The Library collects contemporary works by African-American authors in all formats and genres, including genre fiction (science fiction, fantasy, detective novels, thrillers, etc.), novels, play scripts, comic books and graphic novels. Musical recordings, television shows, feature films, and documentaries by and featuring African Americans are also well represented.
One of the most popular and actively researched sub-genres today is Afrofuturism, and our collection is strong and growing.
The Penn Libraries have a near comprehensive collection of ancient medicine scholarship published in both the English and German languages.
The Libraries has worked with the Asian American studies program and other stakeholders to build a robust collection of Asian American videos.
The core of the Penn Libraries’ outstanding linguistics collection is the library of August Friedrich Pott (1802-1887), professor of general and comparative linguistics at the University of Halle and first librarian of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft.
This collection of approximately 18,000 items includes books and periodicals on German literature, linguistics, philology, folklore, and related disciplines. Materials date from the 15th through the 19th centuries. The Bechstein Library was acquired by the University of Pennsylvania in 1896.
The Libraries purchases mass market, local and academic cookbooks as they are published, which build on the special collections in Kislak and circulate to support interests both recreational and academic.
The Penn Libraries collects award-winning and notable children’s and young adult literatures that thematize and/or support diversity and representation.