It’s getting hot out there, huh?

As we all try our best to deal with the rising temperatures, don’t forget that the Free Library of Philadelphia is a great place to cool off during these dog days of summer. From books and magazines to free wireless internet and more, the library is a welcome respite this time of year! (Don’t forget, our summer hours went into effect on June 19.)

Speaking of dog days, have you ever wondered about the adorable dog in the 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 member of our Print and Picture Collection, 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 here and here. As for the Free Library connection, we can only surmise he was ‘borrowed’ for a summer reading initiative in 1938, and thus, the photo! A true Free Library treasure.

So, as you go about your summer, we hope you’ll keep the Free Library and adorable dogs in mind! While you’re at it, if you’ve got a pup that happens to stumble upon a good book, snap a photo and tag it #FLPDogDays – we’ll be sharing some over on our Instagram account for the rest of the summer, so keep an eye out! Dogs and books just so happen to be a few of our favorite things!