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HomeFree Library of Philadelphia

Free Library of Philadelphia

Fishtown

Fishtown: Friends of Fishtown Library React to Mayor’s Budget

April 21, 2022Aliyah G Kimmey

Members of the group met on April 11 to discuss Mayor Kenney’s recently released budget and what that meant for trying to support the library.  

COVID-19

COVID-19: Popular Free Library PAWS for Reading Program Makes Shift Online

January 6, 2021Magdalena Mercy Becker

Dogs and pets offer nonjudgmental listeners for young readers, and so the Free Library has found a way to take one of its most popular programs to Zoom.

COVID-19

Mt. Airy: Lovett Librarian Shares Stories and Books with Community Despite Coronavirus

August 5, 2020Megan Milligan

Quarantine hasn’t stopped some Philadelphia kids from spending time with their favorite librarian. Dana Giusti, the children’s librarian at Mt. Airy’s Lovett Library has hosted virtual story times over Facebook Live for children since the

Logan

Logan: Free Library Branch Hosts its First Drag Queen Story Hour

July 8, 2019Andrea Malizia

The month of June is Pride month, celebrating inclusion and the LGBTQ community. The Logan Branch of the Free Library brought Pride to kids with its first Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) on Wednesday morning,

Education

Whitman: Library Play Spaces Bring Active Learning Across the City

June 5, 2019Ngozi Nwanji and

Upon entering the Whitman Free Library at 2nd and South Philip streets, it is impossible not to notice the wooden tower stacked to the ceiling in the center of the children’s section. At first glance,

Brewerytown

North Philadelphia: Community Supports Library Amid Budget Crunch

April 26, 2019Ayooluwa Ariyo

“In Philadelphia, there’s gonna be reduced levels of poverty,” he said. “One of the vehicles to do that is the library system. But, you have to have libraries that have strong programming that would aid the community to move out of that low-income situation.”

Brewerytown

North Philadelphia: Children’s Librarian Kayla Hoskinson Talks Rock Climbing and Safe Learning Spaces

March 28, 2019Chad Gelfand and

The rock climbing wall inside the Cecil B. Moore Library at 23rd Street and Ridge Avenue is an atypical, but exciting, sight to see when first entering a library. After being shut down for two

Business

Roxborough/Manayunk: Shifting Demographic Impacts Housing Market

October 22, 2018Jared Johnson and

Manayunk and Roxborough are changing as their populations continue to get younger. Both sections of the city have proved to be destinations for young people to live after they finish school, and more of them

Featured Stories

Immigration: How Philadelphia’s Public Libraries Can Benefit Foreign Born Residents

July 17, 2018Grace Shallow

Philadelphia has had a long history when it comes to libraries. Benjamin Franklin started the country’s first library, The Library Company, which remains open today, 287 years later. Today, the Free Library of Philadelphia finds

Southwest Philadelphia

Technology: New Grant Helps Job Seekers in Southwest Philadelphia

November 6, 2017Marco Cerino

As more job applications migrate to websites, under-served communities struggle to connect with opportunities.  At the Southwest Community Development Corporation and the Paschalville Library branch, new computers purchased with grant money offer applicants a chance to find work

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Recent Posts

  • People stand on a sidewalk beneath a pale gray sky. The street behind them is between two tan stone buildings with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on their ground levels, and the multicolored glass exterior of a parking garage shines further down the street, next to some taller red brick buildings. Glass windows are visible behind the people on the sidewalk. Some of them wear raincoats or windbreakers, and some of them hold umbrellas of various colors. Two men in the right half of the image, one southeast Asian and one white, wear clerical collars. They are all waving wooden rods with thick red ribbons tied to the ends of them in the air. Most of the people present appear to be white and/or over the age of 50. One bearded, middle-aged man in a gray and black windbreaker and black pants points a camera towards the bottom right corner of the image, where a blue banner reads “GOD STANDS WITH THE OPPRESSED.” To the banner’s left, a canvas with a monarch butterfly painted on it is draped over a concrete sidewalk barrier. A blue bicycle is parked behind the man with the camera, and a black car in the street drives past the group of people.
    ‘These are our people’: Weekly vigils unite faiths on ICE’s doorstep
    July 7, 2026
  • “To Be Here” weaves a web of Philadelphia experiences, told by and for the community
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  • The crowd during a performance by The DOJD, Claire Brown's band, in a West Philadelphia basement. (Image-Jacob Magaldi)
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    June 7, 2026
  • Video Style Guide: Pictures-Video-Photography
    May 27, 2026
  • Inspired by ACT UP, this queer Philly collective is throwing mutual aid parties 
    May 4, 2026
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