Earlier this week, the City of Philadelphia announced efforts to help federal workers affected by the current government shutdown. Mayor Kenney is encouraging furloughed workers and those working without pay to contact the Department of Revenue, the Water Revenue Bureau, and Philadelphia Gas Works if they need additional flexibility in paying their bills — either to pay current bills or to fulfill existing payment agreements.

In conjunction with the above efforts, the Free Library of Philadelphia will be waiving fines for federal workers who have been furloughed due to the ongoing government shutdown. Library users who qualify should bring federal ID when they visit their neighborhood library to have their fines waived.

A library card grants you instant access to books, DVDs, ebooks, and audiobooks from our catalog; digital media resources where you can stream movies and music from services like Kanopy and Hoopla; digital learning resources that can help you learn new skills or augment existing knowledge; borrow unique items like guitars and amps through our Musical Instrument Collection, food scales and blood pressure cuffs through our Health Lending Library, or even cake pans and ties!

Please feel free to visit any of our neighborhood library locations as well for free events and programs ranging from health and wellness and cooking classes to knitting clubs and video games, just to name a few!

Let the Free Library and our vast resources be a respite during these difficult times—we're here to help and serve our communities!

Don't have a library card? Sign up for one today!