The Biomedical Library is a quiet getaway from the populated floors of Van Pelt. This secluded spot is located on Hamilton Walk, cleverly concealed behind the lower Quadrangle. The building is home to the more senior citizens of Penn: graduate students in health and medicine.
Entering the dimly lit library is like embarking on a mini time-travel. Paintings of various nineteenth-century professors of skin diseases and obstetrics line the vacant rooms. The space is empty enough for each student to claim at least two tables for themselves. One student shares a room with only pathologist William Ehrich staring at her from his portrait on the wall. Another stressed-out med student is asleep over her book near chalk drawings of a human heart and lungs.
The library houses interesting and obscure medical literature, and few people know that the librarians actually have expertise in diverse medical subjects. Despite the early closing hours - 10 p.m. on weekdays, 6 p.m. on weekends - it is a worthwhile break from the atmosphere of, say, Huntsman, where even studying is competitive. If you seek seclusion or solitude (or simply want to pick up older students) the Biomed Library is a definite hot study spot for you.
