Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries

The 38 member libraries and archives of the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL) collect, care for, and share rich collections of internationally significant materials with a worldwide audience. The collections of PACSCL member libraries—which include university libraries, independent research libraries, government archives, and Philadelphia’s public library system—contain more than 4 million rare books, 260,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival materials, and 9 million photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and works of art on paper. With a mission to “encourage scholars, educators, and other diverse audiences to explore and engage with member institutions’ uniquely rich holdings,” the organization develops projects and programs to benefit member institutions and their diverse constituencies and to build the professional capacity of librarians and archivists. In 2018, PACSCL received a Center Discovery grant to explore new methods for telling the stories of Philadelphia’s rich heritage of resistance by broadening accessibility to little-known documents held in the collections of 38 member libraries.