Join the Rare Book Department for extended evening hours on the first Wednesday of every month. Our October event is all about “The Raven,” Edgar Allan Poe’s poetic masterpiece, and will give guests a chance to view the manuscript up close. Continue reading
Night of Lights opens on Friday, October 3, transforming Germantown Avenue into a walkable outdoor gallery of archival images and stories that celebrate community history, architecture, design, and archives. The colorful lighting illuminates one of Philadelphia’s most iconic main streets, and opening night features live music and family-friendly activities. Continue reading
Come join us for an open house at Founding Forward’s Philadelphia campus, featuring items from our newly acquired collection of materials created by sculptor Jakob Otto Schweizer. Continue reading
Come learn about floppy disk archiving with the Digital Archivists of Philadelphia! Continue reading
“Why do Quakers create and keep so many records?” Join us to find out! Continue reading
Explore peacebuilding through an exhibit highlighting activists and organizations represented in the Peace Collection. Continue reading
Join colleagues in a review of how folks around the PACSCL community have integrated AI in their daily work. Continue reading
Bill Tilden not only won tennis championships and unceasingly promoted the game, he also wrote books, performed in stage plays, loved classical music, and played bridge at a championship level. Catered to by European, Asian, and Hollywood royalty, Tilden was very much a Renaissance man, and his contributions are worthy of recognition and study. Continue reading
If you are interested in learning more about the wonderful resources that the Mercer Museum Research Library has to offer, join our library and archives staff at this free “Research Library 101” Open House drop-in program! Continue reading
The Free Library of Philadelphia, in partnership with Archives Month Philly, is hosting a free, interactive community fair featuring pop-up displays, table-top activities, and workshops, showcasing how our natural, built, and digital environments are documented in and catalyzed by archives. Continue reading
Come celebrate Archives Month Philly with the team behind The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding (Rev City) and help us transcribe 18th-century handwritten documents from across the portal. Continue reading
Come see behind the scenes at a world renowned digitization and preservation facility! Continue reading
Take a guided walking tour behind the 10-foot wall of Girard College, looking at the campus as it exists today, along with archival maps and photographs that document its history and growth. Continue reading
In 1918 the influenza pandemic ripped through Philadelphia, killing 12,000 people in six weeks, but what happened in the aftermath? Join this online talk by Dr. Bethany Johnson to hear how she mined archival resources, including rarely-used Girard College student records, to explore the challenges facing the stricken families and efforts of institutions and organizations to respond to the epidemic’s scars. Continue reading
Discover the DPD Archives and hear how the planners of today are learning from the past! Continue reading
The first 11 women ordained as Episcopal priests did so on their own terms: in a controversial ceremony, held on July 29, 1974–two years before the ruling body of the Church explicitly allowed it. Meet the Philadelphia Eleven, learn about their hard-earned path to ordination, and watch how they broke down barriers with grace and perseverance. Continue reading
Join the Chestnut Hill Conservancy for a unique and inspiring exploration of oral history and audio storytelling with award-winning producer Molly Murphy. In this free virtual session, Murphy will introduce participants to the power of capturing family and community stories through sound—sharing how anyone can begin preserving voices using simple tools like a smartphone, a few thoughtful questions, and a quiet space. Continue reading
The Old York Road Historical Society will be holding an Open House for librarians and archivists featuring tours of the archives and a wine and cheese reception. Continue reading
Celebrate Archives Month Philly in the Wagner’s historic lecture hall as we view glass lantern slides from local special collections! Continue reading
Explore the impact of environmental conditions on archives and special collections materials. Continue reading
Founded in 1852 as a school for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Elwyn now offers services for children and adults while preserving its historical legacy through manuscript and photo displays; curated with the help of day program students at the Judy and Bill Strine Student Transition Center, this open house will highlight both institutional care models and personal narratives. Continue reading
Bubble bubble toil and trouble, Distinctive Collections is up to no good! Come explore poisonous books, potions, spells, and all things Halloween from the collection. Continue reading
