The State Library of Pennsylvania is the place for researching all things Pennsylvania. Its mission statement reads: "The State Library of Pennsylvania provides information for State Government and citizens while collecting and preserving our written heritage through materials published for, by, and about Pennsylvania."
Basic Links to the Library
- Bureau of State Library Home Page
- The basic 'everything you ever wanted to know about the State Library of Pennsylvania' home page. Has links to lots of places, including the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and to the Bureau of Library Development.
- State Library Catalog
- The online catalog to the holdings of the State Library. Includes books, sure, but also journals, newspapers, electronic resources, microfilm, government documents, and more. Holdings of state hospital libraries, and of the libraries in some state agencies are also cataloged here. If you find something that looks good and your local library doesn't have it, they can probably get it for you using "inter-library loan."
- Databases available
- Hyperlinked list of online databases available to anyone physically in the State Library building, or to any Pennsylvania state employees who have gotten a library card from the State Library. Unfortunately, licensing agreements do not allow the State Library to open up access to these databases over the Internet. If you're not in the Harrisburg area, check with your local library for these or similar databases.
- Reference Services
- How to contact the State Library of Pennsylvania with your questions. Link to online request form; phone number for the reference desk; address for snail mail.
- New Items Added Over the Last 2 Weeks
- This link generates a list of items added to the State Library's collection over the last two weeks. Some items are old; some items new; most can be borrowed. They are in alphabetical order by author.
History of the State Library of Pennsylvania
Digitized documents
- "A valuable collection of neat books well chosen" : the Pennsylvania Assembly Library.
- By Barbara A. Deibler. (Harrisburg: Society for Political Enquiries in conjunction with the Capitol Preservation Committee, 1994). Describes the history and contents of the General Assembly, Rare Books Collection at the State Library of Pennsylvania. The original collection was ordered from England by the clerk of Pennsylvania's General Assembly, Benjamin Franklin. Includes many photographs of the items in the collection, as well as an "Abbreviated list of titles from the General Assembly, Rare Books Collection" in the Appendix. Also includes bibliographical references.
- Ben Franklin's other library : the Pennsylvania State Library.
- By Nancy L. Shelly. (S.l. : Drexel institute of Technology, Graduate School of Library Science, 1965.) Written at the library's 220th anniversary, this unpublished paper describes the history, mission, and organization of the State Library up to the mid 1960's.
- The Pennsylvania State Library: 225 Years of Service
- A brief article by Robert Bray Wingate, celebrating the history of the State Library of Pennsylvania. It was originally published in the November 1970 "PLA [Pennsylvania Library Association] Bulletin," pages 340-342.
- A History of the Pennsylvania State Library
- By Robert Pratt Bliss. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Library Association, 1937) A 33 page history of the State Library of Pennsylvania, detailing its roots in a collection of books purchased for the General Assembly by Benjamin Franklin, and carrying its history up into the 1930s.
- Education Building, 1939
- A detailed description of the architecture and ornamentation of the Forum building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. At first home to the commonwealth's Department of Public Instruction, the building continues to house the State Library of Pennsylvania and various other state offices. Opened in 1931, the neo-classical style building's decoration is a rich art deco celebration of humanity's intellectual and cultural achievements. This pamphlet explains the symbolism and identifies the inscriptions found both within and without the structure. Includes many illustrations.
Pictures of the State Library from Flickr
Not by any means official state photographs, nor endorsed by the Library
The State Library's building, called "The Forum Building," faces South Drive in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is across Commonwealth Avenue from the beautiful state capitol building, and across South Drive from the Soldier's Grove memorial. The building is decorated with some gorgeous Art Deco ornamentation. Most of the pictures contributed to Flickr zero in on that decoration. Actually, at the end of June 2006 there were only a handful to choose from.
Grill work from Education Building doors. You might call it the Forum building.
Detail. Education Building doors.
Torch on Forum side of the building, facing Walnut Street.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
The view hasn't changed, really. Except for the cars. Library is on the right.
Some of the exterior decoration.
Another pair of carved figures on the outside of the building.
Doors and inspirational quote on the Forum (i.e., south) side of the building.
More Forum side doors.
The southeast corner of the building: Law Library and technical services offices.
Pennsylvania Stuff on eBay
Needless to say, the State Library neither chooses nor endorses these products and sellers.
Caveat emptor! (Let the buyer beware!) Once you have that thought firmly in mind, you may still find some interesting older things here. The idea is that eBay's computers will select 3 or so books at a time from the stuff being offered for sale on their site. They should be somehow connected to Pennsylvania. Let's see how successful those computers are. And remember to check back regularly to see what else they've scrounged up.
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Pennsylvania Stuff on Amazon.com
This selection is NOT chosen or necessarily endorsed by the State Library.
Weird Pennsylvania (Weird)
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 10/12/2008)
Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power
Amazon Price: $17.16 (as of 10/12/2008)
Pennsylvania Ghost Towns: Uncovering the Hidden Past
Amazon Price: $8.76 (as of 10/12/2008)
Railroads of Pennsylvania: Your Guide To Pennsylvania's Historic Trains and Railway Sites
Amazon Price: $23.07 (as of 10/12/2008)
Pennsylvania Atlas and Gazetteer (State Atlas & Gazetteer)
Amazon Price: (as of 10/12/2008)
