Reading period access: From December 9–18, access to the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center and the Fisher Fine Arts Library will be limited to PennCard holders and other Penn affiliates. Find more information. 

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Upcoming Events

Dec 01 - 18
Open to Penn Students Only

Virtual Study Break

Need a study break? Visit the Virtual Study Break Canvas site for a collection of stress-relieving online activities.

  • Dec 1 - Dec 18, 2025
  • Virtual
Line drawing of Penn's college hall and Broken Button sculpture
Dec 05
  • Lecture
Open to the Public

Collecting Penn Memorabilia for the University Archives

Penn alumna Susan Molofsky Todres provides a glimpse into student life and interests through the memorabilia collections of the University Archives.

  • December 5, 2025
  • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
  • Virtual (link will be sent to registrants)
Blue and red enamel pennant pin with Pennsylvania written in elegant script
Dec 05
  • Lecture
Open to the Public

The Guide to Goodness: An Islamic Medieval Bestseller, Copies at Penn, and Their Contexts

Ali Noori explores manuscript copies housed in Penn Libraries' collections of a 15th-century Islamic devotional manual Dalail al-Khayrat (The Guide to Goodness), composed by the North African Sufi mystic al-Jazuli (d. 1465) and considers the parallels between this Islamic bestseller and the roughly contemporary medieval European bestseller, the Book of Hours.

  • Friday, December 5, 2025, 12:00 - 1:30 pm EST
  • 12:00pm - 1:30pm
  • Virtual
Detail of Islamic prayerbook with decorated headpiece in gold, blue, and red and arabic script in red and black inks.
Dec 09
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Origami Star Book Workshop

Welcome the holidays by making your own origami star book!

  • December 9, 2025
  • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
  • Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Photo of an orgami star book
Dec 09
Open to Penn Students Only

Holman Community Study Hours

Community Study hours offer an encouraging, safe, and quiet study space for students at a dedicated time, promoting accountability and shared focus. Come to work with other students with free snacks!

  • December 9, 2025
  • 3:00pm - 5:00pm
  • Biotech Commons-Holman Reading Room
Dec 09
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Origami Star Book Workshop

Welcome the holidays by making your own origami star book!

  • December 9, 2025
  • 3:30pm - 4:30pm
  • Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
Photo of an orgami star book
Dec 09
  • Workshop
Open to Penn Students Only

Community Study Sessions -- December

Need motivation to study? Join our monthly Community Study Sessions — a relaxed, supportive space to stay focused, meet others, and enjoy free snacks.

  • December 9, 2025
  • 6:00pm - 8:00pm
  • Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, Weigle Information Commons' Class of 1968 Seminar Room (124)
Seminar table
Dec 10
  • Lecture
Open to the Public

Penn Libraries Presents: Preserving the Sanborn Map Company Fire Insurance Map Collection

Join us to learn about the conservation journey of Fisher Fine Arts Library’s collection of Sanborn Map Company fire insurance maps, from the initial project proposal back in 2022 up to current efforts to treat and rehouse the items. The collection includes nineteen folio volumes of bound maps for Philadelphia, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.

  • December 10, 2025
  • 12:00pm - 1:00pm
  • Class of '55 Room 241, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, and Zoom
Plan of the city and suburbs of Philadelphia, 1794
Dec 10
  • Workshop
Open to the Public

Fun With Medieval Manuscripts

Come by the Vitale II Book+Digital Lab (623 Van Pelt Library) on Wednesday, December 10, between 2 and 4pm for FUN WITH MANUSCRIPTS. You'll color your own decorative medieval illustration and make it into a button.

  • December 10, 2025
  • 2:00pm - 4:00pm
  • Kislak Center Vitale II, Rm 623, 6th Floor
an image of an illuminated intitial on top, an image of a weird plant on the bottom

Maps and More

Campus Libraries Map

Staff Information

Resources for Staff Committees