Education Philosophy and Religion Department
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 9:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
Upcoming Closures
- Thu., Nov. 28 : Closed Thanksgiving Day
- Fri., Nov. 29 : Closed Thanksgiving Friday
- Wed., Dec. 25 : Closed Christmas Day
Services
- Book Drop
- Materials / Holds Pick Up
- Reference Services
Facilities
- Book drop box
- Photocopier (black/white)
- Public restrooms
- Self-service checkout
Upcoming Events
Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin
As part of the Year of James Baldwin, the Free Library is hosting one of many Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin reading groups throughout the city in collaboration with the Saturday Free School for…
Let's Eat: Papier-Mâché Workshop
We invite you to *fake * bread with us in this 3-part workshop! Participants will design, construct, and decorate "food" out of papier-mâché. Together, we will create a…
Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin
As part of the Year of James Baldwin, the Free Library is hosting one of many Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin reading groups throughout the city in collaboration with the Saturday Free School for…
Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin
As part of the Year of James Baldwin, the Free Library is hosting one of many Philadelphia Reads James Baldwin reading groups throughout the city in collaboration with the Saturday Free School for…
Make an appointment online or call 215-686-5392 from 9-8, Monday through Thursday, and 9-5 Friday and Saturday.
If you'd like to support our department, please consider buying us a book from our Wishlist!:
The Education, Philosophy, and Religion Department provides print, electronic information, and indexes concerning education, philosophy, ethics, religion, mythology, the occult, psychology, self-help, and librarianship.
Great Minds
Your guide to fundamental thinkers' most pivotal works, as found for free via electronic library resources and on the internet.
Sigmund Freud
William James
Maria Montessori
Friedrich Nietzsche
Benedict de Spinoza
Reading Lists: Librarian curated reading lists on various EPR topics.
Historic Philadelphia Pamphlet Collection
The Education Philosophy and Religion department maintains a historic collection of pamplets pertaining to our subject matter that dates from the mid 1700's to the late 1900's.
Education: A collection of brochures and essays on local K-12 public education and higher education. Many University of Pennsylvania sources. Dates range from the 19th century to the mid 20th century. Includes alumni brochures, educational efforts of WWII, and local vocational school information. This material may also be of interest to genealogists, alumni and class rolls are sometimes found and these do sometimes include addresses.
Historic Churches: Consists of local, regional (New England and South), and British publications issued by specific churches. Common topics include anniversary celebrations, building additions and architectural details, cornerstone layings, etc. The majority of the pamphlets are from the 19th century but some date back to the early 18th century. This is a good place to look for genealogical information as pew holders, congregation members, prominent elders, etc. along with addresses are often included in the pamphlet.
Libraries: Historic materials relating to the history of the Free Library of Philadelphia can be found here along with information on other local library holdings and histories. Includes some ALA publications.
Missions: Includes missionary activities of various denominations in the US and abroad. It also includes pamphlets issued by the YMCA and YM&WHA (Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association) for lack of a more appropriate category in which to place them.
Sermons, Essays, and Addresses: Look here for sermons delivered by specific ministers or orators and any other essay or address dealing with religion, morality, or ethics. Includes some radio broadcast sermon transcripts originally aired in the 40's and 50's.
Society of Friends: Histories of various Meeting Houses and Quakerism in Pennsylvania, the Northeast, and the UK. Biographies of prominent Quakers are found here along with an incomplete run of the Pendle Hill Bulletin. Please note that this category is split into two tables: one if for Pennsylvania only, the other is for all other geographic locales.
Databases
Databases that cover education, philosophy, religion, and library science that are available to all Free Library patrons. A library card may be required to access these links. Don't have a FLP Library Card? Get one here.
Education, teaching, and library science research databases
- ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center): Index to education related materials.
- LISTA (Library, Information Science, & Technology Abstracts): LISTA indexes over 600 periodicals and books related to the field of librarianship.
- Teacher Reference Center: This index contains over 260 titles from the most popular teacher and administrator trade journals, periodicals and books.
- JSTOR (only available in Free Library locations): This full text database includes 100+ academic journals forcusing on the study of education, and core collection of library science journals.
Learning support and test preparation databases
- Homework Help Online: Live, online tutoring every day from 10 a.m. - midnight for K-12, college, and adults. (Spanish 2 p.m. - 2 a.m.) Upload a writing sample and get feedback.
- LearningExpressLibrary 3.0: Practice tests and test preparation study materials for academic and professional tests, including the SAT and GRE. Watch our video tutorial.
- LinkedIn Learning: Free access to thousands of courses in business, technology, and creative skills taught by industry experts.
- March2Success: Practice materials for the ASVAB, SAT, and ACT exams. Perfect for students considering a military career.
Philosophy
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an authoritative, comprehensive Web-based reference work about philosophy, useful to scholars of all levels as well as the general public.
- JSTOR (only available in Free Library locations): This full text database includes 100+ academic journals forcusing on the study of philosophy.
Religion
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JSTOR (only available in Free Library locations): This full text database includes 100+ academic journals forcusing on the study of religion.