Library

Hours of Operation

Tuesdays and Thursdays

10am - 4pm

The library is open and visitors are welcome to stop in for a tour. If you would like to do research, please contact the librarian prior to your visit so that we may best serve you.


If you have an inquiry about our collections, please email librarian@germansociety.org

The Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library is a research library, housed in an original 1888 reading room restored by the Society in the 1990s. The library houses more than 50,000 volumes, over three-quarters of which are in German, and is one of the largest collections of German books in the United States.

The Horner Library

and Reading Room

The German Society of Pennsylvania’s library was begun in 1817, 53 years after the Society’s founding, for the education and entertainment of its members. From its inception, the library contained books in both the German and English languages, reflecting the fact that English was the official language of the Society from 1818 to 1859. In 1867, Dr. Oswald Seidensticker, professor of German at the University of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Society’s Library Committee, began an Archive of books, pamphlets and manuscripts covering all aspects of German life in America. This collection, now called the German American Collection, contains a wealth of materials documenting all aspects of German American history beginning with the first German settlers in Germantown in 1683, and is especially strong in the history of Germans in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. In 1962, the library was named the Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library in honor of Joseph Horner, a founding member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, who left a generous bequest of $300,000 to the library. In the 1970s, the Society acquired the library of the defunct National Carl Schurz Association. This collection, focusing on late-19th and early 20th century German and German American history, complemented the library’s existing holdings. In addition to books, the library houses sizable collections of 19th century German newspapers printed in Philadelphia (on microfilm), periodicals, pamphlets, and manuscripts. In the 1990s, a project was undertaken to catalog the collections and restore the library space. The majority of the library’s holdings are now accessible through the online catalog; however cataloging of books, pamphlets, and manuscripts is ongoing.

History of the Library

Hours of Operation & Library Use Policy

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The library is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00am - 4:00pm, or by appointment. Please call 215-627-2332 or email the librarian at librarian@germansociety.org to schedule your visit. Before visiting the library, please read through our Library Use Policy.

Library Use Fee Structure

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German Society Members - Free

High School and Undergraduate College Students - $5

All Other Researchers - $10

Emailed/Telephoned Research Requests - $40/hour (time permitting)

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Collections

Main Collection

The German Society’s preserved 19th century Volksbibliothek is now the Library’s Main Collection. While most of the Library's older books no longer circulate, visitors may use them on-site with the assistance of the librarian. Highlights of the collection include: 19th century fiction, history, biography, religion, travel writing, popular science, and children’s literature. 

German American Collection

The German-American Archive, begun in 1867, holds a wealth of documents relating to German life in America, reaching back to the earliest German settlement in 1683 in Germantown, Pa. Today the Archive, renamed the German American Collection, includes approximately 10,000 books and pamphlets, and 200 linear feet of manuscript collections pertaining to German-American history and culture. The records of the German Society itself comprise about 50% of the manuscript holdings, including the minutes of membership and directors' meetings reaching all the way back to the founding; and the records of its agency, or Agentur, which coordinated the Society's charitable efforts on behalf of needy German immigrants.

Carl Schurz Collection

The National Carl Schurz Association was founded as the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation in New York in 1930, to foster German-American friendship and cultural exchange. The organization owned a considerable collection of German popular and educational literature and many volumes related to German and German-American relations and history. Upon its dissolution in the 1970s, the German Society of Pennsylvania received the manuscripts of Konrad Nies, Kuno Francke, Rudolf Cronau and over 6000 books, pamphlets and periodicals.

Manuscript Collections

The majority of the manuscript collections of the German Society of Pennsylvania document the rich and diverse history of German-American associational life. The German Society's own institutional records tell the story of the Society's charitable and cultural activities over a period of nearly two and a half centuries. Other manuscript collections include the records of a spectrum of other German-American organizations, especially in Pennsylvania, and concentrated in the period from the mid 19th through the early 20th century. Also represented are manuscript collections relating to both prominent and lesser-known German-American individuals, some of which include original writings and unpublished memoirs; correspondence; family documents; and scrapbooks of clippings and memorabilia.  Finding aids for processed manuscript collections are hosted through the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL).

