Calling all tech enthusiasts, digital strategists, web entrepreneurs, online editors, software developers, web designers, engineers, bloggers, hackers, gamers, students, and gadget geeks all throughout the Philadelphia area: Philly Tech Week is almost here!

Philly Tech Week begins a week-long celebration of technology and innovation in Philadelphia kicking off Friday, April 19th and running through Sunday, April 28th. In its third year, the annual week of events is as varied, interesting, educational, and sometimes geeky as ever with hackathons, TEDTalks, tech summits, digital arts galleries, robotics expos, green technology seminars, 3D printer demonstrations, app building tutorials, and probably the coolest "geek out!" event of Tech Week: A Pong video game tournament played on the 430-foot Cira Center skyscraper in University City utilizing the building's LED light array (spectators will be able to watch from Art Museum).

Of course, Philly Tech Week is not only for seasoned techies; there are numerous informational events, seminars and tutorials aimed at novices, students, families and anyone else who wants to learn something new.

The Free Library of Philadelphia is proud to be a signature sponsor and partner for this year's Philly Tech Week and will be hosting two events at Parkway Central, helping to bridge the "digital divide":

EveryoneOn Launch
Monday, April 22 @ 2:00 p.m.
Free Library of Philadelphia will help kick off the EveryoneOn initiative, which is working to bridge the "digital divide" and reach families, students, and others throughout the Philadelphia area and get them online access.

Blackout: Reinventing Black Media in the Digital Age
Monday, April 22 @ 5:00 p.m.
Free Library President and Director Sibohan A. Reardon will be on hand to introduce this event, along with special keynote speaker Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. The event will explore and examine how three local and longstanding African-American businesses within the communications and telecommunications industries in Philadelphia have dealt with the "digital divide".

Our Techmobile team will also be out in full force for Philly Tech Week on Wednesday, April 24th from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Presby’s Inspired Life, 2050 S. 58th Street. "All Hands On Technology: A Senior Learning Event" will help adults 55+ explore their hobbies and interests online in a comfortable, senior-focused learning environment.

All three of these events are free and open to the public with the intent to give access to technology tools, information, and services—all of which the Free Library strives to give our customers to help guide learning and inspire curiosity.
 

Tags: Events at the Library, Parkway Central, Siobhan A. Reardon, tech

Back in November 2012, Google updated its Maps service for browsers, as well as Android powered mobile phones and tablets, with indoor maps and floor plans of over 10,000 locations inlcuding airports, shopping malls, train stations, and museums.
You can now add Free Library of Philadelphia to that growing list of institutions, joining our Parkway neighbors the Franklin Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, that are now available on Google Indoor Maps.

Google representatives visited the library back in August 2012 to survey the building and record GPS coordinates. Working together with Google's representatives, Web Development's Graphic Designer Kristin Crawford created detailed graphics of Parkway Central floor plans and uploaded them to the Google Maps Floor Plans interface.

To explore the library with Google Indoor Maps via your Android mobile device, you just have to search for "Free Library of Philadelphia" and / or type in the street address, then zoom in on the map to access the detailed floor plans.

With you GPS activated, you can also access Indoor Maps via Google Maps’ My Location feature. Your location is represented by a blue icon, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the interface will automatically update to display which floor you’re on.

Google Indoor Maps is currently available via desktop browsers and Android mobile devices.
An iPhone update to the Google Maps app that includes access to Indoor Maps is still forthcoming.

We hope to have indoor maps available for other branches of the Free Library system in the future!

Tags: Parkway Central, maps, mobile, tech, website

Today marks what would have been the 84th birthday of Nobel Prize winning activist and Civil Rights Leader Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.

The DREAM@50 is a tribute series that was held throughout 2012 and continues into 2013, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The series included a student art contest (K-12), a world music/dance festival, and  video PSAs, all in celebration of creative collaboration in both the Civil Rights Movement and the arts as the foundation for a new paradigm in how we can live together. Philadelphia was one of 10 U.S. cities chosen to participate in the contest.

Students involved in the Free Library's Literacy Enrichment After-school Program (LEAP) who submitted art  to the contest currently have their art on display in Parkway Central Library.

The Free Library LEAP DREAM@50 contest winners can be seen on the right.

Those winners have been submitted to the Philadelphia-wide DREAM@50 art contest which will be judged with the results being announced at an awards ceremony on February 20th at Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Good luck to the artists and their entries!

Tags: African American, Awards, Exhibitions, Parkway Central, art, children's programs

Hi everyone.  I am happy that I am having the chance to post some thoughts on Teen Tuesdays at Parkway Central before I transfer to Extensions and Children's Services.  I have been stopping by Teen Tuesdays on a regular basis for over four years at Parkway Central.  I'm amazed at how creative the programming has been and the response the teens who attend these events have given.  The amount of teens attending increases with each passing year and when we graduate high school seniors, high school freshmen begin attending, offering us the opportunity to meet new teens and make new acquaintances.  Keep up the great work. 

Here's our calendar of Teen Tuesday events for January 2013:

January 8th: PLAY! Video Games

January 15th: (Book 2) Movie

January 22nd: 3D Pop Art & Duct Tape

January 29th: Draw.  Tell a story.  Design.

Teen Tuesdays begin at 3:30 pm.  Keep in mind, starting this month and until further notice, Teen Tuesdays will be in room 108 past the H.O.M.E. Page Cafe.

Look for other items on January's Teen menu:

Study Mondays and Tabletop Wednesdays every week in the Teen Center in Philbrick Hall and don't forget the following Make Thursday activities also in Philbrick Hall:

January 10th: Masking Tape Murals

January 17th: Collage Portraits

January 24th: Duct Tape Weaving

January 31st: Fabric Fun

And, the fun doesn't stop there: Fridays are now Hangout Fridays.

I'm going to miss all of you.

Alex

Tags: Parkway Central, Teens

There's a new face in Philbrick Hall at Central this week - Michael R. has joined the team to be the After School Leader in the Teen Center. 

Michael graduated from Vassar College in 2011, with a major in Art History and a minor in Urban Studies.  At Vassar, he worked at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, developing and teaching outreach art programming for students at Poughkeepsie Middle School.  Through this experience, Michael became interested in the ways public institutions can engage their communities with innovative, exciting, and relevant programming. 

Since graduation, he has worked at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Brooklyn Museum, and currently works at both the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Free Library.  As an artist and educator, Michael is interested in questioning the way we understand ourselves and those around us. 

Outside of his professional life, Michael enjoys baking cupcakes, exploring new cities, and going to museums as frequently as possible.    

Drop by and get to know him!

Tags: Free Library staff, Parkway Central, Teens