PACSCL Member Libraries

Click a member library name to view additional information.

Contact information for the PACSCL member representatives is given here in most cases; consult the member websites for additional staff listings.

The Academy of Natural Sciences
Ewell Stewart Sale Library
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195
Phone: 215-299-1040
Founded in 1812, the library’s resources focus on natural history and the environment from the 16th century to the present; holdings include over 200,000 volumes, plus archives, photographs, art, and artifacts

  • Jennifer Vess, PACSCL representative, jav99@drexel.edu

Athenaeum of Philadelphia
219 South 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-925-2688
Museum and Library. Founded in 1814, the Athenaeum houses a nationally significant collection on architecture and design history.

  • Beth Hessel, PACSCL Representative, bhessel@philaathenaeum.org

Bryn Mawr CollegeMariam Coffin Canaday Library
101 N. Merion Ave.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2899
Phone: 610-526-6576
Academic Library. British and American literary history; European travel accounts to Africa, Asia and Latin America; Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and books; women’s history, especially suffrage; women writers and artists; history of London; art study collections; archaeological and ethnographic materials; decorative arts.

  • Eric Pumroy, PACSCL representative, epumroy@brynmawr.edu

City of Philadelphia Department of Records — Philadelphia City Archives
548 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
215-685-9401

City records not in current use and possessing historical, administrative, legal, research, cultural or other important value. Home of the www.phillyhistory.org online archive of historic photographs.

  • Tracey T. Williams, Deputy Commissioner of Records, representative, tracey.t.williams@phila.gov

Catholic Historical Research Center of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
6740 Roosevelt Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19149
Phone: (215) 904-8149
CHRC contains the archives of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the collections of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia.

  • Leslie O’Neill, PACSCL representative, leoneill@archphila.org

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Historical Medical Library
19 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-399-2304
Library collections focus on medical history: books, journals, prints/photographs, physician papers, and institutional archives. The Mütter Museum is known for its nineteenth-century collection of anatomical and pathological specimens.

  • Chrissie Perella,  PACSCL representative, cperella@collegeofphysicians.org

Curtis Institute of Music
John de Lancie Library and Curtis Archives
1720 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-893-5265
The Curtis Institute of Music Special Collections and Archives holds over 340 linear feet of materials, including 66 donated manuscript collections, more than 400 audiovisual materials, and 8000 photographs.

  • Kristina Wilson,  PACSCL representative, kristina.wilson@curtis.edu

Drexel University Archives and Special Collections
33rd and Market Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-895-6706
Drexel University Archives and Special Collections collects the records created by Drexel University administrative offices and academic departments from 1892 to the present.

  • Matthew Lyons, ml3342@drexel.edu

Drexel University College of Medicine Legacy Center
2900 West Queen Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19129
Phone: 215-991-8340
The Legacy Center: Archives and Special Collections on Women in Medicine and Homeopathy is the repository for records documenting the history of the College and its predecessor institutions    including Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University.

  • Margaret Graham, PACSCL representative, mmg24@drexel.edu

Free Library of Philadelphia – Special Collections Division
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-686-5415
Collections include illuminated manuscripts, Americana, common law, children’s literature and illustrations, and Pennsylvania German Fraktur. The Central Library houses special collections in other departments; consult website.

German Society of Pennsylvania
Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library
611 Spring Garden Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Phone: 215-627-2332
The library houses approximately 60,000 volumes; three-quarters are in German. The library’s collections include the historic reading library of the German Society, with rare holdings in German and American history, literature and culture since the 18th century. Other special collections document German-American life in the United States since 1683, including books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and German-American newspapers and periodicals.

  • Bettina Hess,  PACSCL representative, librarian@germansociety.org

Haverford College
Quaker & Special Collections
370 Lancaster Avenue
Haverford, PA 19041
Phone: 610-896-1161
Quaker books and manuscripts, 17th century to present, especially regarding Native Americans, civil rights and women’s rights, Quakers in Japan; other rare books and manuscripts dating back to the 13th century; photographs and historic maps.

  • Sarah Horowitz, PACSCL Representative, shorowitz@haverford.edu

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-732-6200
Strengths in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, with additional material on the original 13 states. Incorporates the collections of The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (through a merger in 2002) and The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (through a Strategic Alliance in 2006).

