Indo-Caribbean Collection
Penn Libraries has a substantive Indo-Caribbean collection that strives to reveal histories, communities, and cultural expressions that have remained underrepresented in most research libraries.
International sagas of geopolitical strife, migration and the struggle for inclusion
Borders and Belonging
Penn Libraries’ collections reflect the dynamism of migrations, movements, transnational communities, and multifaceted identities within our increasingly interconnected world. Blurring the boundaries of geopolitical borders, we strive to highlight diasporic groups, peoples from liminal regions, and multi-cultural exchange. Materials such as global Judaica, postcards from the Indo-Caribbean, Kurdish storytelling, and documents from imperial Japan, for instance, underscore the transnational complexities of the modern age. Additionally, an emphasis on activism foregrounds global movements related to ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability studies, and refugee advocacy. Documenting and preserving more diverse experiences and complex histories contributes to richer, more representative research and learning at Penn.
Anchor Collections
Arnold and Deanne Kaplan Collection of Early American Judaica
The Kaplan Collection documents commercial, social, religious, political, and cultural ties that connected Jews and the general public from the colonial era through the nineteenth century.
Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness
The Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness comprises over 6,000 works of fiction by women writers, including novels, short stories, poetry, works by Native American authors, travel writings, narratives of polar expeditions, captivity narratives, and works for children. The Collection was donated in 2014 to the Penn Libraries by Penn alumna Caroline Schimmel (CW’67) and has been augmented by subsequent gifts.
Ashley Bryan Archive
Renowned artist, writer, storyteller, children's book creator, and humanitarian Ashley Bryan created thousands of drawings, paintings, collages, and linoleum block prints over the course of his long and productive life. His archive, containing hundreds of original works documenting his career, was donated to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries in 2019.
Dalit Literature Collection
The Penn Libraries South Asian Collection contains a notable collection of Dalit literature.
East Asia Comics Collection
The East Asia Comics Collection embodies the Libraries’ strategic priorities to collect and preserve global voices, and to make accessible materials related to borders and belonging.
Indigenous Children’s Literature from Latin America
Penn Libraries’ collection of Indigenous children’s literature from Latin America is modest but notable.