The Free Library was founded with the goal of helping Philadelphians achieve personal enlightenment, and has continuously evolved to reach this goal in an ever-changing city and world. To further this bedrock goal, we have created the Division of Cultural and Civic Engagement , a new office that aims to enrich the public life of Philadelphia… continue reading Introducing the Division of Cultural and Civic Engagement!

By written by Kate C.    October 22, 2018    1  

• Community Events
• Parkway Central
• Author Events
• Rosenbach
• Neighborhood Libraries

What do food and books have in common? I can certainly name three things: They are organic, can grow mold, and can be preserved. Those three things were key elements to a lesson taught to third grade students on a recent class trip to the Parkway Central Library . The Culinary Literacy Center (CLC) and the Rare Book Department collaborated… continue reading What Do Food and Books Have In Common?

By written by Paul M.    October 17, 2018   

• Childrens Programs
• Rare Book Department
• Children's Literature Research Collection
• Culinary Literacy

Today we kicked off the annual One Book, One Philadelphia reading period with the announcement of the 2019 featured selection. You’re invited to jump into the 17 th season of this citywide book club by reading Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward , the National Book Award-winning author of Salvage the Bones . With interlocking layers,… continue reading One Book, One Philadelphia is Here!

By written by Brittanie S.    October 16, 2018   

• One Book, One Philadelphia

The Skills for Community-Centered Libraries initiative – a series of trainings meant to build community engagement capacities among staff – launched on October 2, so it’s a good time for The Free Library of Philadelphia’s community organizing team to share what exactly we mean by community engagement. A common definition… continue reading Defining Community Engagement and Outreach

By written by Community-Centered Libraries    October 11, 2018   

• Free Library Staff
• Community
• Neighborhood Libraries
• IMLS

Throughout history there are duos that are stronger together than they are separate: Peanut Butter and Jelly       Hall and Oates            Movies and Popcorn                 Thelma and Louise… continue reading Pizza and Beer Day!

By written by Liz A.    October 9, 2018   

• Holidays
• Culinary Literacy
• Recipes

October 10 marks the opening of an exhibition that analyzes Philadelphia's growth across more than three centuries, presenting more than 80 rare and revelatory prints, photographs, documents, and maps from the Free Library's Special Collections and Research Departments .  Philadelphia:The Changing City will be on view in the… continue reading Philadelphia: The Changing City - An Exhibition from Special Collections

By written by Janine P.    October 9, 2018   

• Exhibitions
• Maps
• Rare Book Department
• Theatre
• History
• Print and Picture Collection
• Special Collections

Did you know that nearly a third of library users visit the Free Library of Philadelphia to look for a new job or learn new skills? This revealing finding was reported in the Free Library’s December 2017 Impact Evaluation Report . We supports job seekers with computers and internet access, résumé assistance, job fairs, and… continue reading The Paschalville Partnership: Catalyzing a Community-Led Future

By written by Annette M.    October 3, 2018   

• Community
• Job Readiness Lab
• Job Seekers

The Free Library’s popular rooftop beer garden series, Brews & Views , held in conjunction with Brûlée Catering , is headed back to the Parkway Central Library for a four-day run in October. On October 23, 24, and 25 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and October 26 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., join us on the Skyline Terrace… continue reading The Free Library’s Rooftop Beer Gardens Are Back!

By written by Kate C.    September 28, 2018   

• Parkway Central
• Rare Book Department

In our ongoing series of blog posts highlighting our awesome staff throughout the Free Library of Philadelphia, today we take some time to speak with Marvin DeBose - Haverford Library Branch Manager & Adult Teen Librarian. Marvin has been on the "In the Margins Book Review & Award Committee (ALA-ASCLA - LSYC)" for four years.… continue reading Meet Your Library Staff: Marvin DeBose - Haverford Library Branch Manager & Adult Teen Librarian

By written by Administrator    September 18, 2018    2  

• Childrens Programs
• Free Library Staff

You’ve heard the adage that “All politics is local”, but the real, hidden story of American life is documented in the rich and mostly lost bounty of local television programming . For every regional program like Philly’s Bandstand that became a nationwide hit as American Bandstand , there are thousands of farm reports,… continue reading Input and the Extraordinary Marion Stokes

