Notable Collections
List
German Reunification of 1990 Collection
The process of German (re-)unification, which began in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is the subject of several hundreds of materials in the Van Pelt Library collection.
Gondi-Medici Business Records (Medici-Gondi Archive)
The Gondi-Medici Business Records comprise nearly two hundred separate bound manuscripts and other collections of documents—primarily account books, letter collections, and ledgers. These contain a vast array of information about the activities of multiple branches of the Gondi, Medici and related families in Italy in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Gotham Book Mart Collection
The Gotham Book Mart was a vital bookstore in the New York literary scene from its creation in 1920 to its closing in 2006. In 2008, after the closure of the bookstore, the Penn Libraries received the remaining stock of books, along with papers and other items from this landmark institution.
Harvey Sheldon Jewish American Music Video Research Library
This collection features artistic works written, directed, produced, or performed by Jews for general as well as for Jewish American audiences. It numbers approximately 2,000 video titles copied on to more than 350 DVD's.
Henry Stewart Talks
Henry Stewart Talks is a database of curated lectures and presentations in the biomedical and life sciences by well-known experts in their field. Currently there are over 7,000 lectures ranging in topics from bioinformatics to clinical medicine. A user can view individual lectures, or an entire series on a specialized topic. For example, Dr. Nancy Bonini from the Biology Department has a lecture entitled "Human neurodegenerative disease: insights from Drosophila genetics", which is part of the series The Legacy of Drosophila Genetics. The resource has been popular with students and faculty when reviewing topics that are outside of their expertise or when they need to brush up on a particular topic.
Hindi & Bollywood Film
The Van Pelt Video Collection is home to more than 1,200 Hindi-language films as well as scholarly and popular books about Hindi and Bollywood film culture.