Books on the move: Materials on the fifth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center are being temporarily moved to our off-site storage facility. For your safety, please avoid browsing the fifth-floor stacks. See our Service Alerts for information about requesting books during the transition.
On May 14, curator Dot Porter will be joined by Schoenberg Curator of Manuscripts Nicholas Herman to show you a very special and exciting new acquisition! What is it? We can't tell you, but we can promise that no matter what kind of manuscripts you're interested in, you will want to see this!
On May 28, curator Dot Porter will bring out -Ms. Codex 869, a collection of treatises, bullae, and regulations of Franciscan interest (for a second look).
2026 marks the centennial of Michel Foucault’s birth and the 50-year anniversary of the publication of his landmark History of Sexuality, Vol. 1. This two-day symposium offers a renewed assessment of Foucault’s thought.
September 24 -
25, 2026
Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
This year’s topic interrogates the multi-angled intersections of magic, science, religion, and ritual in the pre- and early modern world, especially as manifested in manuscript books, documents, and other inscribed surfaces variously expressed in words, images, diagrams, and annotations.
November 12-14, 2026
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts; Free Library of Philadelphia & Online
