Blog Articles
If there hadn’t been such a similar frenzy surrounding the commercial release of the iPhone just a few weeks ago, the international phenomenon of people camping out on the street to be among… continue reading The World Queues Up for Harry Potter
By written by Communications Office July 20, 2007
Edward Estlin Cummings, aka E.E. Cummings, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1894. While at Harvard, he published his first work in 1917 in the anthology Eight Harvard Poets . He volunteered… continue reading Poet of the Week | E.E. Cummings
By written by Administrator July 19, 2007
With the release of the seventh and final book at midnight this Saturday, the Harry Potter series will soon be complete, and the future of “wizard rock”--a subgenre of indie rock… continue reading Wizard Rock's Pinnacle Moment?
By written by Communications Office July 18, 2007
Tim Gunn’s appearance here at the Central Library, originally scheduled for next week on Tuesday, July 24, has been postponed . (Mr. Gunn is busy taping his new television series , debuting… continue reading Tim Gunn Appearance Postponed
By written by Communications Office July 17, 2007
A new exhibition opened this past Saturday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . Showcasing treasures from the John Frederick Lewis Collection of the Free Library's Rare Book Department, The Book of… continue reading Free Library and Philadelphia Museum of Art Collaborate on Book of War
By written by Communications Office July 16, 2007
According to their website , the Simplified Spelling Society was founded in 1908 with the aim of updating English spelling "for the benefit of learners and users everywhere." The main thrust of… continue reading The Simplified Spelling Society: Champions of Literacy?
By written by Communications Office July 13, 2007 1
Robert Hayden was born Asa Bundy Sheffey in 1913. His parents separated when he was young, and his mother gave him to her next-door neighbors, William and Sue Ellen Hayden, to raise. Hayden… continue reading Poet of the Week | Robert Hayden
By written by Administrator July 12, 2007
It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and novelist Doug Marlette, who died yesterday in a car accident at the age of 57. He was scheduled to… continue reading In Memory of Doug Marlette
By written by Communications Office July 11, 2007
Michael Eric Dyson may have announced his imminent departure from Philadelphia last week--he has accepted a position at Georgetown University --but he will be here tonight at the Central Library's… continue reading Jay-Z Sings the Praises of Michael Eric Dyson
By written by Communications Office July 10, 2007
Brian Doyle published a piece in yesterday's issue of the Oregonian on the sorts of materials people keep in their cars "in case of reading emergencies and unforeseen opportunities." Doyle asked… continue reading Emergency Roadside Reading Materials
By written by Communications Office July 9, 2007 2
Sylvia Plath, one of the most important poets of the 20th century, was born in Massachusetts in 1932. She began publishing poetry at an early age and attended Smith College, where she wrote 400… continue reading Poet of the Week | Sylvia Plath
By written by Administrator July 6, 2007
Super-librarian Nancy Pearl recently contributed this piece to National Public Radio's Morning Edition , recommending nine summer reads with "great opening lines to hook young readers." (The… continue reading Judge These Books By Their First Lines
By written by Communications Office July 5, 2007
The Central Library has been keeping attendance records since its doors first opened in 1927, and the 2007 fiscal year--July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007--marks the first on record since 1938 that… continue reading Over One Million Visits to the Central Library!
By written by Communications Office July 3, 2007
The American Library Association may not be known for its red carpet premieres, but that didn't stop filmmaker Ann Seidl from bringing a touch of Hollywood glamour to the first night of the… continue reading The Hollywood Librarian, Hit Film of the ALA’s 128th Annual Conference
By written by Communications Office July 2, 2007
Held this morning in the Main Lobby of the Central Library, the National Education Association 's Dr. Seuss-themed Read-In was a huge success, featuring a surprise appearance by the Cat in the Hat . continue reading Celebrity Appearance Incites Pandemonium at the Central Library
By written by Communications Office June 29, 2007
Eamon Grennan was born in Dublin in 1941; however, he has lived in the United States for over thirty years and has taught at Vassar College since 1974. Grennan has won numerous awards--among them… continue reading Poet of the Week | Eamon Grennan
By written by Administrator June 28, 2007
The National Education Association is holding its 145 th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia this year, and thousands of NEA members will be enjoying our city in the coming days. This year marks the 10… continue reading Read Across Philadelphia
By written by Communications Office June 27, 2007
Douglas Wolk--author, blogger , and journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times , Publishers Weekly , and Rolling Stone, among many other publications--has a new book coming out next… continue reading Have You Considered the Class Implications of Comic Book Lingo?
By written by Communications Office June 26, 2007
Libby Rosof of roberta fallon and libby rosof's artblog interviewed Karen Lightner, head of the Print and Pictures Department at the Free Library, for a piece entitled "Treasure trove at the Free… continue reading FLP in the News | June Miscellany
By written by Communications Office June 25, 2007
Alison Bechdel is best known for her long-running, syndicated comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For , which she first began working on in the early 1980s. Her bestselling memoir in graphic novel… continue reading Take Five with . . . Alison Bechdel
By written by Communications Office June 22, 2007 1