quick delivery directly to your inbox.

A person sits at a large scanner scanning a book

Receive Books by Mail

When you register for Books By Mail, you can request to have books sent to your off-campus address anywhere in the United States.

A library staff member puts books on a cart in Van Pelt Library.

Ask a Question Anytime

Explore our archive of Frequently Asked Questions. Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Submit your question anytime, and we’ll respond within 24 hours.

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Book a Consultation

Book an in-person or virtual consultation with a librarian or technology consultant with expertise in your field of study, copyright, digital fabrication, or statistical and design software.

A person sits in front of a laptop, pointing at a large historical document that is under a large format camera

Browse our spaces

Explore our array of flexible and innovative spaces, from collaborative or quiet study spots to classrooms designed for active learning and equipped with the latest technology.

People studying by the felt wall of the Reading Room. Cushioned seats and reading lamps line the long wooden tables.

Reserve a room

Already know exactly which room you need? Head directly to our room reservation system.

Rolling chairs surrounding a long conference table. There is a rolling whiteboard in the room as well as large windows that provide a view of campus.

Explore our library locations

Like to study in the middle of the night? Need specialized databases at your fingertips? Looking for a location close to your classes? Find out how to visit all our library locations across campus—and beyond—and discover which one suits your needs best. 

Aerial view of Penn's quad, showing Van Pelt Library and the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Featured Collections

The Penn Libraries' global collections encompass hundreds of languages and scripts across a broad range of subject areas, preserving the rich cultural and scholarly record from Africa, East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Read about some of our unique recent acquisitions.

Photograph of stack of Chinese books.

Exploring Chinese Internet Literature

To more accurately reflect the diversity of literature in China, the Penn Libraries has made a special effort to add recent internet novels that have been published in print form to our collection.

Upcoming Events

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April 25, 2024

LaTeX User Group Meeting

Writing a thesis or dissertation? Interested in publishing? Formatting a resume? Just want to learn a new skill? Come check out the LaTeX user group! No experience required.

  • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
  • Research Data and Digital Scholarship Exchange, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center (1st floor)
Open to Penn Students, Faculty, and Staff
Page from an arithmatic manuscript
  • Workshop
April 25, 2024

Coffee with a Codex: Arithmetic & Geometry

April 25 is "Bring Our Children To Work Day" here at Penn, and Curator Dot Porter will be bringing her son along for Coffee With A Codex! He enjoys math, so we'll look at three very different manuscripts about arithmetic and geometry, dating from the 12th, 15th, and 17th centuries.

  • 12:00pm - 12:30pm
  • Online
Open to the Public
Detail of a text page of UPenn MS Codex 257, a manuscript copy of the Teseide of Boccaccio.
  • Lecture
Friday, April 26, 2024, 12:00 - 1:30 pm EDT

Principles of Manuscript Poetics

Francesco Marco Aresu, Assistant Professor of Italian Studies at Penn, reflects on the interactions between textuality and materiality, message and medium, visual-verbal discourse and its physical support through readings of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Teseida and Francesco Petrarca’s Rerum vulgarium fragmenta.

  • 12:00pm - 1:30pm
  • Virtual
Open to the Public