If you are reading this, chances are you are doing so on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. The advancement and use of digital devices is at the forefront of everyday learning. And for that reason, today we celebrate Digital Learning Day . Digital Learning Day, started in 2012, was created as a way to actively spread innovative practices and… continue reading Digital Learning Day Engages Learners of All Ages!

By written by Peter SM    February 28, 2019    1  

• Online Learning
• Digital Learning

Throughout March and including International Women’s Day on March 8, the Free Library will join in the nationwide celebration of the vital role of women throughout American History during Women’s History Month . From special events at various neighborhood librar ies (including screenings of and conversations about Sisters in Freedom… continue reading March is Women’s History Month at the Free Library!

By written by Kate C.    February 28, 2019    2  

• Women's History Month

What is a story? Perhaps the question isn’t what , but where . Every story I’ve read has taken me somewhere, twisting and turning the ground under me until I’m in a place I haven’t been before. A good story invites and encompasses the reader, until he or she knows the characters and imagines each scene, completely… continue reading #OneBookWednesday: Journeys

By written by Lo I.    February 27, 2019   

• One Book, One Philadelphia

Are you a new parent or soon-to-be parent? Do you have questions about what activities support your baby’s language and literacy development? Have you been looking for opportunities for you and your baby to bond? Read, Baby, Read , our program for babies, toddlers, and their families, is here for you this spring with Parent… continue reading Read, Baby, Read Launching Spring Parent Circles for Spring 2019

By written by Molly B.    February 26, 2019   

• Family Programs
• Early Literacy
• Neighborhood Libraries

Like lots of ‘80s kids, I grew up with repeats of The Monkees on television and couldn’t wait for my weekly Saturday morning dose of their hijinks and bubble gum pop. Unlike lots of ‘80s kids, I never quite grew out of my Pre-Fab Four obsession. I very much WOULD like to take the Last Train to Clarkesville , thankyouverymuch.… continue reading A Daydream Believer’s Tribute to Peter Tork

By written by Alix G.    February 25, 2019    4  

• Music
• Remembrances
• Pop Culture

If the winter blues have got you down, how about heading to your neighborhood library and taking advantage of everything a library card has to offer? Forty of our library locations are now offering a sixth day of service , which means more time to fit a library visit into your busy schedule. In addition to books, DVDs, and audiobooks available… continue reading 40 Library Locations Now Offering Six Days of Service!

By written by Kate C.    February 25, 2019    3  

• Neighborhood Libraries

Around this time of year, all the stories concerning film seem to be about the Academy Awards: Who will host ? What films were snubbed ? Who will actually take home an Oscar ? It's no secret there are a lot of things wrong with the Academy Awards . Genre films, especially horror movies, are hardly ever recognized, except maybe occasionally… continue reading The History of Black Horror Movies

By written by Peter SM    February 22, 2019    1  

• Film
• Black History Month
• Pop Culture

February has been named American Heart Month , to raise awareness of how heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States while still being the most preventable. The average heart beats 100,000 times a day and pumps blood through a network of vessels over 60,000 miles long, there are many factors that can disrupt its ability to… continue reading Get Pumped Up for American Heart Month!

By written by Michelle Z.    February 22, 2019   

• Health

Even if you’ve never read Mary Shelley ’s groundbreaking novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus , you’ve certainly heard of the stiched-together monster the teenage mother invented during a drizzly 1816 summer vacation on Lake Geneva , in response to a contest proposed by Lord Byron for each vacationer – a crowd… continue reading Immersive Multimedia Experience Breathes New Life into the Frankenstein Mythos

By written by Violet L.    February 21, 2019   

• Events at the Library
• History
• Literature

The last decade has produced a number of amazing, award-winning, and celebratory graphic novels featuring figures from African American history. Here are a few of my favorites that I would love to suggest would make for great reads during Black History Month, or really any time! March Trilogy by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and… continue reading Graphic Novels about Black History

By written by Rachel F.    February 20, 2019   

• Recommendations
• Comics and Graphic Novels
• Black History Month

The Mysterious Travelers are back, and something special is brewing! For the past four years, the Free Library has teamed up with the Philadelphia Jazz Project for a concert series showcasing the work of young and not-so-young Philadelphia jazz artists, and now, the gang is getting back to together for an all-star performance featuring a… continue reading Join Us For The Mysterious Travelers All-Stars Winter Concert!