  • Andrew Williams, PACSCL representative, awilliams@hsp.org

Independence Seaport Museum
J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library
211 South Columbus Blvd. and Walnut Street
Penn’s Landing
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-413-8640
The J. Welles Henderson Archives and Library at Independence Seaport Museum is a regional maritime research center, offering resources that document Philadelphia’s relationship with its rivers and the greater Delaware River Valley.

  • Craig Bruns, PACSCL representeative pro tem, cbruns@phillyseaport.org

La Salle UniversityConnelly Library
1900 West Olney Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19141-1199
Phone: 215-951-1285
Strengths include Imaginative Representations of the Vietnam War, the Holocaust, and Trauma Literatures; the Owen Wister Collection; the life and work of Bob Dylan; Illustrated Woodcut Bibles; Tea Ceremony and other local historical documents relating to La Salle’s heritage and grounds.

  • Heather Willever-Farr, PACSCL representative, willeverfarr@lasalle.edu

Lehigh University, Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Phone: 610-758-5185

Lehigh University’s Special Collections holds a rare book collection of over 40,00 volumes, with first editions of English and American literature dating from the 17th to the 19th centuries.

  • Lois Fischer Black, PACSCL representative, lob206@lehigh.edu

The Library Company of Philadelphia
1314 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-546-3181

Independent research library specializing in American history and culture from the 17th through the 19th centuries, housing an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, manuscripts, broadsides, ephemera, prints, photographs, and works of art.

  • Rachel d’Agostino, PACSCL representative, rdagostino@librarycompany.org

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The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
McLean Library
100 North 20th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-988-8782

America’s first horticultural society. Strong collection of American and European gardening classics, as well as books, catalogs and images documenting history of Delaware Valley horticulture.

  • Janet Evans, PACSCL representative, jevans@pennhort.org

Philadelphia Museum of Art Library and Archives
2525 Pennsylvania Avenue
(Mailing address: Box 7646, Philadelphia 19101-7646)
Philadelphia, PA 19130
Phone: 215-684-7650

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Library and Archives, located in the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, constitute a comprehensive resource for art history research and study, with an emphasis on the collections of the Museum. They serve the Museum’s staff–curators, conservators, educators, and guides–as well as visiting scholars, college and university students, and the general public.

Kristen Regina, PACSCL representative, kristen.regina@philamuseum.org

Princeton University Libraries
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Princeton, NJ 08540
[consult website for division phone numbers]

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is one of the premier repositories of its kind. Its holdings span five millennia and five continents, and include around 300,000 rare or significant printed works; 30,000 linear feet of textual materials, ranging from cuneiform tablets to contemporary manuscripts; a wealth of prints, drawings, photographs, maps, coins, and other visual materials; the Cotsen Children’s Library; and the Princeton University Archives. The recently-gifted Scheide Library is also associated with the Department.

  • Will Noel, PACSCL representative, wnoel@princeton.edu

The Rosenbach
2008-2010 Delancey Place
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215-732-1600

Collections are especially strong in manuscript and printed American history, British and Irish literature, and book illustration; also large special collections of James Joyce, Marianne Moore, and Herman Melville, and Bram Stoker.

  • Kelsey Scouten-Bates, PACSCL representative, kbates@rosenbach.org

Rowan University Libraries Archives and Special Collections
201 Mullica Hil Road
Glassboro, NJ 08028
Phone: (856) 256-4967

Rowan University Archives and Special Collections (RUASC) holds approximately 600 linear feet of manuscript collections and University Archives papers and 17,000 linear feet of books and journals. RUASC collects in the areas of southern New Jersey history, southern New Jersey Quaker history, 19th and 20th century children’s books, University Archives and faculty papers, and University publications.

  • Sara Borden, PACSCL representative, borden@rowan.edu

Science History Institute
Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer Library 
of Chemical History
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-873-8205

The Science History Institute’s collections represents centuries of the material culture of the chemistry and related sciences, technologies, and industries.

  • Michelle DiMeo, PACSCL representative, mdimeo@sciencehistory.org

State Library of Pennsylvania
Location: 607 South Drive
Mailing Address: 333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-1745
Phone: 717-787-4440

The State Library of Pennsylvania collects and preserves our written heritage through materials published for, by, and about Pennsylvania. Collection strengths are Pennsylvania Newspapers, Genealogy, Pamphlets, and General Assembly Collection.

