The Rosenbach Museum & Library is pleased to announce the appointment of Megan McCarthy as Director of Advancement. Megan is a longtime admirer of the Rosenbach, a seasoned fundraiser, and an accomplished student of art history.

The Rosenbach is proud to announce 18 Reasons to Read Ulysses: A Centennial Celebration, a new exhibition to commemorate the great Irish novel 100 years after its publication in 1922. 18 Reasons to Read Ulysses opens at The Rosenbach Museum and Library on June 1, 2022 ahead of the Bloomsday festival on June 16, 2022.

The Rosenbach, The Library Company, and The Athenaeum are proud to announce the Libraries & Liberty virtual seminar series. The collaboration will utilize the collections of the three institutions to explore fundamental questions about liberty and freedom in the United States and around the world. The first of the series will be led by the Library Company beginning on April 20, the second will be led by The Rosenbach in Fall 2022, and the final course will be led by the Athenaeum in Winter 2023. 

January 21, 2022— February 2, 2022, will mark the centennial of the publication of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. Constructed as a modern parallel to Homer’s Odyssey, Ulysses takes place over the course of a single day in Dublin, Ireland, on June 16, 1904. While it is regarded as one of the finest works of Irish literature, the manuscript for Ulysses has resided right here at The Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia since 1924.  (Photo Credit Rasheena Wilson)

The Rosenbach is proud to announce a new exhibition now open to the public, Medium & Message: The Book Art of Colette Fu and Lothar Meggendorfer.

Lothar Meggendorfer (German, 1847-1925) is known as the originator of the modern movable book; Colette Fu (American, b. 1969) is one of its most distinguished present-day practitioners. For all their differences of time period, gender, ethnicity, and world view, Meggendorfer and Fu share a gift: the ability to record moments in history that resonate for people of their time. 

The Rosenbach is proud to announce the release of The Rosenbach Podcast. The new podcast shares the stories of some of the iconic treasures and lesser-known artifacts in our collections as we consider the place of rare books, libraries, and museums in modern life.

This fall 2021 the Rosenbach is hosting a series of in-person and online programs and courses inspired by our collections.

The Board of Directors of The Rosenbach is pleased to announce the appointment of Bethany Chisholm as the Director of Development after serving as Interim Director of Development since January 2021. Chisholm was promoted to Assistant Director of Development in 2020 and led The Rosenbach’s fundraising through the tumultuous early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping the organization reach its financial goals. Simultaneously, Chisholm spearheaded The Rosenbach’s new Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Committee, formalizing institutional DEAI commitments for the Board of Directors, staff, and programming.

The Board of Directors of the Rosenbach is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelsey Scouten Bates as the John C. Haas Director of The Rosenbach.

Kelsey Bates has served as The Rosenbach’s Interim Executive Director since March 2021 when longtime Director Derick Dreher stepped down after a 24-year tenure.

June 16 is observed around the world as a celebration of James Joyce and his epic Ulysses, a novel that has been called everything from masterfully moving to hilariously obscene. Nowhere in the United States is this global literary holiday marked with more excitement than in Philadelphia, where the manuscript for Ulysses has made its home at The Rosenbach since 1924.

The Board of Directors of The Rosenbach is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelsey Scouten Bates as the Interim Director of The Rosenbach.