By written by Kate C.    February 19, 2019   

• Music

As of November 2020, Passport Processing and Photo Services have been discontinued at the Free Library. The Free Library helps people explore new worlds—through fictional tales of far-off places and its international music collections, as well as through its robust foreign-language materials and travel resources. It can even… continue reading Visit the Passport Office at Northeast Regional Library

By written by Victoria G.    February 15, 2019    5  

• Government Information
• Neighborhood Libraries
• Passports

It’s 11:30 a.m. on a Tuesday morning and nearly a dozen seniors at the Fumo Family Library are stretching, strengthening, and sweating to Funk, Disco, and Soul tunes. While it’s not unusual to see seniors at the library engaging in weekly Chair Yoga and Tai Chi classes, this is a new multi-part series funded by Healthy Communities.… continue reading Senior Strength Training Big Success at Fumo Family Library

By written by Abbe K.    February 15, 2019    1  

• Seniors
• Health
• Neighborhood Libraries

It's Valentine’s Day and I feel like this is the perfect time to indulge in a good imaginary romance. I don’t know about you but I love a good teen romance novel: I love the hijinks, I love angst of first love, I love the misunderstandings, and I love love love the unlikely happy endings. So if you’ve already maxed out all… continue reading Young Adult Romance Novels to Warm Cold Hearts

By written by Rachel F.    February 14, 2019    1  

• Romance
• Recommendations
• YA literature

Throughout Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing , we see how the characters connect, or disconnect, from each other. The novel focuses in on relationships and what one needs for such connections to thrive in positive ways. Each of the story’s relationships hones in on what it means to genuinely care for someone—it also explores… continue reading #OneBookWednesday: Natural Healing & Remedies

By written by Lo I.    February 13, 2019   

• One Book, One Philadelphia
• Nature

The last decades of the 19th century produced a backlash that diminished much of the progress made by blacks in the south after emancipation and led large numbers to travel to the manufacturing centers of the north in search of a better life. Like thousands of European immigrants, many headed for Philadelphia, but they were not… continue reading A History Minute | The Armstrong Association and The Berean Enterprise

By written by Sally F.    February 12, 2019    2  

• A History Minute
• Black History Month

Tomi Ungerer (November 28, 1931 - February 8, 2019) was a complex man. His artwork reflected that complexity.   Ungerer’s work has often been called subversive for its themes of war, sexuality, and social commentary.  While this may hold some truth, it’s potentially a superficial label for a labyrinthine-like career and… continue reading Remembering Author, Artist, and Illustrator Tomi Ungerer (1931 - 2019)

By written by Chris B.    February 11, 2019    1  

• Childrens Books
• Children's Literature Research Collection
• Remembrances

Happy National Inventors’ Day! This special day was proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 “in recognition of the enormous contribution inventors make to the nation and the world.” It is celebrated each year on February 11 in honor of the birthday of Thomas Alva Edison . Edison (1847-1931), a very prolific inventor ,… continue reading National Inventors' Day!

By written by Sharyl O.    February 11, 2019    1  

• Holidays
• Patent and Trademark
• Business Resource and Innovation Center

Get your scented candles and bath bombs ready, because February 9 is Read in The Bathtub Day! We know you’ve probably already got an attractive paperback you’ve been dying to find time to dip into, but if you need some suggestions, here’s a bathing bibliography to peruse. Why not start with the writer who set her novels in her… continue reading Take a Deep Dive Into These Recommendations for Read in the Bathtub Day!

By written by Violet L.    February 8, 2019   

• Holidays
• Reading

The Free Library Book Bike program is now entering its 4th season! The Book Bikes are bicycle-powered mobile libraries that go to local events, bringing a piece of the Free Library outside of our brick and mortar locations. When visiting one of our Book Bikes you can check out a book with your library card, sign up for a card if you don’t… continue reading The Book Bike Gears Up for Its 4th Season!

By written by Link R.    February 8, 2019   

• Community Events
• Book Bike