Lending Library

Society members can borrow books from the Lending Library. The Lending Library is comprised of newer books in the GSP main collection, including a variety of German fiction and non-fiction. Items may be borrowed for a period of four weeks, with the possibility of renewal.  Uncataloged books are also available on the shelves outside the Library's main entrance, and can be borrowed on a self-serve basis.

Researchers wishing to use the collections may do so by emailing the librarian.

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Catalogs and Research Tools

Library Catalog

The Horner Library’s online catalog contains records for over 30,000 titles collected by the German Society over more than two centuries. Originally a lending library for members, the library is now primarily used for research. The German Society contributes its records to Worldcat, an international database of library holdings, and new material is continuously being added to the catalog. You can search our online catalog here:  

Research Guide

The Research Guide contains an overview of the library collections and provides access to uncataloged items through complete inventories of uncataloged pamphlets, ephemera, manuscripts and periodicals. The Guide is regularly updated and is available as a searchable PDF. To search the Research Guide for specific keywords, click Control + F to obtain a search box.

Research Guide PDF

Genealogy

While the library contains a wealth of materials related to German-Americana, genealogy is not a specific focus of the collections. Advice on available resources, and tips for searching in the online catalog, are available here: Genealogical Resources at the Horner Memorial Library


We also encourage you to contact the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, as well as other Philadelphia libraries and archives for your research. Please check our list of Other Resources for German Genealogy.


Finding Aids

Finding aids for many manuscript collections can be found on the Philadelphia Area Archives (PAA) portal, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania and sponsored by the Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries (PACSCL). 


For online versions of these finding aids, please visit the PAA Finding Aids site.

Our library boasts a remarkable collection of antique books, and after more than 200 years of service, many are in need of restoration!


The Library Committee of the German Society of Pennsylvania is thrilled to present opportunities for you to "adopt" these rare books, facilitating their return to a stable state of preservation and ensuring their longevity for future generations of library patrons.


You can honor a loved one by adopting a rare book and will receive a certificate of adoption—these adopted volumes make wonderful holiday gifts! Your generous support of this exciting preservation initiative is greatly appreciated.


If you would like to “adopt” an individual book from our collection to fund the conservation work needed to restore and preserve it for future researchers, please reach out to the librarian.

Adopt A Rare Book Program

GHI Summer Fellowship Program

Since 2009, the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. has sponsored fellowships of up to four weeks for research at the Joseph Horner Memorial Library.

 

Fellowships are awarded to PhD and M.A. students and advanced scholars without restrictions in research fields or geographical provenance for research using materials at the Horner Library. The "GHI Fellowship at the Horner Library" will provide a travel subsidy and an allowance of $1,000 to $3,500 depending on the length of the stay and the qualifications of the fellows. Opportunities to research at other special collections in Philadelphia may be available.

 

Click here to see a list of previous fellows and their research topics.

 

Visit the German Historical Institute’s website for complete details.

The Horner Memorial Library is a research collection which contains German language materials and focuses on German American history.


Due to space limitations, collection scope, and the time needed to process and catalog all new books, the Horner Memorial Library is NOT accepting most book donations at this time. We are adding to the German American Collection, including:


  • Books which document German life in North America
  • German language books published in North America
  • Books having to do with German-American relations
  • American periodicals, pamphlets, and ephemera written in German
  • Records of German American associations or individuals


If you have books or other materials which fall into these categories which you would like to donate, please contact the librarian to see whether we can add your materials to our holdings.


The Horner Memorial Library gladly accepts monetary donations to help us fulfill our mission. Your donations are completely tax deductible.

Library Donations

Other Partners

Society for German-American Studies