Penn Libraries

The library is here for the Penn community all year long! This summer you can:

✔️ Browse our bestsellers display to find the perfect beach read.

✔️ Print your very own copy of the Declaration of Independence at the Common Press Studio.

✔️ Check out a cookbook to help you plan your cookout.

✔️ Dig into your dissertation research by making an appointment at the Kislak Center.

✔️ Borrow a great ebook or audiobook from Libby to take with you on vacation.

We're operating with reduced hours over the summer, but we still want you to visit! Here's when our three most popular libraries are open:

Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center: 8:30am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm weekends
Fisher Fine Arts Library: 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, closed weekends.
Holman Biotech Commons: 8am-10pm Mon-Fri, 12pm-6pm Sundays, Closed Saturdays.

Go to www.library.upenn.edu/hours to find the hours for your favorite library location.

Got summer classes? It's time to lock in at the library.

The Penn Libraries can help you succeed in your summer classes just like we do during the rest of the year. Borrow books, access online resources, study in our 15+ libraries, get advice from our librarians, and more!

Visit our website to start your summer journey.

Graduation doesn’t mean the end of your journey with the Penn Libraries! We offer 3 tiers of access to all alums of degree-granting programs:

Alumni PennKey (free)
✨ Visit us on most weekdays
✨ See exhibits and attend special events
✨ Access a selection of journals and databases from home

Alumni PennCard ($30 every 10 years)
✨ Visit us anytime we’re open
✨ Access a selection of journals and databases from home, and even more from on site
✨ Use library computer labs

Courtesy Borrower Card ($200 per year)
✨ Get all the benefits of Alumni PennCard holders
✨ Borrow and take home books owned by the Penn Libraries!

Visit www.library.upenn.edu to get all the details.

Looking for something new to watch, read, or listen to this month? Check out one of these book or film recommendations from Penn Libraries staff:

📖 Not Quite Not White by Sharmila Sen
🎧 The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian
📖 When the Hibiscus Falls by M. Evelina Galang
🎥 Bad Axe, IFC films
📖 The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Borrow ebooks and audiobooks using Libby or check out physical copies from the Featured Books display in Van Pelt Library, all at no cost to the Penn community! Just search find.library.upenn.edu to discover all your access options.

The more things change, the more things stay the same...

Welcome to campus, Penn Alumni! Here’s a look at some library spaces throughout the years, and what those same spaces look like today.

You made it to the end of the semester, Penn! We're proud of each and every one of you for all you have accomplished. Enjoy the summer ahead!

The semester is nearly over, but there's still plenty happening at the Penn Libraries! Here are three things you don't want to miss:

🧑‍🏫 Network with fellow research support staff and learn about library research services
🇺🇸 Print your own Declaration of Independence at the Common Press
📜 Join our weekly Coffee with a Codex and get a peek at a historical manuscript

Visit our website for details. https://www.library.upenn.edu/events

May 3, 2026, marked the 557th anniversary of the birth of Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, the Florentine diplomat, politician, philosopher, and playwright of the Italian Renaissance, best known for writing The Prince. Along with selections of his work, the Penn Libraries houses over 700 works about Machiavelli and his theories of government and political leadership.

Learn more about the controversial thinker’s influence from librarian Lonya Humphrey.

Remembering the modern Western world's first political scientist Born 557 years ago, Niccolò Machiavelli continues to influence Western political thought. You can find many works by him and about him in the Penn Libraries collections.