Phew, the summer is heating up! As we all try our best to deal with the rising temperatures in our area, don't forget that the Free Library is a great place to cool off. Check your neighborhood library's hours of operation and available services on our Locations page—we hope to see you this summer for a visit!

Speaking of those dog days of summer, have you or the little one in your life participated in our Read to a Therapy Dog program? One of the more adorable Free Library programs, this initiative allows young readers to hone their skills in a safe, judgment-free zone. Stay tuned for additional dog-related programs popping up this summer around the system, too!

And what about the adorable pup in that famous Free Library photo? That furry friend is Knee-Hi, and we lovingly refer to him as our mascot. But upon a bit more digging by a trusty staff member from our Print and Picture Collection a few years back, we learned some more about Knee-Hi, whose owner was a former school principal and trained the tiny wire-haired terrier and others after him to help children learn safety rules in a fun, engaging way as the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin safety dog! Dr. George E. Brunson of Philadelphia would accompany Knee-Hi to area schools—and later, others across the country!—to demonstrate important rules such as crossing only at crosswalks, obeying traffic laws, and avoiding playing in the street. Cool, right? You can learn more about Knee-Hi from these archived newspaper clippings and web articles. As for the Free Library connection, well, we surmise he was "borrowed" for a summer reading initiative in 1938, and thus, the photo! A true Free Library treasure.

If you’ve got a Very Good Boy or Girl at home that happens to stumble upon a book like Knee-Hi did, snap a photo and tag it #FLPDogDays—we’ll be sharing some of our favorite bookish pups over on our Instagram account all summer long, so keep an eye out! Dogs and books just so happen to be a few of our favorite things!

And if you just need a break from the summer heat, chill out with these paw-some books and DVDs about dogs!

Woof, woof!