University of Pittsburgh Library System

The University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the archive of the musicWitness® Project, which is the moniker of visual artist and sculptor Jeff Schlanger (1937-2026), a prolific, multi-media artist who drew over 1,400 live jazz performances at major events in New York City, Canada, France, and Finland.

A $190,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will support the ULS's work to preserve and share the Charles and Frankie Pace Collection, one of the earliest archives of modern Black gospel music....more

Join us for a workshop on Thursday, October 15, 2026 from 4-5:30 pm in Text & conText Lab at Hillman Library and explore the art of decorative bookbinding in this relaxed, hands-on workshop. Learn the fundamentals of Japanese stab binding, a traditional technique known for its beautiful, visible stitching. ...more

Join us on Thursday, October 15, 2026 from 2-4 p.m. in the Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room, 340 Hillman Library, 3rd Floor and explore Pitt's rich queer history in the LGBTQIA+ archives at the University of Pittsburgh Library System's Archives & Special Collections! You'll see University Archives, local LGBTQIA+ newspapers, and more!

Join us Monday, November 2, 2026 from 4-5:30 p.m. at Hillman Library, Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room, as we mark the publication of Dr. Larry Glaso’s August Wilson’s American Century: Life as Art. A discussion featuring Glasco and fellow scholars exploring August Wilson’s life and work, Pittsburgh’s Hill District, and the history of the city’s Black community.… more

Hear directly from curator Hiroyuki Good about his exhibit, "From Noh to Kabuki: Reimagined Stories in Ukiyo-e" on Friday, November 6, 2026 from Noon-12:30 p.m. at The Hyland Gallery Archives & Special Collections Exhibits, Hillman Library, Third Floor. During this talk, you will see original Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints) from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, depict both Noh and Kabuki plays.… more

Do you like to write your name in your personal books? Join us for on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 from 4-5:30 pm in Text & conText Lab at Hillman Library and learn about the history of ex libris or bookplates, labels with a printed design intended to indicate ownership usually pasted inside the front cover of a book, and their tremendous value in the library world....more

Join us on Tuesday, November 17, 2026 from 6-8 p.m. at Archives & Special Collections Instruction Room, Hillman Library, Third Floor as we toast 50 years of the Elizabeth Nesbitt Collection at the University of Pittsburgh and 125 years of the Training School for Children’s Librarians—now the Master of Library and Information Science Program at the University of Pittsburgh… more

Two hundred and fifty years of American history is neither simple nor settled. Our Archives & Special Collections preserve the voices, images, and stories that make up that history in its full complexity — the celebrated and the contested, the familiar and the forgotten.

Celebrate 100 years of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms & Intercultural Exchange Program (NRIEP) at the grand opening of two new exhibits! Join us Thursday, February 26, 2026, from 5–7 PM at Hillman Library, 3rd floor, The Hyland Gallery Archives & Special Collections Exhibits....more