Notable Collections

The Kaplan Collection documents commercial, social, religious, political, and cultural ties that connected Jews and the general public from the colonial era through the nineteenth century.

The Penn Libraries hold a collection of more than 600 medieval manuscript fragments from the Cairo Genizah.

The Library at the Katz CAJS is the permanent home of the extant library collection of the Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning. Dropsie College was founded in Philadelphia in 1907 under Jewish auspices. It was established on democratic principles of open admission without regard to “creed, color or sex,” or even financial ability since originally no tuition was charged.

This webpage provides an overview of special collections in the Penn Libraries relevant to the study of the environment and ecology, presented thematically across a broad range of historical time and geographic space.

Penn's libraries are home to a wide range of special and general collections related to the Holy Land.

The Reverend Isaac Leeser (1806-1868) was a Jewish minister, educator, writer, translator, editor and publisher. He proposed, founded, or led many of early American Jewry’s first civic, religious, and charitable institutions.