The majority of the fifth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center is currently closed for construction. Learn more about this renovation to the Zilberman Family Center for Global Collections, including how to request materials.

Meet the Curators

Join us for this lunchtime program, where you will hear from four Penn curatorial staff about the collections they oversee.

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September 9, 2026, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
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Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, sixth floor
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Open to Penn Students, Faculty, and Staff

Hosted by: Kislak Center and Bates Center

Tidy shelves of gray and cream boxes with labels

The University of Pennsylvania is home to over a dozen unique special collections, libraries, museums, and centers that contain hundreds of thousands of rare books, manuscripts, artworks, and artifacts that shed light on everything from the origins of civilization to the formation of the modern U.S. healthcare system — but how many Penn students, instructors, or faculty are familiar with the full breadth and depth of Penn’s rich archival resources?

This event brings together curators from across several different Penn collections. The curators will share insight into the kinds of materials you can find by delving into these collections and will talk about how they can help you navigate this rich set of resources and work with you to build your next class project — or even design your next course.

Lunch will be served. Registration is encouraged.

About the Speakers

Samantha Hill is the Curator of Civic Engagement at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. She is a Philadelphia native with a diverse career facilitating community-based arts, education, and cultural heritage projects. She holds master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, School of Information, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In her role at Penn, she collaborates with non-profit organizations to preserve and share stories about Philadelphia's diverse histories and culture.

William Whitaker is the curator and collections manager of the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. Trained as an architect and architectural historian at the University of New Mexico and the University of Pennsylvania, Whitaker primarily works on documenting and interpreting Penn’s design collections, including holdings related to the of life and work of architect Louis I. Kahn and landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, as well as that of the husband and wife design team of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Lynn Dolby is Director of the Penn Art Collection and is dedicated to enhancing the campus’ cultural landscape by forging new partnerships and activating unique exhibition spaces. Lynn earned a master's degree in the History of Art from Tyler School of Art & Architecture at Temple University and is currently a candidate in the Master in Law program at Penn Carey Law where she is focusing on intellectual property and copyright issues. 

Michael Jeffrey Carroll supports library engagement, instruction, and outreach at the Fisher Fine Arts Library for the students, faculty, and staff of the History of Art department and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design. He supervises bargaining unit staff, stewards the Materials Library and Fine Arts Image Collection, and collaborates with Fisher staff on managing the library's collection. He also serves as a subject specialist librarian in art, art history, and fine arts for Penn Libraries.

Moderator Jessica Martucci is the Curator of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, one of the largest historical collections devoted to the history of nursing in the country. She earned her PhD in the History & Sociology of Science at Penn and a Master’s of Bioethics from the Perelman School of Medicine. She is the creator of Penn Nursing’s History Lab, which helps Penn Nursing students identify and think critically about contemporary issues in healthcare through engagement with archival materials, historical objects, and other primary sources.

Maps and More

Campus Libraries Map

Staff Information

Resources for Staff Committees