By written by Violet L.    September 14, 2018    10  

• Archives
• Television
• Digital Media

If you ever indulged yourself in a marinated lamb taco from South Philly Barbacoa, then you are aware of Chef Cristina Martinez. She will be featured in the upcoming season of the Netflix documentary series, Chef’s Table . Martinez will be the first Philadelphia chef to be featured on the award-winning series, whose newest season… continue reading Marginalized Voices Being Heard: from Cristina Martinez to Welcoming Week Kick Off

By written by Paul M.    September 13, 2018   

• Culinary Literacy
• New Americans
• Diversity Equity and Inclusion

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month , and while we all know that a library card grants you instant access to a treasure trove of books, DVDs, and audiobooks from our catalog , we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the more unconventional but equally wonderful items you can borrow! These items can be checked out… continue reading Library Card Signup Month | You Can Get WHAT at the Free Library?

By written by Kate C.    September 10, 2018    3  

• Music
• Library Card
• Health
• Neighborhood Libraries
• Job Readiness Lab
• Job Seekers

Tonight at 8:20 p.m., the world champion Philadelphia Eagles officially open their 2018 season against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. We don’t know about you, but we’re still amped up about last February’s big win ! But if we must turn the page on a new season, we’re going to do so library-style!  … continue reading Celebrate the Return of Your World Champion Philadelphia Eagles with the Free Library!

By written by Kate C.    September 6, 2018   

• Culinary Literacy
• Sports

Philadelphians and people worldwide will eventually be able to view and download entire Islamic manuscripts, consisting of both images and texts, from the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Islamic collection of manuscripts. Already, this project has garnered much excitement. This past summer, Rare Book School held a class on Islamic… continue reading Updates From the Manuscripts of the Muslim World Project

By written by Joe S.    September 5, 2018   

• Exhibitions
• CLIR Grant
• Rare Book Department
• Manuscripts
• Special Collections
• Muslim World

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, and we want to make sure you know that securing your very own Free Library of Philadelphia library card is both easy and valuable! You can sign up online , or sign up in person at any one of our 54 neighborhood library locations around the city. Anyone who lives, works, pays taxes, or attends school… continue reading September Is Library Card Sign-Up Month!

By written by Kate C.    August 30, 2018    4  

• Library Card

If you are looking for the future of poetry, look in Philadelphia. Young people in this city love poetry— writing it , reading it , and performing it on stage . Even as poetry readership is rising across the country, there is a creative beat happening here that is all Philly. Here at the Free Library this summer, we got a sample of this… continue reading Introducing Philadelphia’s Next Youth Poet Laureate...

By written by Andrew N.    August 27, 2018    1  

• Awards
• Poetry

The calendar still says August, and the weather forecast still says summer, but the new school year starts earlier this year on Monday, August 27 !  After a summer full of books and fun activities at the Free Library, check out all these great resources to help students throughout the school year. LEAP (Literacy Enrichment Afterschool… continue reading Back to School Resources from the Free Library

By written by Ann P.    August 24, 2018   

• Childrens Programs
• Teens
• Back To School
• LEAP

We have always loved to celebrate National Honey Bee Day , but this year it means a little more to us over here at the Free Library! That’s because we’ve got bees of our very own buzzing around, and we hope you’ll come visit them soon. Over at the Richmond Library , staff attempted to remove a feral beehive from the… continue reading National Honey Bee Day is Extra Meaningful at the Free Library this Year!

By written by Kate C.    August 17, 2018   

• Nature
• Library Resources

When you start seeing advertisements for back to school, you know at least a few things are imminent: crisp cool weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and job fairs are coming to the Free Library! Back for the eleventh year, we are excited to announce our upcoming series of job fairs , made possible by the support of the Citizens Bank Foundation. Are… continue reading How to Prepare for a Job Fair

By written by Gillian R.    August 14, 2018   

• Events at the Library
• Regional Foundation Center
• Workplace
• Job Fairs
• Nonprofit
• Job Seekers

by Kate M. This may sound familiar: you’re going to Italy in two weeks. Or Greece. Or Vietnam. You’ve been planning this trip for months, but it just never seemed like the right time to sit down and learn how to say, "Excuse me, is there a Wi-Fi password?" or "I’m sorry, but I believe my napkin may be under your… continue reading Learn a New Language with Mango Languages & Duolingo!

By written by Administrator    August 8, 2018    3  

• Databases
• Languages
• Digital Learning