Celebrate the long summer nights with Moonight Movies from Mt. Airy USA! Beginning Friday, June 21 and running through Friday, August 16, Moonlight Movies will be shown at 8:30 p.m. in the park adjacent to the Lovett Library (6945 Germantown Avenue). Bring lawn chairs, blankets, food, and friends, and settle in to watch your favorite family movies! Moviegoers can also partake in Dining Under the Stars, with pop-up food vendors from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. each Friday.
With nine different movies scheduled--and a special simulcast of a Phillies game on July 24--Moonlight Movies in Mt. Airy is sure to offer up plenty of summer memories!
The following films – selected by public vote – will be screened:
Friday, June 21: Life of Pi
Friday, June 28: Field of Dreams
Friday, July 5: Akeelah and the Bee
Friday, July 12: Grease
Friday, July 19: Brave
Wednesday, July 24th- 8:15pm: Phillies v. Cardinals
2013 marks the 75th anniversary of "The Man of Steel," "The Last Son of Krypton," "The Man of Tomorrow"; the quintessential figure that helped invent the entire comic book superhero genre--Superman!
Created in Cleveland, Ohio, by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933, Superman debuted on the cover of Action Comics # 1 in June 1938 and the world has never been the same since. Supes is totally ingrained in American culture now, from comic books to television, movies, and all other mass media in between. Superman has reached iconic status with his red and blue costume and big, bright "S" logo, recognized all over the world as a symbol for truth and justice. He's been praised and debated by scholars and critics and basically defined the very definition of "hero." With the new film Man of Steel hitting theaters this weekend, Superman has soared back into the cultural spotlight.
Here's a "Friday Five" of books in the Superman canon to bring you up to (super) speed.
The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told
by Jerry Siegel, Joel Shuster, Jim Steranko, John Byrne, Dick Giordano, Curt Swan, Mike Mignola, Lee Bermejo, Alex Ross, and others.
As good a place as any to start for new and old fans alike, you get a cross-section of 50 odd years of Superman stories including Superman's origin.
Quintessential Silver Age Superman stories written by comics legend Alan Moore. Tells of the final adventure of the Man of Steel featuring his last stand against Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and other villainous foes in his rogue's gallery.
Possibly the best modern-day version of Superman created, All-Star Superman goes back to the very basics of the character, showcasing his god-like presence and powers and yet also illuminating his very human-like soul. Created by acclaimed writer Grant Morrison and accompained by the unique and extremely detailed artwork of Frank Quitely. Highly reccommended!
We all know Superman is a fictional character with other wordly powers, but is there any way to explain those powers in a real world setting? Author Mark Wolverton attempts to do just that, applying theories and research of modern science to analyze Superman's invulnerability, ability to fly, super-strength, super-speed, super-hearing,
x-ray vision, heat vision, and his weakness to kryptonite.
The first book to really go in-depth and not only tell the history of the Man of Steel himself but also relate the stories of all of the people behind the scenes who have helped to create this larger-than-life-mythology of Superman for over 75 years. Essential reading!
Browse the search topic "Superman" in our online catalog for more than 300 super-powered books, DVDs, and CDs from our collections!
Leave us a comment below and let us know some of your favorite Superman or other superhero stories.
You may have noticed a few of our librarians' shining faces around town lately on buses, billboards, subway placards, and more, as part of our ad campaign in partnership with ADLOOP. We thought you may want to get to know a little more about these awesome information gurus who smile back at you every day on your commute home. You've met Adam, K-Fai, and Tiffany. It's now Karin's turn in the spotlight!
Your favorite thing about your job:
I imagine that some form of the answer “because I like helping people” will show up at some point, so ditto that sentiment. My personal addition would be finding amazingly neat things almost every day. For instance, I opened up a box I thought held spare tissue paper only to discover a rhinestone-encrusted headdress that was worn by actress and dancer Gilda Gray in the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies. And no, though I was very tempted, I didn’t try it on.
Your librarian superpower:
I ever so lovingly joke that I am a fount of useless knowledge. Now, in reality, I don’t consider any knowledge to be useless, so I suppose I should say that my librarian superpower is the ability to remember weird and esoteric facts, though not always at the moment that I need them. When it’s working, I’m a great person to have on your pub quiz team. When it’s not, well, that’s just frustrating for everyone.
Most pervasive (and incorrect) librarian stereotype:
There are a lot of them out there, but I think the one I hear most (besides “you don’t look like a librarian”) is people saying how lucky I am because I get to read all day. There are days that I wish that were the case. But in reality, being a librarian is about people. Yes, it’s also about the materials we work with, but what I do, what we do, is match patrons up with those materials and give them the tools to find items they need in the future. Reading is something I do both because I love it and to support my work, but it’s something I only rarely get to do as a part of my job during my work hours. Besides, it’s far more comfortable to read curled up on my couch than sitting at the reference desk.
Most pervasive (and, okay, maybe a *little* correct) librarian stereotype:
Be they paperback, hardback, audio, electronic, or some other format, we like books. We also really like talking about books and sharing them with everyone.
Insider tip about the Theatre Collection:
This is only an insider tip because so few people know about the Collection (unfortunately). The Theatre Collection deals with a lot more than just theatre. We also have reference books and archival material on film, especially early American film, television, radio, vaudeville, burlesque, circus, puppetry, and other kinds of popular entertainment.
As for something a little more particular, I’d say for people to keep in mind that a lot of the non-book material in the Collection isn’t searchable via our online catalog and as of right now we only have a few finding aids up, though we’re working on that as best we can. So if you’re doing research in the subjects we cover, don’t hesitate to send me an email or call to find out what we have available. You never know what I might find, and there’s nothing I like more than sharing the treasures in the Collection. But no, I’m sorry, you can’t try on the headdress, either.
Online Summer Reading is in full swing right now here at the Free Library with kids, teens, and adults from all over Philadelphia reading as much as they can all summer long to meet our 20-Million-Minute Challenge goal!
For school-aged children from grades K - 12, we've partnered with The School District of Philadelphia on reccommended summer reading lists. This year, you can find those booklists and titles easier than ever before as we've integrated them into a special featured tab on our main online catalog page.
Just click on the tab for your appropriate grade level, scroll through the book covers and titles displayed, and then click on the book you want to read.
You'll then be taken to the catalog page for that book where you can view its availability and place a hold on it to check it out!
Online Summer Reading program runs from June 1st through August 31st, 2013.
For more information call 215 686-5372 or visit freelibrary.org/summerreading.
In celebration of GLBTQ Pride Month, the Independence Library, 18 South 7th Street, will host a casual dessert and coffee social on Friday, June 28 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Our library is the home of the Barbara Gittings GLBTQ Collection, the largest GLBTQ public library collection east of San Francisco. Refreshments for our meet-and-greet will be provided by the generous Friends of the Independence Branch. For more information, call 215-685-1633 or e-mail glbtlibrary@yahoo.com.
For any of you who do not already know her name, Barbara Gittings was among a small, fearless group of people who demonstrated for the civil rights of the gay community during the mid-1960s at the Pentagon, the White House and Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. She fought for, among other things, an end to employment discrimination by the federal government against homosexuals, and for inclusion of gay and lesbian materials in public library collections. Barbara headed the Gay Task Force of the American Library Association for 15 years and edited its Gay Bibliography and other gay reading lists.
The Barbara Gittings GLBTQ Collection was created in 2001 as a living tribute to Barbara Gittings by her friends who knew she had had a reoccurrence of cancer and wanted to honor her with a collection in her name while she was still alive to see it. Barbara and her life partner, the photojournalist Kay Tobin Lahusen, were at the branch for the collection’s dedication. Barbara died in 2007, but the collection continues as a living tribute to her memory and her achievements.
Many volumes from the collection were destroyed when the ceiling sprinklers were triggered by a building renovation, and many GLBTQ movies were lent out to other branches and never returned. However, the Free Library has renewed its commitment to the collection, allowing it to remain in place at the Independence Library, and purchasing replacement books and videos. The Friends of the Independence Branch are also generous donors, purchasing new materials including recent purchases of GLBTQ graphic novels. The Barbara Gittings GLBTQ Collection serves our local community, but also fills interlibrary loan requests from people throughout Pennsylvania and the U.S.
If you have never browsed the Barbara Gittings GLBTQ Collection, why not stop by? We have a circulating collection of popular queer movies, mysteries, romances, science fiction, fantasy, and general fiction books, with many nonfiction choices as well.
A special note: 2015 is the 50th Anniversary of the first Reminder Day Demonstration at Independence Hall. From 1965 to 1969, a small group of visionary pioneers stepped forward each July 4th to picket, carrying signs that called for equality and fair treatment for homosexuals. These demonstrations were the first sustained national effort to focus public attention on the discrimination faced by gay people and encouraged GLBTQ Americans to organize for equality. These demonstrations are commemorated by an official Pennsylvania historical marker at 6th and Chestnut Streets. Philadelphians Barbara Gittings and Kay Lahusen were among the demonstration organizers.
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