Venture beyond closed doors and see some neat stuff! Continue reading
Celebrate Archives Month Philly in this special live edition of the ever-popular blog series Unique at Penn where you will hear from your favorite writers discussing their contributions to the series, give updates on their posts, and provide additional context for their content. Continue reading
Seldom-seen weird & wonderful short films from Philadelphia archives and museums! Continue reading
Behind the ominous name lies a practical process: debt collection in Chester County. Continue reading
Join the Chestnut Hill Conservancy for Ask the Experts: The Art of Protection with Michelle Impey (Chubb) and Jessica Silverman (CCAHA). This free session offers practical guidance on protecting valuable collections, including fine art, rare jewelry, and archival materials, through preventive care, risk preparedness, and informed insurance strategies. Continue reading
The Marvin Samson Museum for the History of Pharmacy presents work by Artist-in-Residence Teresa Cervantes. Continue reading
In anticipation of the Rutgers University-Camden Centennial in 2026, we pull out some favorite pieces from our Special Collections archive. Continue reading
Visit our library atrium to see several slide shows of digitized archival materials including; Women at SJU, Early images from SJU Press, and Selections from our Poetry Collections. The slides will show at intervals on the screens in the atrium. Continue reading
Whose Story? Narratives of Philadelphia’s History is an exhibition that explores the people, organizations, institutions, and communities that have shaped the narrative of Philadelphia’s past. Continue reading
Explore the sculpture that marked the partnership between landscape architect, Thomas W. Sears and Dr. R. Tait McKenzie of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, to produce three years of groundbreaking Philadelphia Flower Shows. Continue reading
Absolute Trash Philadelphia: An Investigation into the Postwar City, Wall Writing, and Local Media features selections from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Temple University Libraries. Continue reading
On this special tour, celebrating the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s American tour, visitors will get to see seldom-displayed archival material and delve into the role of the French community in early national Philadelphia Continue reading
At this Mercer Museum Research Library open house, guests will meet our staff, enjoy a self-guided visit of the space explore our vast resources, and learn more about how to conduct research or preserve family heirlooms. Continue reading
Panel event for the general public on how to protect your personal digital files (family photos, medical records, etc) for the long term Continue reading
Come join us for an open house of Founding Forward’s exhibit, A City Divided: The Civil War, Philadelphia & The Union League, with a pop up archival display. Continue reading
A narrow band of territory along each side of the Delaware River, including what became Frankford, was included in the Colony of New Sweden from the colony’s founding in 1638 until conquered by Dutch gunboats in 1675. Continue reading
In our state-of-the-art lab, CCAHA’s expert conservators will share some of the exciting projects that they’ve been working on – whether they be rare books, unique works of art, or priceless historical documents. Continue reading
Celebrate Archives Month Philly in the Wagner’s historic lecture hall as we view glass lantern slides from area special collections! Continue reading
Join the Revolutionary City team in a day-long transcribe-a-thon, using machine-learning tools to transcribe documents from the American Philosophical Society, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Continue reading
The Free Library of Philadelphia, in partnership with the Delaware Valley Archivists Group, is hosting a free, interactive community fair featuring unique pop-up displays, demonstrations, and table top activities showcasing how movement and change are both documented in and catalyzed by their archives. Continue reading
Get a peak beyond the public areas of the City Archives and see where and how our material is stored; also featuring some treasures from the collection! Continue reading
Join us for an opening reception for our new exhibit “Gift of Finest Wheat: The Story of the 41st International Eucharistic Congress” Continue reading
Curious about audiovisual preservation? Check out our facility where we can digitize over 200 formats and learn about our process. Continue reading
Join PACSCL for its Fall Social, where its new Tech Sustainability Guidelines will be released! Continue reading
Take a guided walking tour behind the 10-foot wall of Girard College to explore its history and architecture. Continue reading
Ask a Chester County Archivist Continue reading
Join us for a free open house featuring behind-the-scene tours of our collection and refreshments. Continue reading
Weird and wonderful films from Philadelphia’s archives! Continue reading
Archives Month Philly 