Summer is upon us, and you know what that means: road trips, vacations, relaxing afternoons on the beach, and maybe even a much-needed staycation on your couch. If you’ll be out of town and… continue reading

By Kate C.   June 28, 2017   

Is everyone ready for the start of another school year?  At the Free Library of Philadelphia, we spent the last few weeks of our summer brushing up on the wonderful online resources… continue reading

By Rachel F.   September 6, 2016   

If you’re a local service provider, ReferenceUSA’s database U.S. New Movers/Homeowners  is a great resource for your small business. Offering hundreds of thousands of new… continue reading

By CaitlinT   May 11, 2016   

The Free Library has been hard at work upgrading our website to make it more user-friendly, encourage exploration, and offer better customer service. Our most recent updates include a revamped… continue reading

By Peter SM   March 2, 2016   

Face it. It's only been two weeks, but your New Year's resolution is done for, dusty with cobwebs, lingering dimly in the weeks past like an like an old yearbook picture you'd rather… continue reading

By Jamie W.   January 12, 2016    1

A strong collection of reference material is one of the hallmarks of a good library, and the effective use of reference materials is the hallmark of a good researcher. At the Free Library, we… continue reading

By Jamie W.   December 14, 2015   

We know many of you visit the Free Library of Philadelphia (in person and online) searching for health information. A new series of blog posts will share ways you can access our materials and… continue reading

By Sharyl O.   November 3, 2015   

The Free Library's mission is to "advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity," and few of our digital resources hit that mark as squarly as Tumblebooks.… continue reading

By Jamie W.   September 30, 2015   

Back to school (BTS) is in full swing. How will you fund BTS next year?  Now is the time for many families across the Philadelphia area to begin evaluating the best possible financial… continue reading

By CaitlinT   September 17, 2015   

At the dawn of every school year, all the librarians put on their letterman jackets, sew days of the week labels into our socks, and start thinking really hard about we can help… continue reading

By Jamie W.   September 4, 2015   

As you get in gear for the new school year, know that the Free Library has your back! We, too, are gearing up for the homework, projects, and papers the school year brings—not to boost our… continue reading

By Julie B.   August 31, 2015   

Sometimes you've got to take a test. It's a fact of life. Some of us struggle with tests while others breeze by, but we could all benefit from a little preparation. So before you… continue reading

By Jamie W.   August 6, 2015   

Philadelphia’s guitarists are dropping by the Reference Desk more frequently than usual to request our B.B. King songbooks. School students are visiting the Music Department asking… continue reading

By Perry G.   May 27, 2015   

Hoopla is the Free Library's online source for streaming movies, television, music, and audiobooks. It's all available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it's all free when you create… continue reading

By Jamie W.   April 14, 2015   

Today Hoopla unveiled a slick new interface that puts you in touch with the streaming movies, television, music, and audiobooks you love even faster. The new interface, which the company calls,… continue reading

By Jamie W.   March 6, 2015    2

The Business, Science & Industry Department at Parkway Central Library offers resources for all types of investors- from absolute beginners to financial gurus.  Whether you’re… continue reading

By CaitlinT   February 27, 2015   

If you plan to open a business, you'll need information about your competition for your business plan. If you're in sales, you'll need a list of businesses that will want to buy… continue reading

By Jamie W.   February 12, 2015   

We have a new online resource available to you over at our database page -- Driver's Permit Practice Tests Online   offers practice tests for the general Pennsylvania driver's… continue reading

By Jamie W.   December 17, 2014    2

Last year we announced a new digital resource for digital learning focused on tech skills called Treehouse. While Treehouse was embraced by some eager to learn coding and web design,… continue reading

By Jamie W.   December 15, 2014    6

[ Editorial Note: This is the sixth and final edition of a six part series intended to demonstrate for teachers and students the use of special Free Library of Philadelphia resources for… continue reading

By Adam F.   December 10, 2014    1