The Free Library offers a plentiful amount of resources that are easily accessible for citizens of Philadelphia. As a result, the Library enriches individual’s worldly knowledge, increases their exposure to new information, and encourages exploration of the resources around them. We all know the Library contains thousnads of books; many… continue reading Some Alternative and Independent Music Selections from Free Library

By written by Brittney M.    July 21, 2015   

• Tech
• Music
• Recommendations
• Spotify

Last month, South Philadelphia’s Federal Winds quintet gave a special pop-up performance in the Grand Lobby of Parkway Central.  The group, consisting of some of Philadelphia's most sought-after teaching artists, provide music education through school programs, studios, and after-school sessions. Their first hand experience… continue reading Federal Winds at the Free Library

By written by Perry G.    June 12, 2015   

• Music

Philadelphia’s guitarists are dropping by the Reference Desk more frequently than usual to request our B.B. King songbooks. School students are visiting the Music Department asking for books for papers they're writing on B.B. King’s life.  Not to mention the folks who come in looking for our books about… continue reading Remembering B.B. King

By written by Perry G.    May 27, 2015   

• Databases
• Music

Last month, the Music Department featured the music of Qin Qian - Philadelphia author, educator and erhu player. She treated the public to a special pop-up performance featuring her students and some very special guests. Over 100 people packed the Grand Lobby, and transmogrified it into a concert hall of traditional Chinese and Western Music.… continue reading 'Two Strings and Five Tones' at the Parkway Central Library

By written by Perry G.    April 28, 2015   

• Music
• Parkway Central

The Sheet Music Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Music Department includes over 350,000 individual songs and wordless piano solos. This collection includes single tunes published over the entire course of sheet music publishing in Philadelphia and the various colonies and nation-states that have occupied this continent in… continue reading New Sheet Music Acquisitions for April 2015

By written by Adam F.    April 14, 2015   

• Music

Hoopla is the Free Library's online source for streaming movies, television, music, and audiobooks. It's all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it's all free when you create a Hoopla account using your Free Library card number and PIN. (Check out our tips for getting started with Hoopla ). There's something for… continue reading Find Family Favorites from Disney and More at Hoopla

By written by Jamie W.    April 14, 2015   

• Databases
• Music
• Disney
• Film
• Digital Media

Up Next! Three Bassists + One Drummer On Monday April 13 at 7:00 p.m., the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Producers’ Guild, and the Philadelphia Jazz Project will present the final concert of the 2014-2015 Mysterious Travelers Concert Series. The series closer, Three Bassists + One Drummer is a powerhouse supergroup working through the… continue reading Mysterious Travelers' Concert Series | Up Next! Three Bassists + One Drummer | Recapping Karen Smith’s showcase

By written by Adam F.    March 23, 2015    2  

• Events at the Library
• Music

Today Hoopla unveiled a slick new interface that puts you in touch with the streaming movies, television, music, and audiobooks you love even faster. The new interface, which the company calls, LightSpeed , is designed to be faster and more mobile-friendly. Features include the ability to: Access popular titles 24/7 with fewer touches. Explore… continue reading Checkout the New Hoopla Interface

By written by Jamie W.    March 6, 2015    8  

• Databases
• Music
• Television
• Film
• Digital Media

Up Next! Karen Smith On Monday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m., audiences at the Montgomery Auditorium at the Parkway Central Library will have an opportunity to welcome percussionist Karen Smith and her band to the stage. Smith is a percussionist, playwright , director, producer, poet, and educator originally from Brooklyn but a Philadelphian now since… continue reading Mysterious Travelers' Concert Series | Up next: Karen Smith | Video recap of Anwar Marshall Trio

By written by Adam F.    February 23, 2015    1  

• Events at the Library
• Music

[ Editorial Note: This is the fifth of a six part series intended to demonstrate for teachers and students the use of special Free Library of Philadelphia resources for conducting research into issues raised by events in Ferguson, MO during the last 4 months of 2014. In the wake of failure to indict police officers in the case of Eric… continue reading Free Library resources for term papers exploring the roots of the rage at the extrajudicial killings of black men and black children in the United States. Part 5: Primary Resources in Music

By written by Adam F.    December 5, 2014    3  

• Databases
• Digital Collections
• Music
• Digital Literacy
• Black Lives Matter

