Philadelphia is rich in historical libraries, and many of them have letters, diaries and memoirs of people who worked in Europe during and between the wars. The libraries most likely to be useful for this course are:
Drexel University College of Medicine. The Legacy Center. (2900 West Queen Lane). The Archives for the predecessor schools for the Drexel University College of Medicine, including the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, founded in 1850. Hours: 9:30 am - 4;30 pm, Monday - Friday. The World War I collections are highlighted in a blog post: "We called them our boys:" Primary Sources on WWI Caregiving.
Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street (1 block from South Street). Holds the archives of the Presbyterian Church of the United States, including letters and diaries of missionaries and church officials working around the world. Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday.
Temple University Special Collections Research Center. Paley Library, MainTemple campus. Hours: 8:30 am - 5:30 pm, Monday - Friday.
University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts. 6th Floor, Van Pelt Library, 3420 Walnut St. Penn has extensive collections of papers, including letters and diaries from people working in Europe during the first half of the 20th century. Hours: 10:00 am - 4:45 pm, Monday-Friday.
For a listing of other major historical research libraries in the region, see the website for the Philadelphia Area Consortium for Special Collections Libraries: http://pacscl.org/. PACSCL also supports a searchable database of finding aids from many institutions in the city.
Haverford and Swarthmore are the two leading libraries for studying the history of Quakerism, and have extensive holdings of family papers and correspondence, organizational records, pamphlets, and newspapers documenting life in the Philadelphia region. Swarthmore also includes the Peace Collections, which document the history of peace movements in the 20th century, including letters of peace activists and conscientious objectors during the wars.
Haverford College Quaker and Special Collections is in Magill Library. Hours: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
Swarthmore College Friends Historical Library is in McCabe Library. Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Saturday.
Swarthmore College Peace Collection is in McCabe Library. Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm, Monday-Friday, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Saturday.