The Charles Patterson Van Pelt Library (also known as the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, and simply Van Pelt) is the primary library at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
.
The building was designed by architects
Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson
H2L2 (for three decades, officially Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson) is an architecture firm in Philadelphia founded in 1907 by Paul Philippe Cret as The Offices of Paul Philippe Cret. In 1923, John Harbeson became Cret's partner, along ...
, and built in 1962. It has a gross area of . In addition to being the primary library on campus for social sciences and humanities, it also houses the Lippincott Library of
The Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...
, the
Ormandy Music Library, and the
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Van Pelt houses strong Area Studies collections in African, Japanese, Latin American, Chinese, Middle East,
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, and Judaica & Ancient Near East Studies. The
Henry Charles Lea Library is located on the 6th floor of Van Pelt Library.
The library holds the Weigle Information Commons, located on the west side of the 1st floor.
Vaguely
Grecian
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
with a massive
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
, but screened by brick panels with small windows that resemble an old French library, the Van Pelt Library is a major presence on the campus. A large
modern art sculpture, called
The Button, sits at its southern entrance.
History
Van Pelt Library was constructed in 1962 after
Penn's library outgrew the
Frank Furness Building (which now houses
Fisher Fine Arts Library
The Fisher Fine Arts Library was the primary library of the University of Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1962. The red sandstone, brick-and-terra-cotta Venetian Gothic giant—part fortress and part cathedral—was designed by the acclaimed P ...
). In 1966, the Dietrich wing was added to the building, and the building's official name was changed to the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center to reflect the addition. The
Lippincott Library for the Wharton School Lippincott may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia, U.S.
* Andy Lippincott, a fictional character in the comic strip ''Doonesbury''
* "Lippincott", a song by Anima ...
underwent a major renovation in 1967. In 1990, the
Goldstein Undergraduate Study Center was added to the basement level, and during the school year, this area is available 24/7 to Penn students from when the library opens on Sunday morning through to Friday evenings. In 2006, the Weigle Information Commons was constructed. The Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, a newly reconfigured 27,000 square-foot space opened in 2013. This major renovation included a completely renovated 6th floor with gallery space, meeting rooms, the
Horace Howard Furness Shakespeare Library, a glass-walled pavilion, and spaces for study and events, as well as an expansion of special collections stacks to Van Pelt's 5th floor.
[
]
Area Studies
Van Pelt Library also houses all the specialized Area Studies within the library system, namely East Asia, Middle East and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
. The bibliographers for Africa, Latin America and Judaica are also based in the same building.
Weigle Information Commons
The David B. Weigle Information Commons (WIC) is a technology hub located in the library. WIC offers services such as video recording rooms, videoconferencing, "data diner booths", group study rooms, and photo, video, and music editing software.
WIC was built in April 2006 on the 1st floor (west) of Van Pelt.
See also
*
Yarnall Library of Theology
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
References
External links
library.upenn.eduVan Pelt Library Facebook Page
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University of Pennsylvania campus
University and college academic libraries in the United States
Libraries in Pennsylvania
Library buildings completed in 1962