  • Mike Lear, Rare Collections Librarian, mlear@pa.gov

Swarthmore College
McCabe Library / Friends Historical Library / Peace Collection
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081-1399
Phone: 610-328-8493 general reference

Quaker history, doctrine, and activity in various fields; Indian rights, women’s rights, and abolition of slavery; the history of the peace movement. Fine Press and artists’ books; rare book collections in the history of technology and science, Wordsworth, Thomson, and Auden. Additional telephone numbers: 610-328-8496 (Friends Historical Library); 610-328-8557 (Peace Collection)

  • Celia Caust-Ellenbogen, PACSCL representative, ccauste1@swarthmore.edu

Temple University Libraries — Special Collections Research Center
1210 Polett Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19122

The Special Collections Research Center includes the Urban Archives, Philadelphia Jewish Archives collections, rare books and manuscripts, science fiction and fantasy, the Contemporary Culture Collection printing/publishing/bookselling records, the Philadelphia Dance Collection, and the University Archives (Templana Collection).

  • Margery Sly, PACSCL representative, msly@temple.edu

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Jefferson University, East Falls
4201 Henry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
Phone: 215-951-2840
Special collections strengths include the history of textile management and production in the 19th and 20th century; the Philadelphia Centennial; local history of the Germantown and East Falls neighborhoods; and a Philadelphia post card collection. The library has also received the complete archives of Senator Arlen Specter’s 30 year career in the United State Senate.

  • Sarah Slate, PACSCL representative, sarah.slate@jefferson.edu

See also: Jefferson University, Center City

The Union League Legacy Foundation
140 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 215-587-5568

Specializing in the American Civil War and The Union League of Philadelphia.

  • Keeley Tulio, PACSCL representative, TulioK@unionleague.org

United Lutheran Seminary – Gettysburg + Philadelphia
Krauth Memorial Library
7301 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Phone: 215-248-6329

Original Reformation-era publications; Lutheran liturgical publications from the 16th to 18th century; early printed Bibles and Books of Hours. The Seminary campuses also host the Lutheran Archives for their regions.

  • Evan Boyd, PACSCL representative, eboyd@uls.edu

University of Delaware
Morris Library
181 College Avenue
Newark, DE 19717-5267
Phone: 302-831-2229

Books, manuscripts, and other materials from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century with particular strengths in the arts; English, Irish, and American literature; history and Delawareana; horticulture; and history of science and technology.

  • Curtis Small, PACSCL representative, csmalljr@udel.edu

University of Pennsylvania
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
3420 Walnut Street, sixth floor
(enter on Locust Walk)
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
Phone: 215-898-7088

American, British, & Continental history, literature, & philosophy; medieval & Renaissance studies; Shakespeare; history of science & technology, esp. chemistry; cookery; book history & arts; local arts history; South Asia; Judaica.

  • Holly Mengel, PACSCL representative, hmengel@pobox.upenn.edu

Villanova University
Falvey Memorial Library
800 Lancaster Avenue
Villanova, PA 19085-1683
Phone: 610-519-5271

Augustiana, European imprints to 1800, Hubbard/Roycrofter Press, Irish and Irish-American history, incunabula, fine bindings, North American imprints to 1820. Also hosts university archives and the Augustinian Historical Institute.

  • Michael Foight, PACSCL representative, michael.foight@villanova.edu

Wagner Free Institute of Science
1700 Montgomery Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19121
Phone: 215-763-6529, ext. 12

Founded in 1855 as a free educational institution. The library collections focus on natural and physical sciences, engineering, education, and technology from the 17th through the early 20th century.

  • Lynn Dorwaldt, PACSCL representative, lynnd@wagnerfreeinstitute.org

Wolfgram Memorial Library
1 University Place
Chester PA 19103
(610) 499-4376

  • Jill M. Borin, Archivist (PACSCL rep), jmborin@widener.edu
  • Molly Wolf, Archivist, Sexuality Archives (PACSCL alternate), mmwolf@widener.edu

Documents the history of Widener University and its predecessor institutions, including the Pennsylvania Military College; also houses the Widener Sexuality Project. The archives also include material on the history of Chester, Pennsylvania.

The John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives of the
William Way LGBT Community Center
1315 Spruce Street
Philadelphia PA 19107
Phone: 215-732-2220

Philadelphia’s most extensive collection of personal papers, organizational records, periodicals, audiovisual material, and ephemera documenting the rich history of the area’s LGBT community

  • John Anderies, PACSCL representative, janderies@waygay.org