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PENN LIBRARIES LAUNCH UNIQUE DATABASE OF HISTORIC DOCUMENTS OF PHILADELPHIA
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University of Pennsylvania Library |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joe Zucca, Dir. for Planning and Communications APRIL 20, 2006 PENN LIBRARIES LAUNCH UNIQUE DATABASE OF HISTORIC DOCUMENTS OF PHILADELPHIA The Penn Libraries offers unrestricted access to Philadelphia Neighborhoods : Histories, Plans and Futures, a searchable database of neighborhood-based reports issued by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission between 1946 and 1990. Through text, maps, and photographs, Philadelphia Neighborhoods: Histories, Plans and Futures provides a unique, contemporary perspective of the city's communities and their conditions of housing, education, recreation, industry, transportation, land use, zoning, shopping, parking, and security. The online database preserves the content of the reports and offers added value by making available multi-report searching of the full text. The point-and-click interface allows the user to study how key issues were described across several neighborhoods and how future actions were envisioned to affect or improve the situation on the ground. The researcher can place the reports' stated objectives in the context of the subsequent, actual development of the neighborhoods. The project was produced in collaboration with the Penn Libraries Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image [SCETI]. The Libraries encourage the public to visit the site. "This site is a treasure for teachers who want students to engage with Philadelphia history," said Amy Hillier, Assistant Professor of City & Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania. "The Philadelphia Neighborhood site offers students easy access to primary historical records. These planning reports give valuable insights into the vision of professional planners and neighborhood groups, and using a wide range of content, they enable students to compare these visions to the form Philadelphia has taken." Created with the support of Martin and Margy Meyerson, Philadelphia Neighborhoods: Histories, Plans and Futures facilitates classroom teaching and faculty and student research. The database is one element of the Penn Libraries efforts to address the Universitys mission to engage and enrich the life of local communities. ### |
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