The Future of Holocaust Commemoration: Living Memory

Mon, April 23, 2018 7:00 P.M.
Social Science and History Department at Parkway Central Library

Shoah is a Hebrew term that has come to describe the Holocaust. While this tragedy has been a defining moment of our history, the most meaningful and appropriate ways to remember and commemorate the Shoah are less certain. Join Temple University Professor, Dr. Laura Levitt, as she discusses how…

Adult Young Adult Speakers and Lectures Religion Social Science History Humanities

The Declaration, the Constitution, and American Identity: A Contrarian View

Wed, April 25, 2018 6:30 P.M.
Philadelphia City Institute

Join Professor Kermit Roosevelt of the University of Pennsylvania Law School as he argues that the Declaration and the original Constitution are not the source of America’s fundamental values. Rather, our identity comes from the Reconstruction Constitution and the people who defeated the…

Adult Speakers and Lectures History

The Legacy of the Reformation

Wed, April 25, 2018 7:00 P.M.
Education Philosophy and Religion Department at Parkway Central Library

The Free Library is proud to welcome Dr. Christopher Close of St. Joseph’s University  and  Dr. Christopher Atkins of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a discussion of the Reformation, the revolution of mind and spirit which continues to this day! Beginning as a debate in…

Adult Speakers and Lectures Religion History Humanities

Exhibition - Page & Panels: A Brief Glimpse at Graphic Novels

Tue, May 1, 2018 8:45 A.M.
Children's Literature Research Collection at Parkway Central Library

The world of graphic novels is all-encompassing.  Comic strips, wordless novels, and comic books have all influenced modern graphic novelists as they continue to expand the medium.  Today, stories of racial inequality, gender expression, and climate change share shelf space with…

Adult Young Adult School Age Senior Other Great Programs Art Children Comics & Graphic Novels Education Literacy Literature Rare Books, Manuscripts, & Digital Collections Special Collections Teens History children's literature

The Last Emperor of Mexico

Wed, May 2, 2018 4:00 P.M.
Fumo Family Library

Join the Fumo Family library for a live theater experience with Chris Davis as he presents his one man show, “The Last Emperor of Mexico." Maximilian I has recently been declared the Emperor of Mexico by Napoleon III, but his administration soon comes under attack by the revolutionary…

Adult Young Adult Other Great Programs History

Author Talk: David Goodwin

Wed, May 2, 2018 6:30 P.M.
Philadelphia City Institute

Cost: FREE

Author David Goodwin will discuss his book LEFT BANK OF THE HUDSON: Jersey City and the Artists of 111 1st Street. A former tobacco-company warehouse turned artist colony in Jersey City, N.J., serves as a microcosm of American urban development in the age of globalization. . . This close study…

Adult Author Events Author Events History

Mental Wellness Poetry Workshop and Performance by Philadelphia’s Youth Poet Laureate, Husnaa Hashim

Sat, May 5, 2018 3:30 P.M.
Queen Memorial Library

Youth Spoken Word at Queen Memorial Library (a Hatching Innovation funded program) is excited to invite Philadelphia’s Youth Poet Laureate, Husnaa Hashim , to lead a guest poetry workshop and performance about poetry’s role in mental and emotional well-being! Join us for an hour…

Young Adult Workshops and Enrichment Literature Poetry History

Red Hangover: Legacies of 20th Century Communism

Mon, May 7, 2018 6:30 P.M.
Social Science and History Department at Parkway Central Library

In Red Hangover,   Kristen Ghodsee examines the legacies of twentieth-century communism twenty-five years after the Berlin Wall fell. Ghodsee's essays and short stories reflect on the lived experience of postsocialism and how many ordinary men and women across Eastern Europe suffered…

Adult Discussion and Participation Speakers and Lectures Politics History

Simon Winchester | The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

Wed, May 9, 2018 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: FREE

Celebrated by critics and readers alike for “interweaving history, fascinating trivia and acute observation” ( New York Times Book Review ), Simon Winchester is the bestselling author of the nonfiction books  The Professor and the Madman, Krakatoa, The Men Who United the…

Adult Author Events Speakers and Lectures Author Events - Free Series Author Events Free Library of Philadelphia History

Philadelphia's Centaur Book Shop and Press, 1921-1942: a talk by Lynne Farrington

Thu, May 10, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Art Department at Parkway Central Library