On Monday Dec 8 at 7:00 p.m ., audiences will welcome the return of Wayne Smith, Jr. to Montgomery Auditorium at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Branch. We last heard from Wayne on October 29 when he played with a quartet under the leadership of Mike Cemprola. We librarians in the Music Department, after hearing him… continue reading Mysterious Travelers' Concert Series | Up next: Wayne Smith Jr | Video recap of Vince Turnbull

By written by Adam F.    November 20, 2014   

• Events at the Library
• Music

On October 29th, Saxophonist Mike Cemprola led a jazz quartet on an intimate, often humorous, and forward looking set of his original compositions framed within a few contrasting takes on a pair of Wayne Shorter’s tunes . Pianist Tim Brey and bassist Madison Rast, dazzled the audience that evening with their own improvisations within the… continue reading Mysterious Travelers' Concert Series - from Mike Cemprola to Vince Turnbull

By written by Adam F.    November 10, 2014   

• Events at the Library
• Music

On Sunday, October 26, the Grand Lobby of the Parkway Central Library transformed into a musical time machine.  Local duo Soprano Meets Contrabass (opera Soprano Ana María Díaz and composer/bassist Alan Lewine), with guest percussionist Shawn Hennesy, chauffeured patrons on a whirlwind tour of over 800 years in music in less… continue reading Pictures from “You’ve Never Heard Anything Like This Before: A Pop-Up Performance with Soprano Meets Contrabass” at the Parkway Central Library

By written by Perry G.    November 7, 2014   

• Events at the Library
• Music

Howllo Boils and Ghouls, Welcome back to the Free Library of Frightadelphia's bloodcurdling blog on this most haunted of holidays, Halloween ! If you survived last year's playlist , then you're in for a (trick or) treat this All Hallows' Eve . We've thrown open the dungeon doors to our chilling collections , finding the most… continue reading Macabre Movies and Sinematic Sounds: A Halloween Playlist from Free Library's Spotify Channel

By written by Peter SM    October 31, 2014   

• Tech
• Music
• Recommendations
• Social Media
• Spotify
• Halloween

Last month's’ inaugural concert of the Mysterious Travelers Series held approximately 200 listeners in rapt attention in the plush and sonorous Montgomery Auditorium of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Parkway Central Library. Saxophonist Matthew Clayton led a small trio with a big presence across a setlist that included… continue reading Mysterious Travelers Concert Series Featuring Mike Cemprola

By written by Adam F.    October 9, 2014   

• Music

The Free Library of Philadelphia’s Music Department is a free and open conservatory-quality music library supporting several generations’ worth of local musicians and fans. We can show you where John Coltrane and Nina Simone liked to work, but our unshakable librarian ethics of privacy require us to be thoroughly tightlipped about… continue reading Free Library of Improvisation

By written by Adam F.    September 5, 2014   

• Events at the Library
• Music

August 15th marks the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood premiere of The Wizard of Oz at the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre. To say that the story, both the original L. Frank Baum novel and the adapted 1939 film , is ingrained in pop culture would an understatement. Since its publication in 1900, The Wizard of Oz has been adapted into… continue reading The Wizard of Oz Celebrates 75th Cinematic Anniversary

By written by Peter SM    August 15, 2014   

• Music
• Childrens Books
• Film

*** Update - 11/1/2017 - Our Hoopla policies have changed. So that we can bring you more content on more platforms, we have changed the number of checkouts per person to 4 titles a month (any combination of movies, TV, audiobooks, ebooks, or graphic novels).  Regular readers of this blog will doubtless be aware that the Free… continue reading Stream Movies, TV, Music, and Audiobooks Free with Hoopla!

By written by Jamie W.    July 28, 2014    53  

• Music
• Television
• Film
• Digital Media

[all photos courtesy Philadelphia Jazz Project and Alexis Simmons of Gypsi Life Photography ] On Monday July 21st, eleven stunning performers treated an audience of nearly 200 jazz fans to a unique glimpse into the artistic process of an emergent community of working female musicians. The Philadelphia Jazz Project , who organized the event,… continue reading DivaNation Showcase

By written by Adam F.    July 25, 2014    1  

• Music

You might think, in keeping with a certain stereotype, that librarians are so old-school that the only music we listen to comes from the Library’s vinyl collection . And though there may be a kernel of truth to that sterotype of librarians being all about the analog (we do love listening to our LPs, and we invite you to listen to them too… continue reading Summer Highlights from New Albums

By written by Perry G.    July 3, 2014   

• Music
• Recommendations
• Spotify