OK, they're not really spooky; but it's Halloween, and the Free Library is debuting its first podcast series , currently featuring recordings of some memorable author events at the Central Library… continue reading Free Library Presents Spooky Author Podcasts

By written by Communications Office    October 31, 2007   

AbeBooks, "the world's largest online marketplace for new, used, rare and out-of-print books" recently polled its users, asking them to name the "scariest character in literature." The most popular… continue reading Dracula Scary, Enigmatic Dictator Scarier

By written by Communications Office    October 29, 2007   

And it will most likely continue to rain through the better part of tomorrow, so why not curl up with a book? Edmund White has some suggestions--as does Cynthia Ozick , and John Updike , too. Or… continue reading It's Raining in Philadelphia

By written by Communications Office    October 26, 2007   

In his new book, The Conscience of a Liberal , Paul Krugman writes: “When [George W.] Bush moved into the White House, movement conservatism finally found itself in control of all the levers… continue reading To the Left, To the Left

By written by Communications Office    October 24, 2007    1

This past Friday morning, at Carnegie Hall, J.K. Rowling announced to an audience of 1,600 students that she " always thought of Dumbledore as gay ," at which point those in attendance reportedly… continue reading Extra-Textual Outing of Fictional Character Makes International Headlines

By written by Communications Office    October 22, 2007   

This past Saturday the University of Pennsylvania's Arthur Ross Gallery opened its new show, Treasured Pages: Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Free Library of Philadelphia , which… continue reading Treasured Pages, Medieval Times

By written by Communications Office    October 18, 2007   

This morning Mayor John F. Street officially kicked off the 2008 One Book, One Philadelphia reading period with the announcement of this year’s One Book featured reading selection.… continue reading One Book, One Philadelphia Picks Dave Eggers' What Is the What for 2008

By written by Communications Office    October 17, 2007   

The hugely popular web-based, free content encyclopedia project Wikipedia currently features more than two million English-language articles. According to the site, “[Every] day hundreds of… continue reading Spinning Wikipedia

By written by Communications Office    October 15, 2007    1

Yesterday Horace Engdahl, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy , announced that Doris Lessing is the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. Ms. Lessing's reaction to the news was… continue reading Congratulations, Ms. Lessing

By written by Communications Office    October 12, 2007   

The phrase “ Heavens to Murgatroyd! ” predates this character and may have found its way to 1960s American television by way of Gilbert and Sullivan. Spend hours exploring the origins… continue reading Heavens to Murgatroyd!

By written by Communications Office    October 11, 2007    1

Winner of the 1996 National Book Award for fiction for her story collection Ship Fever , Andrea Barrett will be appearing at the Central Library’s Montgomery Auditorium tomorrow, Thursday ,… continue reading Take Five with . . . Andrea Barrett

By written by Administrator    October 10, 2007   

• Take Five

A copy of the Magna Carta that dates from 1297--and which, incidentally, paid a lengthy visit to Philadelphia 20 years ago--will be auctioned by Sotheby’s in December. Purchased by… continue reading Magna Carta for Sale in December, Just in Time for the Holidays

By written by Communications Office    October 5, 2007   

All you need is a light source 10 billion times brighter than the sun . continue reading Hands-Free Dead Sea Scrolls

By written by Communications Office    October 3, 2007   

The Guardian periodically takes readers inside Writers’ rooms with pieces contributed by renowned authors about the spaces in which they write. From this series one may learn, among other… continue reading Mature Authors from the UK Eschew Computers

By written by Communications Office    October 2, 2007   

Ann Patchett will be appearing at the Central Library's Montgomery Auditorium on Wednesday , October 3 , at 8:00 p.m. Click here for ticket info. She recently took a moment to chat with us about… continue reading Take Five with . . . Ann Patchett

By written by Communications Office    October 1, 2007   

• Take Five