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On ENIAC’s anniversary, a nod to its female ‘computers’
Two female programmers work on the ENIAC computer.

Women were ENIAC’s first programmers, but their role was obscured for decades. (Photo: University of Pennsylvania Archives)

On ENIAC’s anniversary, a nod to its female ‘computers’

Six women were the original operators of Penn’s pathbreaking ENIAC, the world’s first computer. On ENIAC Day, you can see a documentary featuring some of their stories that were originally obscured from history.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

Penn Libraries and venerable Philadelphia Athenaeum form bookish alliance
Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn Libraries and venerable Philadelphia Athenaeum form bookish alliance

The Libraries have entered a partnership with the Athenaeum, Philadelphia’s last remaining subscription library. “Our new library partnership with the Athenaeum of Philadelphia makes easily accessible the Athenaeum’s unmatched collection of historic architectural publications and other documentation for the study of this rich legacy,” said David Brownlee, a School of Arts and Sciences professor and an Athenaeum board member. Jon Shaw and Constantia Constantinou were also quoted.

What the Middle Ages can teach us about Star Wars’ ancient Jedi texts
Forbes

What the Middle Ages can teach us about Star Wars’ ancient Jedi texts

The Schoenberg Institute was highlighted for its series of weekly videos in which the Libraries’ Dot Porter discusses parallels between fictional texts in the Star Wars universe and medieval manuscripts.

Leafing through the pages of medical library history
Library room at the Pennsylvania Hospital with a long table, ornate rug and glass cabinets of books

This room has housed the library since 1807, save a brief period when the space was used as the lying-in (obstetrical) ward. (Photo: Penn Medicine News Blog)

Leafing through the pages of medical library history

Rare gems, anatomical and botanical volumes, and the original library catalog are all housed in the Historic Medical Library at Pennsylvania Hospital, the first of its kind in the country.

Penn Today Staff

Copyright expiration releases works to the world
Cover of book Vinzi by Johanna Spyri showing child sitting in a windowsill and the title page of the book reading Vinzi a story of the Swiss Alps by Johanna Spyri translation by Elisabeth P. Stork and Illustrations in color by Maria L. Kirk. Philadelphia and London J.B. Lippincott Company 1923.

The Penn Libraries is digitizing and sharing books published in 1923 that have come into the public domain. One is "Vinzi a Story of the Swiss Alps," by Johanna Spyri, author of the more-famous "Heidi." The edition is the first U.S. translation to English from German, published in Philadelphia.  

Copyright expiration releases works to the world

Works from 1923 have entered the public domain after a 20-year extension on copyright protections. The Penn Libraries is digitizing unique works to share.
Hive mind: What’s in these Ed Bacon photos?
WHYY (Philadelphia)

Hive mind: What’s in these Ed Bacon photos?

Hannah Bennett of the Libraries spoke about an unlabeled trove of photographs donated to Penn by urban planner Ed Bacon before his death in 2005. The photos are now being posted to Flickr to solicit public help identifying the locations depicted. “You don’t have to be a Bacon scholar – or a Bacon enthusiast – to enjoy these pictures,” said Bennett.

‘Lost world, lost lives, and the displacement of a culture’
library archivist walking through book stacks

‘Lost world, lost lives, and the displacement of a culture’

Hundreds of books looted by the Nazis during World War II sit on the shelves of the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, a window into a different time in history and individuals we may have otherwise never known.

Michele W. Berger

Walt Whitman up close
Student looking closely at a rare document in a plastic sleeve he is holding, while seated in a library.

The Penn Manuscript Collective is a group of students who meet on Fridays to transcribe rare documents at the Penn Libraries. Sophomore Henry Hung, a philosophy major, examines an early handwritten draft of  “Going Somewhere” by poet Walt Whitman. 

Walt Whitman up close

As part of the Penn Manuscript Collective, students transcribe rare documents and original works by Walt Whitman in the University’s collection. Their discoveries will be included in an international symposium at Penn this spring, Whitman at 200, led by the Penn Libraries marking the anniversary of the poet’s birth.
Historic Philly playbills get modern-day crowdsourcing
Librarian examines several playbills spread out on wood conference table in a historic library room lined with bookshelves filled with books.

Laura Aydelotte examines some of the 19th-century Philadelphia theater playbills in the Penn Libraries collection that are included in a project that allows the public to help transcribe digitized copies. An upcoming conference at Penn will explore digital approaches to researching theater history. 

Historic Philly playbills get modern-day crowdsourcing

An innovative online crowdsourcing project led by Laura Aydelotte of the Penn Libraries allows the public to transcribe digitized 19th-century Philadelphia theater playbills. An upcoming conference will explore digital approaches to researching theater history.
Blue pigment in 1,000-year-old teeth links women to the production of medieval manuscripts
Gizmodo

Blue pigment in 1,000-year-old teeth links women to the production of medieval manuscripts

The Libraries’ Nicholas Herman offered commentary on a study that used bio-archaeology to identify ultramarine in the dental tartar of an 11th-century woman in rural Germany. “Only by looking very closely at new kinds of evidence can we begin to discover the true importance of female artisans,” said Herman.