LIBRARIES AT PENN
A world of social work, social welfare, and policy knowledge at your fingertips
From the large Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center to special collections in social work, social policy, and nonprofit leadership, the University of Pennsylvania offers extensive library resources for students and scholars.
Search the Penn Library System
The Library’s online catalog, Franklin, is searchable both on and off campus.
Libraries for SP2 Students
SP2 students have access to libraries throughout the University system. Here are some that are particularly relevant and helpful to our students.
- The Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center is the University’s central social sciences and humanities library.
- Annenberg School for Communication Library has extensive collections focused on mass media effects, cultural studies, political and health communication, and communication in the developing world.
- Biotech Commons supports research, education, and patient care decisions for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
- Fisher Fine Arts Library features collections covering architecture, city planning, historic preservation, history of art, landscape architecture, the studio arts, and urban design.
- Biddle Law Library houses American primary materials (cases, statutes, regulations, etc.) and secondary sources such as journals, scholarly monographs, loose-leaf services, and federal legislative histories.
- Center for Judaic Studies’ collections include Biblical and rabbinic literature, Jewish history and thought, and Judaica Americana.
- Wharton School Lippincott Library offers world-class resources focused on management and business, including access to data, journals, news, analyst reports, market research and more
Collections
SP’s core collections of databases, reference work, research guides, and e-resources offer a wealth of information around high-impact themes.
Other Resources
- The Interlibrary loan/document delivery service enables students and faculty to borrow books and request scans of journal articles which are not in the University’s collections
- Penn Libraries Chat allows students to ask Penn librarians for guidance and support.
- Schedule a research consultation with a librarian.
- Connect with the library’s social science subject specialists
News
Alumni
07/25
Alumni Q&A | Ayesha Amin, MSSP’18
SP2 alumna Ayesha Amin, MSSP’18, is a feminist activist, gender expert, and founder of Baithak – Challenging Taboos, a women-led grassroots organization advancing gender justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate justice across Pakistan. We reached out to her to learn more about her time at SP2 and the transformative work she’s leading.
News
Alumni
07/22
SP2 alumna reflects on the enduring power of a social work education
Seven decades after graduating from Penn’s School of Social Work, Sonia Triester, MSW’55, remains deeply connected to the School and its mission.
News
Alumni
07/17
Alumni Q&A | Rosemary (Rosie) Frasso, PhD ’11
SP2 alumna Rosemary (Rosie) Frasso, PhD ’11, is a health equity researcher, public health educator, and the Victor Heiser, MD Professor of Population Health at Jefferson’s College of Population Health. We reached out to her to learn more about her time at SP2 and her path to advancing health equity through research and education.
Contact Us
Sam Kirk
she/her/hers
Social Sciences Librarian, Penn Libraries
215 746 6052