The Special Collections Center at the University of Pennsylvania stands out as one of the most distinguished repositories of its kind in the mid-Atlantic region, with several individual collections that are world class. Together with other members of the global scholarly community, the staff provides environmental and protective care for original materials – manuscripts, printed books and artifacts – that preserve the basic records of all fields of human endeavor and serves students, faculty and researchers from Penn and beyond.  The Penn Libraries are at the forefront in the trend of incorporating rare books, manuscripts, and other primary sources into the undergraduate academic curriculum, adopting a hands-on approach to their use. 

The Special Collections Center recently completed the second stage of a three phase redesign to the fifth and and sixth floors of the Van Pelt-Deitrich Library Center thanks to the generosity of several donors.  A beautiful space located in the heart of campus that offers striking views of College Green and the Philadelphia skyline, the Special Collections Center now includes improved facilities for housing the Library’s rare books, manuscripts, and visual collection, along with a number of new spaces, outlined below. 

The Henry Charles Lea Library collects primary materials for the study of the late medieval and early modern period. The Library focuses on the history of religion with a special interest in the institutional, legal, and ecclesiastical bases of Church organization and governance, and the Inquisition in Europe, with an emphasis on Spain and Spanish America. Witchcraft and magic are also subjects that the Lea Library collects extensively. A secondary Lea specialty is the history of Italian city-states. In particular, the Florentine Medici-Gondi archive, comprising manuscript materials from the fourteenth through the nineteenth centuries, documents the business activities of the family firm as well as commercial, social, and familial relationships.

The Henry Charles Lea Library includes the collections and the original reading room of the bibliophile for whom the space in named.  He served as a Trustee of the University from 1871-1873.  His library was donated to the University of Pennsylvania in 1926 by his children, Arthur and Nina Lea.  During the most recent renovations to the Special Collections Center, donations from the Class of 1963 in celebration of their 50th reunion were used to restore the skylight, chairs, and floor, and to upgrade the internet and technology infrastructure to ensure faculty can use the space as a learning environment.

Penn Libraries is home to several of Benjamin Franklin’s most treasured belongings, including his mahogany writing desk which played an important role in his work as a printer. Among the many texts he composed while seated at this desk includes his famous Autobiography.  The panels on the wall surrounding his desk are reproductions of three leaves from the manuscript now in the possession of the Huntington Library.  To celebrate the connection between Franklin and the University, the Penn Libraries has created the “Franklin Alcove” housing these treasures and providing an interactive history to honor Franklin’s legacy at Penn. It is only fitting that the Franklin memorabilia is housed in the Special Collections Center, ensuring proper preservation of these unique artifacts.

The Goldstein Family Gallery has dramatically increased the ability of the Special Collections Center to display the Libraries’ substantial manuscript, book and visual art collections.   A state of the art exhibition facility, the Gallery was designed to meet the highest museum standards so that items are displayed handsomely and preserved for future generations’ scholarship. Although exhibits are mostly curated by the curatorial staff, from time to time, library staff work collaboratively with students and faculty to prepare course related exhibits.  Currently on display is A Legacy Inscribed: The Schoenberg Collection of Manuscripts, highlighting the unique and expansive collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg and his wife, Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg.

The Goldstein Family Gallery is named in honor of Patricia and Bernard Goldstein, W’53, and Mark Goldstein, C’83. Both Bernard and Mark  serve on the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers.

The elegant Ellen and Herb Moelis Reading Terrace has allowed the Library to extend its usable space by claiming terraces along the edge of the building.  Offering stunning views of College Hall and the Furness Building, this area is now a delightful place for casual readers to enjoy the view and copious southern exposures.  The terrace also serves an important social function as a gathering space for exhibit openings, formal dinners, and symposia.

The Moelis Reading Terrace was made possible through the generous donations of Herbert and Ellen Moelis, long-time supporters of the University and its Libraries.  Ellen is currently a member of the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers.  Herbert, W’53 served as  a member of the Libraries’ Board of Overseers from 1991 until 1997.

The H. H. Furness Memorial Library is devoted to the study of Shakespeare and other Tudor and Stuart dramatists. It includes most writings about Shakespeare and virtually all English-language editions of his plays and poems, including the first four folios, some early quartos, and other editions up to the present time. Translations of Shakespeare into many world languages are a special focus of the collection. Promptbooks, biographies, photographs, letters, scrapbooks, and playbills offer rich resources for early stage history. In addition, the Library gathers primary and secondary information about the history of the Renaissance, especially in England but also on the Continent, and Shakespeare's predecessors, contemporaries, and successors among English Renaissance literary writers, particularly dramatists. It also contains more than 2,000 microfilm dissertations on Shakespeare and English drama from the middle ages through the Restoration.

The Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion is a 140 seat assembly space offering views of College Hall and College Green. It is a premier location for high level University events as well as public receptions, performances, lectures, readings, and seated dinners.  The centerpiece of the Pavilion is the magnificent and historic Rittenhouse Orrery.  Constructed in the early 1770s by David Rittenhouse, the Orrery is a remarkably accurate mechanical model of the solar system that includes movement of the planets and their satellites.  Thomas Jefferson was so impressed by the Rittenhouse Orrery he saw, that he called it “as great a proof of mechanical genius as the world has ever produced.”  There are only two Rittenhouse Orreries in existence; one is owned by the University of Pennsylvania and the other resides in Princeton University’s Peyton Hall. 

Named in Honor of the Class of 1978, whose generous gift in celebration of their 25th reunion initiated the campaign for the Special Collections Center.

The Special Collections Reading Room gives students, faculty and visiting scholars the ability to use primary resources that are not in circulation due to their rare and valuable nature. Within the Reading Room there are three Group Study Rooms, where students can consult these materials in small groups with peers and faculty, engage in discussions and enhance their learning experience.  The Reading Room provides space for 20 patrons and the three group study rooms can accommodate 6-8 patrons per room.  As with the other seminar rooms on this floor, the Reading Room and small group spaces are equipped with advanced technologies to ensure that students have access to the best resources.

Naming opportunity is still available for the Reading Room for a gift or pledge of $1.5 million.

The three group study rooms within the Reading Room have been named in honor of:

• The Polan Family, through a gift of Penn Libraries’ Overseer, Josh Polan, W’69, WG’70, PAR’97 and his wife Sharon, PAR’97.
• The Goldman Family, through a gift of Merle and Marshall Goldman, W’52, PAR’78
• Class of 2010 Senior Parents, through a Penn Parents gift in celebration of senior class graduation

The Goldstein Family Gallery has dramatically increased the ability of the Special Collections Center to display the Libraries’ substantial manuscript, book and visual art collections.   A state of the art exhibition facility, the Gallery was designed to meet the highest museum standards so that items are displayed handsomely and preserved for future generations’ scholarship. Although exhibits are mostly curated by the curatorial staff, from time to time, library staff work collaboratively with students and faculty to prepare course related exhibits.  Currently on display is A Legacy Inscribed: The Schoenberg Collection of Manuscripts, highlighting the unique and expansive collection of Lawrence J. Schoenberg and his wife, Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg.

The Goldstein Family Gallery is named in honor of Patricia and Bernard Goldstein, W’53, and Mark Goldstein, C’83. Both Bernard and Mark  serve on the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers.