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

This year, celebrate National Library Week (April 14-20) at any of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s 54 locations city-wide. If you’re looking for literacy-rich, fun activities for young children, you’re in luck! Some of children’s literature’s greatest authors and illustrators are visiting your local library branches, Regional libraries and the Central Library. Our all-star line-up includes Lindsay Barrett George, Brian Biggs, Mônica Carnesi, Peter Catalanotto, and Kathleen Wainwright.

Find out which authors and illustrators will be visiting your local library, along with times and locations here: http://libwww.freelibrary.org/bookfestival/program.cfm

Tags: Events at the Library, Pre-K, children's programs

Some sad news came across the internet last week as Google posted on their official blog that as of July 1st, 2013 they would be shutting down their Google Reader service. Google Reader is--or rather was--one of the easiest to use and best RSS web-based readers out there, so there was definitely a certain amount of shock and confusion that has spread through the internet since Google's announcement.

There are of course other RSS reader options out there, the Lifehacker website has a good rundown of a number of current readers that may be good candidates to transition to from Google Reader.

In the meantime, you can retain your Google Reader data, including all of your RSS subscriptions, by downloading it through Google Takeout. You can then import that data into a new RSS reader.

The Free Library currently lists Google Reader as an RSS reader option on our website to access our RSS news feeds, such as our Author Events, Podcasts, Book Reviews, Digital Collections, and this blog. We'll be testing out some of the Google Reader replacement options currently available and make a blog announcement with recommendations before Google Reader shuts down in July.

Google Reader 2005 - 2013 R.I.P.  : (

Tags: Community Events, Events at the Library, mobile, podcasts, tech, website

The Free Library of Philadelphia yesterday released its first batch of raw data to the OpenDataPhilly project.

As discussed in previous blog posts, the "Open Data" initative's goal is to provide people with free and easy access to all kinds of data and information for the betterment of our lives and communities.

In Philadelphia, the focus had primarily been on government transparency and data for city services and GIS mapping, with the culmination of all of those elements being the Philly311 app, but there are now a lot more data sets being published by non-municipal entities such as non-profits, universities, and commercial organizations in the Philadelphia region.

The data released by Free Library primarily concerns our RSS feeds for Author Events, Free Library Blogs, Free Library Podcasts, Book Reviews, and Digital Collections.
http://opendataphilly.org/opendata/resource/223/free-library-of-philadelphia-rss-feeds

While this data was already public, the OpenDataPhilly website will help give it a wider audience, and also be a repository for developers to access and create mobile applications and APIs with that data. The Free Library of Philadelphia will continue to work with OpenDataPhilly to cultivate ideas around how our data can meet the growing interest, demand and utility for openness and transparency of information.

Tags: Events at the Library, databases, mobile, tech, website

The Free Library of Philadelphia has released the newest version of our mobile site!

The new mobile site (version 3.0) uses responsive web design and provides an optimal viewing experience on all browsers and most mobile devices, regardless of screen size. The site was built using jQuery mobile framework and HTML5.

FLP Mobile Website 3.0 Features:

• New layout design for easier access and downloading speeds.
   
• My Account - Sign in to your account from anywhere, all you need is your library card and PIN number.
   
• Find a Location - Quickly see what's open Today, This Morning, This Evening, This Saturday, search branch locations by zip code, or view entire list of branch locations in alphabetical order.
   
• Calendar of Events - See what’s going on at Parkway Central Library and all branch libraries, or browse by event subject.
   
• Databases - Use our subscription databases to find magazine, journal, and reference articles, improve your resume, find a job, study a new language, take practice SAT tests, or research the topic of your choice.
   
• Podcasts - Download and listen to more than 900 podcasts, recorded at various author events and lectures that take place at the Parkway Central Library.
   
• Digital Downloads - View our resources for you to download ebooks, audiobooks, music, videos and much more!
   
• Blog - Read our blog with posts from our own library staff on a variety of topics
   
• Book Reviews - Reviews from our catalog by our librarians and staff.
   
• Digital Collections - Browse through most recent images from our ever-expanding digital collections.
   
• Support The Library - You can show your support for all of the important services the Library provides by becoming a supporter of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation.
   
• Social Media - View quick links to our social networking sites.

Just like on the full version of our website, you can access your Free Library account, search our extensive catalog, find the nearest branch location, view our calendar of upcoming events, download podcasts and ebooks, read the latest book reviews, and view the latest additions to our ever expanding digital collections.

We're always striving to give you the best user experience we can and hope to offer additional features designed especially for mobile devices in the near future!

http://www.freelibrary.org/mobile

Tags: Events at the Library, Reviews, Support, databases, digital collections, ebooks, mobile, music, podcasts, tech