“I know that a virtual graduation is less than ideal, and the state of the world beyond Lea Elementary School may have us all on edge and in fear of what the future may bring.” At the end of a tempestuous final semester, the graduating eighth grade class of Henry Charles Lea Elementary School were counseled by their commencement speaker: Ancil George, Penn Libraries’ retired Community Outreach Librarian
Search Results
COVID-19: FAQ
Last updated: Thursday, Jun 18, 2020
Beginning July 7, we will launch a number of essential services to support research and connect Penn faculty, students and staff with our physical collections. We will also continue to develop and enhance the virtual services we offer to support remote teaching, research, and learning.
...Continue readingBetter Care for COVID Patients Through Virtual Reality
Kevin Ching, a physician at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, realized that the knowledge hard-won by medical workers in New York City might save lives elsewhere, in areas of the country that haven’t yet been impacted by the pandemic.
Cataloging for Our Community
Gina Pambianchi’s work for the Penn Libraries typically entails a considerable amount of social proximity. As Penn’s Community Outreach Librarian, a normal work-week finds her in schools across the city, collaborating closely with teachers, student workers, and volunteers.
...Continue readingMapping (Medieval) Manuscript Migrations
MMM — an awardee of the Trans-Atlantic Platform’s Digging into Data Challenge — is a collaboration between Penn Libraries’ Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, the e-Research Centre at the University of Oxford, the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT) in Paris, and the Semantic Computing Research Group at Aalto University in Helsinki.
Mapping COVID-19 Sentiments
“The Libraries is the only place on campus where anyone from any department or center can get help with GIS and mapping,” says Girmaye Misgna, Penn’s Mapping & Geospatial Data Librarian. The Data & GIS team’s typical duties include consultation on theses, capstones, and papers for faculty and students
Cooking Under Quarantine
What can we learn from the writers of centuries-old recipes, who were no strangers to crisis and scarcity? It's a question that Marissa Nicosia is well-suited to answer. Nicosia curates Cooking in the Archives, a public food history project that translates centuries-old recipes into standard measurements, recognizable ingredients, and processes replicable by contemporary cooks.
Librarians at Large: 3D-Printing Personal Protective Equipment from Home
Varvara Kountouzi never imagined she’d be running a 3D printing operation out of her spare bedroom. As Head of Digital Media & Virtual Services team at Penn’s Biomedical Library, Kountouzi has years of experience working with 3D printers — on campus. Though she’s dedicated to her work, there was never cause for Kountouzi to consider establishing her own high-tech cottage industry.
Probing the “Time Capsule” of the Cairo Geniza at Adath Israel Synagogue
In mid-January, Emily Esten visited the Adath Israel synagogue in nearby Merion Station to deliver two presentations on the Cairo Geniza, one tailored to adult synagogue members and the other to children. “The Cairo Geniza is unique among digital humanities projects,” says Esten, who is the Penn Libraries’ Judaica Digital Humanities Coordinator.
A Rare Discovery: Celebrating Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances with The Philadelphia Orchestra
A wholly unexpected musical discovery was at the center of a collaboration between the Penn Libraries and The Philadelphia Orchestra, as the two institutions partnered to celebrate the only known recording of composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff playing his last major orchestral work, Symphonic Dances.
