Manuscript Studies
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The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies
Bringing manuscript culture, modern technology and people together.
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Announcements and News
- The Fall 2025 issue (Vol. 10.2) of Manuscript Studies is now available in Diamond-level Open Access via Project Muse, as are all previous issues.
- Register for our upcoming SIMS and the Center for Italian Studies Fellow in Italian Manuscript Studies Lecture, The Fabrication of Borders: Tailoring and Cartography in Early Modern Europe (Emanuele Lugli, Stanford University and the 2025–2026 Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies and the Center for Italian Studies Fellow in Italian Manuscript Studies), Thursday, February 12, 2026 5:15–6:30PM EST (Kislak Center, Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 6th Floor and via Zoom).
- Register for our upcoming SIMS Online Lecture, Grid as Ground (Hanna Vorholt, University of York), Friday, February 20, 2026 12:00–1:30PM EST (via Zoom).
- SIMS is pleased to welcome Davide Pafumi (University of Lethbridge) as the 2025–2026 Manuscript Collections as Data Research Fellow. He will be in residence in early 2026 to work on a project entitled Developing an AI-Based HTR Workflow for the Enrichment of Vernacular English Medieval Manuscripts via eScriptorium.
- SIMS is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2025–2026 Graduate Student Research Fellowship: Priyamvada Nambrath and Eleanor Webb.
- SIMS is excited to announce the following Visiting Research Fellows for the 2025–2026 academic year: Ali Noori (Fordham University), Hanno Wijsman (Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes), and Emanuele Scieri (University of Glasgow).
- Discover BASIRA, the Books as Symbols in Renaissance Art database, a new digital resource for book history hosted by the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies. Enter the database or visit the project website to learn more.
- Join us every Thursday at 12:00PM Noon EDT / 5pm BST for Coffee with a Codex (via Zoom; registration required).
SIMS Blog Posts
Read about manuscript discoveries, initiatives, and other interesting happenings from SIMS staff.
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Teaching
Making use of our collections and expertise in person and remotely
Event Series
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Upcoming Events
List
- Workshop
February 24, 2026
Reimagining Illumination: Make Your Own Paper Circuit
On Tuesday, February 24th, Emily Brooks will lead us in creating our own mini holographic light-up constellation shadow boxes based on artwork from a Netherlandish astronomy book from Penn's collection.
- 2:00pm - 4:00pm
- Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Open to the Public
- Workshop
February 25, 2026
Exploring Handwritten Text Recognition for Manuscript Studies with 2025-2026 SIMS Fellows
This discussion, presented to MedRen and Global Medieval and Renaissance Studies, will introduce the work of two 2025-2026 Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS) Graduate Student Fellows, Ellie Webb and Priya Nambrath, who have been spending this year exploring Handwritten Text Recognition technologies for use on a variety of historic and archival documents.
- 3:00pm - 5:00pm
- Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Open to Penn Students, Faculty, and Staff
- Workshop
February 26, 2026
Coffee with a Codex: Ethiopian Manuscripts
On February 26, curator Dot Porter will bring out a selection of manuscripts from Ethiopia.
- 12:00pm - 12:30pm
- Online
Open to the Public