Van Pelt Library — Attraction in Philadelphia

I live in Grays Ferry, and I like to visit libraries to read on my days off. Van Pelt is a beautiful building and they usually allow visitors Mon-Fri. Last week I visited the Van Pelt Library and a young lady checked me in as a visitor. I showed my ID, signed their record sheet, and wore a name tag that said visitor. Spent a few hours reading in the amazing reading room. It was a lovely experience.

This week I returned and was greeted with a rude welcoming. When I entered there were 5 library security guards all sitting there and staring at their phones. I asked to visit and they said I wasn't allowed to and they had allowed no visitors for over a month (maybe due to the protests recently). I told them I visited last week and they started barking at me for the specific day. They then told me I never visited and was lying. (side note: why on earth would someone lie about this?). I asked her to check the log record and she asked for my name. When I said my name she pronounced it in a mocking way. I asked her why she did that and she said "I've never heard of you before." (why would she have heard of a visitor?). She proceeded to flip through the list as fast as she could and proclaimed I wasn't on any list and never visited. Insert rude eye rolls and comments from the other guards during this interaction.

Why would Penn, with such a large endowment, hire such a rude security staff for the library? These people, whether Penn likes it or not, represent the institution. As a member of the local community, I left this experience with the overwhelming feeling that Penn doesn't care about visitors whatsoever (which is their right, but then don't ever allow visitors).

Maybe this is more a negative review on the private security firm Penn uses. But my god these people were rude, accusatory, obnoxious, and seemed bothered to even have to look up from...

Van Pelt Library, officially known as the Charles Patterson Van Pelt Library, is the primary library of the University of Pennsylvania. Designed by the architectural firm Harbeson, Hough, Livingston & Larson, it was constructed in 1962 and stands as a central hub for student and faculty research. The library boasts an extensive collection of resources across various fields of study, including books, journals, manuscripts, and more. It’s also home to specialized services and spaces like the Weigle Information Commons and the Vitale Digital Media Lab, which support the university community with technology and collaborative workspaces. With its rich history and modern facilities, Van Pelt Library remains a cornerstone of academic...

A favorite collection of books and people, super cool collection of rare books. It's a public library but it is not a free library - you can do everything in person, but borrowing privileges are not free! There are many interesting events, if you are in the area you can learn about all kinds of topics, from AI and arts to history...