Manuscript Studies
Read the latest issue of our open access journal.
The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies
Bringing manuscript culture, modern technology and people together.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Announcements and News
- Join us for the 18th Annual Lawrence J. Schoenberg Symposium for Manuscript Studies in the Digital Age, Interpreting the Ancients, November 20–22, 2025, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts; Free Library of Philadelphia; and Online. Registrations is now open!
- Register for our upcoming SIMS Online Lecture, The Guide to Goodness: An Islamic Medieval Bestseller Copies at Penn and Their Contexts (Ali Noori, Bard Early College and 2025–2026 Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies Visiting Research Fellow) Friday December 5, 2025 12:00–1:30PM EST (via Zoom).
- The Spring 2025 issue (Vol. 10.1) of Manuscript Studies is now available in Diamond-level Open Access via Project Muse, as are all previous issues.
- 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.
About
Learn about SIMS, its founders, and its staff
Digital Projects
Initiatives currently underway
Publications
Journal, books, exhibits, and other publications.
Fellowships
Opportunities for students and scholars
Teaching
Making use of our collections and expertise in person and remotely
Event Series
Lectures, workshops, and symposia, virtual and in person
Upcoming Events
List
- Symposium
November 20-22, 2025
Interpreting the Ancients
Coinciding with the exhibition Reinventing Aristotle, on view this fall at Penn Libraries' Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts, this year's symposium centers on the unceasing conversations with antiquity held across the pages of manuscripts, before and after the age of print.
- Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts; Free Library of Philadelphia & Online
Open to the Public
- Workshop
December 3, 2025
Manuscript Studies Interest Group: Manuscripts as Data
On December 3, we'll look outside of the box and talk about manuscripts as data, including digitization and using digitized manuscripts as text and as images.
- 2:00pm - 3:00pm
- Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Open to the Public
- Workshop
December 4, 2025
Coffee with a Codex: Illustrated Manuscript in Sanskrit
For Coffee With A Codex on December 4, South Asian Studies Librarian Jef Pierce will bring out Ms. Coll. 390 Item 3020, a manuscript that contains the legend of Kālaka, important to the Śvetāmbara Jains and read during the first night of the Paryuṣaṇā.
- 12:00pm - 12:30pm
- Online
Open to the Public