The American Philosophical Society Library is a major national center for research in the history of the sciences, medicine, and technology. With its roots extending back to the founding of the Society in 1743, it houses over 300,000 volumes and bound periodicals, eight million manuscripts, 100,000 images, and thousands of hours of audio tape.
The Library is comprised of three departments: Printed Materials (housing books, periodicals, broadsides, and other printed works), Manuscripts (housing manuscript materials, photographs, and many works of art on paper), and Conservation (responsible for the physical preservation and conservation of all library materials). Each of the departments contributes to putting up a regular rotation of exhibits based on the Library collection. Mounted in the entrance hall to the Library, exhibits are open to the public free of charge during regular operating hours.
Peter Stephen Duponceau (1760-1844),
APS 1791
Among the many extraordinary books in the collections of printed materials are first editions of Sir Isaac Newton's Principia, Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, a presentation copy of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, the elephant folio of Audubon's Birds of North America (for which the A.P.S. was an original subscriber), as well as a majority of Benjamin Franklin imprints and a significant portion of Franklin's personal library.
The Library's manuscript collections include a vast range of materials covering such topics as eighteenth-century natural history, American Indian linguistics and culture, nuclear physics, computer development, and medical science.
The Library is among the premier institutions in the nation for documenting the history of genetics and eugenics, the study of natural history in the 18th and 19th centuries, quantum mechanics, and the development of cultural anthropology in America.
Catalogs and Guides
VOLE: The Vaughan On-line Catalog of Printed Materials serves as the library's OPAC and is the primary searching tool for printed materials. It contains records of all books and periodicals, in many cases including records for individual journal articles. VOLE also contains collection level descriptions of manuscript holdings.
MOLE: the Manuscripts On-Line Catalog is an alphabetical listing of all manuscript collections held at the Library. Each entry features an abstract and a link to a full finding aid if one is available. MOLE is keyword searchable.
The Library also provides access to many digitized subject guides featuring detailed descriptions of materials for both manuscripts and printed materials holdings.
Digital Collections
The Library provides access to a substantial amount of digital content. While the digital collections are currently comprised of images and audio, they will soon include materials that are accessioned in electronic format such as video and office production software files.
For many years, the APS Library has also served as sponsor of the Mendel Newsletter, a periodical for archival resources for the history of genetics and allied sciences.
The Library is open to all researchers who demonstrate a need to use the unique resources under its care. Detailed information concerning regulations for use of the Library and its collections, fees and services, and hours of operation are located on the regulations page.
The Library is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, Monday through Friday except holidays. Researchers who plan to visit the library are encouraged to call at least one day in advance at (215) 440-3400.
Please note: Printed materials are located offsite and are only paged four times a day: 9:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm.
Support for Research
The Society sponsors a number of grants and fellowships to assist researchers and participates in and sponsors a variety of colloquia and symposia. Of particular note is the Library Resident Research Fellowship program, which provides funds for short-term residential fellowships for conducting research in its collections. Information on scope, eligibility, and deadlines for all of the grant and fellowship programs sponsored by the APS is available on this site on the grants and fellowships pages.
View the recipients of Library Resident Research Fellowships