In our continual effort to better serve you, a team of librarians has recently taken a fresh look at our many electronic resources and databases, and has recommended some changes. Public library services have shifted dramatically over the past few years, with not only greatly reduced budgets but also a growth in the information you can connect to online.  Ultimately, we recognize that our electronic databases must be relevant to your needs and provide the excellent library service you deserve.

To that end we will no longer be subscribing to a small selection of our current databases. But don’t worry—we’ve got you covered! The vast majority of the content available in these databases is also available in similar form at freelibrary.org and through other free resources, like Pennsylvania’s PowerLibrary. 

The databases we will no longer be subscribing to include:

• Freegal (ending as of June 1)
• EBSCOhost, which includes MasterFile Premier, Middle Search Plus, Primary Search, ERIC, Novelist Plus, and Novelist K-8 Plus (ending as of July 1)
• Dun & Bradstreet’s Million Dollar Database (ending as of August)

These changes will allow us to focus more on the types of services you value most and continue to be a library that is responsive to your needs.  In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be posting a helpful series of blogs that details just where you can find all the information you need, so check back often to learn how you can maximize your Free Library experience.

To get you started, read our post on Freegal and the many digital music resources available to you through the Free Library and online!

 As always, we welcome your feedback.

Tags: databases, digital collections, music

This is a great time for music lovers. Not so long ago, we had relatively few choices when it came to how we heard our music. We could buy it, which is ideal if you’re sure you’re going to like it once you get it home; listen to the radio or watch MTV, OK as long as you’re content to hear what someone else decides you should hear; or go see it live, again wonderful, but depending on where you live and the kind of music you like, maybe not possible.  And those examples only take into account our very recent history.  Go back much further and people who wanted to hear music had to play it themselves (also not such a bad option, as any musician will tell you). 

Now though, anyone with access to the Internet also has access to a nearly limitless amount of music, much of it free and entirely legal.  I don’t mean that online music can or should take the place of buying CDs and records, seeing music live, or making music yourself, just that it’s awfully nice to be able to satisfy your musical curiosity so easily.  So, while the Free Library will no longer be offering the Freegal database of downloadable music, there are still plenty of great ways to access your favorite tunes.

Let’s look at some of your options. 

Library Streaming Services
While music on the open web is great and the amount of content is growing every day, you still can’t find everything. That’s where the library can help. Check out our streaming music service over at the Download Media page. Online Music from Alexander Street Press is comprised of six individual collections focusing on jazz, classical, traditional, and world music.  You can stream all day, create playlists, and more.  A library card is required to login and a world of great listening awaits.

Online Streaming Services
Subscription services like Spotify, Pandora, and Last.fm are also a great way to hear music online. These services are free and supported by advertising – just like radio – except that here you get to choose what you want to hear.  Spotify lets you listen to the specific songs, artists, and albums you choose without limitations, while Pandora and Last.fm offer you the ability to create custom radio stations based on the music you love.  At the basic (ad-supported) level each of these services are free. Even better, all indications are that the market for streaming music online is about to get even bigger with recent reports that Amazon, Apple, and Google are all hoping to get into the market. 

Embrace the video wormhole!
As if listening to your favorite music weren’t addictive enough, there is also a nearly endless stream of music video on sites like YouTube and Vevo. Vevo is sponsored by three of the “Big Four” major record companies and serves up new music videos and hits from some pop’s biggest starts. YouTube, of course, is also a great source for today’s hottest videos, as well as your old favorites from the video era, but the real fun begins when you discover one of YouTube’s many hidden corners of music arcana.  From lost dance floor gems,  to Afro-rock greats, to forgotten Philadelphia A-sides, these fan created videos offer a music wormhole too fun not to allow yourself to fall into now and then. 

Of course, all this is only the beginning.  You can also find new music on aggregators like The Hype Machine; search out tomorrow’s hits on Bandcamp, or hear a little of everything on SoundCloud.  Please share your favorite sources for online music with us in the comments below. 

Tags: databases, music

Another resource and ally in the Open Data movement (as I've written about in previous blog posts) has popped up online as of last week: CultureBlocks.com.

CultureBlocks is a free web-based mapping tool that collects cultural data and assets throughout Philadelphia (i.e. schools, rec centers, public transportation, parks, and libraries) which can be combined with economic, demographic and geographic census data (i.e. neighborhoods, council districts, and school catchments) to create detailed and robust maps to inform individuals and organizations on arts initiatives, investments, and neighborhood revitilization.

The Free Library is an integral part of neighborhoods in Philadelphia and invaluable cultural asset in the city that promotes literacy and the arts.

The site was launched by the City of Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; the City of Philadelphia Department of Commerce; The Reinvestment Fund’s (TRF) Policy Map; and the Social Impact of the Arts Project (SAIP) at the University of Pennsylvania; and is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and ArtPlace.

The web-tool is being managed by the Office of Arts Culture and the Creative Economy, which will coordinate the use of CultureBlocks among City agencies and provide technical assistance to public users. Moira Baylson, Deputy Cultural Officer of the OACCE, says, "The vision of CultureBlocks is to use data to foster economic and social vitality in Philadelphia neighborhoods."

Overall, CultureBlocks it is a very robust site and great tool to learn more about the arts and how they relate to the neighbrohoods that make Philadelphia a vibrant, exciting, and interesting place to live, work, and visit.

In related news, be on the lookout for some new map updates and features from Free Library in the coming weeks!

Tags: art, databases, maps, tech

We are excited to present VuFind, the newest version of our online catalog, starting on Wednesday, February 20th!

We've been running VuFind in beta since early last year, so some of you may already be familiar with it. But whether you have used it before or will be using it for the first time, below are some of the new and exciting features of our new online catalog.

New Features:

Your Library Account
This new online catalog is fully integrated with your library account. Once you log in, you’ll be able to see and manage your Profile Information, Checkouts, Holds, Fines, and Favorites. You’ll be able to stay logged in until you choose to log out, no more having to repeatedly login to place holds or access your account, even if you open different browser windows or tabs. Your login session lasts for one hour unless you manually logout before the hour expires.

Improved Search Results
After you enter your search criteria, you will be able to narrow down your search results by clicking on filters such as Format, Branch, Author, Language, Genre, Era, Region, Year of Publication, and even see more Suggested Topics within your search parameters in the left sidebar. There is also a very robust and precise Advancd Search feature available with numerous useful search values that can be used for very accurate searches.   

Browsing Our Catalog
You can now easily browse all items from a particular Branch, Author, Topic, Genre, Region, Era or patron generated Tags!
There is also now a New Items link that will allow you to browse all the newest titles that have been added to our catalog with a date indicating the latest catalog update.

Viewing Search History
Once logged into your account, a record of your Search History for that login session will be available that you can then go back and view and refine or save the search to access it at a later date. Once you logout of your session, your Search History will be purged. You also have the option to purge your Search History at anytime while you are still logged into your account by clicking on the "Purge my unsaved searches" link. Your Search History is viewable only by you when you are logged into your account and is not public. You can also email your search histories to yourself or to others if you so choose.

Save and Share
You can bookmark or send links to items in our catalog, with links that never expire. Email items or whole searches to yourself, send them as text messages, or build RSS feeds. Use Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to tell your friends what you’re reading, listening to or watching now.   

Create Favorites
When logged into your library account, you can search the catalog and save any items of interest as Favorites. Your Favorites will be private – only you can view them – and you can set up as many as you want or need. Add private notes to the items you’ve saved. Keep a list of what you’ve already read, or what you want to read next.   

Add Tags
While logged in, you can add Tags to any catalog item. Anyone can search or browse the Tags that have been added to catalog items. Tag our Victorian-era books as “steampunk”, tag a 50's horror dvd as "Cheesy B Movie" or tag all the mp3's by your favorite musician or band as “Garage Rock” and make selections easier and more fun to find!

Add Comments
Have something to say? You only need to login with your library account and you can add comments on any library materials in our catalog.

Goodreads Reviews
Read reviews and recommendations from Goodreads users for books you find in our catalog.

As with any new web feature on our site, we welcome your feedback. You can comment on this blog post or send us your comments directly. We will gather your suggestions, make adjustments, and fix any bugs that turn up.

We think you will really enjoy all the features of our new online catalog!

Tags: databases, tech, website

The 55th annual Grammy awards were held this week in Los Angeles and the world was invited to sit on its collective couch and watch. Did the Grammys reaffirm your faith in pop music? Or like many in this age of increasingly fractured pop culture, where each of us is invited to delve ever deeper into our own pools of idiosyncratic taste, did you simply find yourself wondering, "Who are these people?"

Personally, I was surprised to discover that contrary to what I had thought, Mumford and Sons are not part of an elaborate J Crew advertising campaign, but are real band. Who knew?

Thankfully, the Free Library of Philadelphia has resources to keep me, and others like me, au courant. Head over to our downloadable media page and checkout Freegal. Freegal is a service that allows Free Library card holders to download three free MP3 each week. Once downloaded, these files are yours to keep. That's Freegal - free and legal.

Here are just a few of the Grammy winners and nominees you'll find at Freegal:

•  Mumford & Sons
• Adele
• Kelly Clarkson
• Usher
• Beyoncé
• Carrie Underwood
• Jack White
• P!nk
• Alabama Shakes
• Miguel 

Tags: databases, music