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.
The Penn Libraries is actively expanding its collection of children’s and young adult literatures with the goal of privileging diverse voices, cultures, and perspectives. Recently, an internal collection development grant enabled the Libraries to narrow in on juvenile literatures that focus on immigrant and refugee communities in the United States.
The Penn Libraries collects a variety of Japanese rare materials, including but not limited to books, periodicals, scrapbooks, limited-circulation newspapers, manuscripts, photographs, and art prints.
The Joanna Banks Collection of African American literature includes over 10,000 published works, primarily from the 1970s to the present. Particular strengths include women's writing, children's literature, cookery, and African American periodicals. The Banks Collection was donated to the Penn Libraries in 2018.