Marian Anderson Collection
Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was world-renowned as a contralto. She also challenged racial barriers in the United States.
Four centuries of history-makers that connect Penn and the rich environment in which it is located
Philadelphia: Culture and Community
Philadelphia has long been a vibrant center for the arts and for diverse and vital communities. Penn Libraries seeks to help preserve and provide access to the rich heritage of its home city. With a particular strength in music, for example, the papers of pioneering contralto Marian Anderson, the recently acquired Philadelphia Orchestra Archive and papers of its legendary conductors Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy, we are also building collections in the performing and visual arts. With the recent addition of staff positions dedicated to civic engagement, we are dedicated to connecting the city’s communities to Penn Libraries, and to working with those communities to help preserve their histories in novel ways, such as a newly launched oral history project focused on mentoring relationships among jazz musicians.
Anchor Collections
Institute of Contemporary Arts Records
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is a University of Pennsylvania museum displaying contemporary art.
Leopold Stokowski Collection
Leopold Stokowski was the innovative and charismatic conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1912 to 1941.
Eugene Ormandy Collection
This collection documents the extraordinary 64-year music career of Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985), best known for his long tenure with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Materials are available to researchers through the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Georgij Sanji Zagadinow Collection of Kalmyk Materials
The Zagadinow Collection embodies the Libraries’ strategic priorities to collect and preserve global voices, and to make accessible materials related to Philadelphia’s culture and community and to transnational communities and identities.