Access to the College Green area of campus will be restricted until further notice. Current students, faculty and staff with a valid Penn card may enter and exit Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center through the Rosengarten Undergraduate Study Center on the ground floor, and may enter and exit the Fisher Fine Arts Library through the 34th Street entrance to Meyerson Hall. 

During reading period, April 30 to May 14: Access to both Van Pelt and Fisher Fine Arts Library is limited. Find more information.

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Biology Collection

The current focus of the biology collection is on primary journal material, and covers such fields as genomics, cell biology, cognitive behavior, evolution, and plant science. Journals are only acquired in electronic format and ebooks are given priority over print. 

Overview

The Biology collection of the Penn Libraries supports the research and teaching activities of the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Biology and the Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB) Program and is housed in the Biotech Commons. The collection was established in 1980 with materials transferred from the Biology Department Library.

Collection Description

Many other libraries on campus also hold biology-related materials in support of specific programs at the University. These include landscape architecture (Fine Arts Library); paleobiology and environmental studies (Van Pelt Library); bioengineering and biophysics (Van Pelt Library); botany and horticulture (Morris Arboretum) and physical and medical anthropology (Museum Library). In addition, journals that support the Perelman School of Medicine and the Biomedical Graduate Studies program are also held at the Biotech Commons and cover related fields such as biochemistry, genetics, and neuroscience. The library system subscribes to a wide variety of biology and STEM related databases such as MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases.

Contact

Doing Research

The library provides access to multiple Biology related databases, e-books, e-journals, protocals, and videos. The Biotech Commons homepage is always a good place to start. Other starting points are listed below: