A Guide to Research at the Kislak Center

What You Can Find in Our Collections

Our materials include:

• Manuscripts and other textual works like diaries, miscellanies, scrapbooks, letters, handwritten books, and ephemera
• Rare books and other printed ephemera 
• Print collections, including pamphlets, periodicals, and ephemera
• Archival collections that provide insight into specific events, organizations, or individuals, including personal papers, institutional records, and photographs
• Three-dimensional objects, or realia, related to our collections and especially the history of print and book culture
• Visual culture, including prints, posters, and photography
• Specialized publications like limited-run zines, artist books, and other non-traditional books
• Digital collections, including digitized books and manuscripts, born-digital material, and sound and audiovisual material

How to Find Research Materials

For printed materials and manuscripts before 1800, search the Penn Libraries catalog.

• Limit Library Facet to “Special Collections.”

For archival collections, print collections, and manuscripts after 1800, search the Philadelphia Area Archives Finding Aids site.

• Limit the Repository Facet to “Kislak Center for Special Collections.”

For digitized materials, including all manuscripts before 1800, access complete scans through the Colenda Digital Repository.

For the materials kept by the University Archives, which reflect the history of the University of Pennsylvania, visit the University Archives and Records Center.

How to Access Materials

Materials kept by the Kislak Center are available to anyone who wishes to consult them. Researchers can access materials by appointment in the Charles K. MacDonald Reading Room.

• Request materials at least one week before your visit.
• To request materials through the Penn Libraries catalog, select the green “Request an Item” button and then the green “Schedule a Visit” button. 
• To request materials through a finding aid, select the “Request” button alongside the items in the inventory you wish to view.

To submit your request and select a date for your appointment, both the catalog and Philadelphia Area Archives will reroute you to create a research account.

• Penn Key holders can pre-populate the form with their Penn Key
• Non-Penn Key holders must manually enter their name and the required registration information.

Visit the Reading Room

Location

Charles K. MacDonald Reading Room
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 6th floor
3420 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
Phone: 215-898-7088
Email: kislak@upenn.edu

Hours

10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Reading Room Procedures 

• When you enter the reading room, please show the receptionist a current ID.
• Your ID card will be held at the reception desk during your visit. 
• The receptionist may inspect items brought into the reading room before you enter and again as you leave.
• Phones, cameras, laptops, tablets, and any charging cables are permitted. Paper and pencils will be provided.
• Lockers in the reception area are provided to store bags, laptop sleeves, pens, and any food or drink. 
• No food or drink is allowed in the reading or adjacent study rooms. 
• Photos are welcome, but flash photography is prohibited.

Collection Care and Use

• Researchers are asked to arrive in the reading room with clean hands. 
• Reading Room staff will provide instruction on the proper handling of collection materials. 
• Book cradles and weights will be provided when appropriate.
• Researchers working with archival collections may consult one box or folder of materials at a time and are asked to retain the order of the materials in the box or folder.  
• Keep each sheet of paper flat on the reading room table as they work with it.

Multi-day Visits

• Materials may stay on hold for several days at a time. 
• Materials that have not been consulted for over two weeks will be re-shelved.