"Up on my back and I will take you thither" Bookshops have long been a determining factor in the availability of texts. The early twentieth century saw the emergence of bookshops specializing in contemporary avant-garde literature with an international scope. These bookshops played a…

Adult Senior Speakers and Lectures Art Literature Philadelphia Philadelphia History History

A Voice for Peace, Concord and Harmony: XII International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia (Room 108)

Mon, May 14, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

A voice for peace, concord and harmony, the XII International Poetry Festival in Philadelphia will congregate poets from Latin America and USA in an evening of verse and music. Each poet will read one piece, and at the end of each round a short musical flute performance will follow. This…

Adult Workshops and Enrichment Literature New Americans Poetry History

Author Talk: Rich Westcott

Mon, May 14, 2018 6:30 P.M.
Philadelphia City Institute

Cost: FREE

Baseball historian Rich Westcott will present and autograph his new book Biz Mackey, a Giant Behind the Plate, the first biography of arguably the greatest catcher in the Negro Leagues. Mackey, who spent a third of his career in Philadelphia, also mentored famed catcher Roy Campanella and had an…

Adult Author Events History

Save money solarizing your house, and help save the planet!

Now through Tue, May 15, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Rare Book Department at Parkway Central Library

On Tuesday, May 15 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA) will give an enganging presentation on  Solarize Philly  and how this program is helping make solar affordable for all Philadelphians. The presentation will be in the historic Elkins Library in…

Adult Senior Exhibitions Community Events Speakers and Lectures Art Environment & Nature Free Library of Philadelphia Programs & Services Rare Books, Manuscripts, & Digital Collections History Humanities

Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy

Tue, June 12, 2018 2:30 P.M.
Fox Chase Library

The surprise strike on US military facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941 marked America’s entry into World War II. In less than 90-minutes, 2,403 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians. An additional 1,178 Americans were wounded,…

Adult Speakers and Lectures Workshops and Enrichment History

Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy

Mon, June 18, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Fox Chase Library

The surprise strike on US military facilities at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941 marked America’s entry into World War II. In less than 90-minutes, 2,403 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians. An additional 1,178 Americans were wounded,…

Adult Speakers and Lectures Workshops and Enrichment History

Jon Meacham | The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels

Thu, July 12, 2018 7:30 P.M.
Parkway Central Library

Cost: $33/$48 single + book/couple + book
Buy Tickets Online | Ticket and Subscription Packages

Tickets on sale April 20 at 10:00 a.m. Couples Ticket A “tough-minded” but “nuanced and persuasive” ( The New York Times Book Review ) expert on history, politics, and religion in America, Jon Meacham won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for his biography American Lion: Andrew…

Adult Author Events Speakers and Lectures Author Events - Ticketed Series Author Events Literature Politics History

In Our Nature: Flora and Fauna of the Americas

Now through Sat, September 15, 2018 5:00 P.M.
Rare Book Department at Parkway Central Library

An Exhibition in the Rare Book Department's William B. Dietrich Gallery (3rd floor) April 9 - September 15, 2018 The ecology of the Western Hemisphere has been shaped by human intervention. Landscapes and wildlife have been helped, hindered, moved, lost, displaced, and replaced, including a…

Adult Young Adult Senior Exhibitions Art Environment & Nature Literacy Rare Books, Manuscripts, & Digital Collections Science Social Science Special Collections History Animals and Nature Humanities Book Arts

Who Was Jack The Ripper?

Mon, September 24, 2018 6:00 P.M.
Fox Chase Library

It has been 130 years since the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper struck in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London. This program will examine the five canonical murders attributed to “Saucy Jack” and review the lengthy list of suspects – from a member…

Adult Discussion and Participation Speakers and Lectures History

Who Was Jack The Ripper?

Tue, September 25, 2018 2:00 P.M.
Fox Chase Library

It has been 130 years since the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper struck in the impoverished Whitechapel district of London. This program will examine the five canonical murders attributed to “Saucy Jack” and review the lengthy list of suspects – from a member…

Adult Discussion and Participation Speakers and Lectures History

Who Killed the Lindbergh Baby?

Tue, October 23, 2018 2:00 P.M.
Fox Chase Library

On March 1, 1932, the twenty-month old son of noted aviator Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped from his home near Highlands, New Jersey. On May 12, his decaying body was discovered nearby. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested for the crime, tried, was found guilty, and was executed. Writer H.L.…

Adult Discussion and Participation Speakers and Lectures History