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Tue, June 30, 2009
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Philadelphia is a big music town, and we are home to many musical talents such as opera singer Marian Anderson, pop sensation Frankie Avalon, jazz legends John Coltrane, Grover Washington and Rufus Harley, songwriters G. Love and Amos Lee, R&B groups The Delfonics, Hall and Oates and Boyz II Men as well as hip hop artists Will Smith, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Roots to name a few.
In Philly, music is in our bones, and the death of pop music icon Michael Jackson was felt throughout the city. I can personally remember my first introduction to Michael Jackson’s music. I was sitting on the floor, five inches away from the television, watching the “world premiere” of the Thriller video. I was a bit too young to fully understand everything going on, but I can distinctly remember the excitement around me and knew he was doing something unique.
On June 25, when the news of Michael Jackson’s death hit the airwaves, journalist and author Farai Chideya was at the Parkway Central Library to discuss her debut novel, Kiss the Sky, which chronicles the ups and downs of a black female rocker attempting to make a musical comeback amidst struggles with love, friendship, and faith. She spent the first part of her talk discussing Michael Jackson and celebrity. You can listen or download the podcast here (or subscribe to our podcasts via iTunes).
The Parkway Central Library's Music Department also provides many resources for music lovers. Here are some quick facts you might not know about our music department:
You can listen to our vast recording collection, including CDs and LPs, on one of our turntables or CD players (bring your head phones or use ours). Each patron can listen for an hour and a half each day using their library card.
You can view more than 350,00 titles in our sheet music collection (which can be used in the department)
You can check out popular songbooks of artists and shows as well as classical scores and instructional method books.
Check out biographies on composers, artists and musicans as well as books on music history, musical instruments and music business.
Our Chamber Music Collection is a unique circulating collection of scores and parts for ensembles available to amateur and professional musicians from all music periods (from Baroque to Modern) that can be borrowed with a refundable deposit.
Our Drinker Choral Music Library is the largest library of choral music scores and song books in the United States available to choirs and choral groups
Our Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music is the world’s largest lending library of orchestral performance materials with over 21,000 titles available to music organizations and orchestras.
Feel free to leave comments about music you love!
Tags:
music
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A patron listening to an LP on one of our turntables |
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A couple of Michael Jackson's music sheets in our collection |
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A view inside the Music Department |
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Tue, June 23, 2009
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On June 3rd the Lovett Branch located in Mt. Airy went to the dogs!
Guests learned about greyhound rescue efforts with a presentation by Citizens Against Greyhound Racing and got to meet some of the adorable greyhounds.
You can view all the upcoming events at this branch and other braches all over the city in our Events section.
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One of the greyhounds kisses a library patron |
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Bailey modeling authentic racing gear |
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Mon, June 15, 2009
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Hip Map Popup |
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Hip Map Streetview |
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Step back in time and explore the Philadelphia of yesterday using the Free Library of Philadelphia's Historical Images of Philadelphia digital collection with Google Maps. A portion of our records have been geocoded to include latitude and longitude, and when you view an image from our collection on Google Maps, you can see the image, its description, and where it was taken.
Not sure where to start? Try selecting groups of images by neighborhood using the checkboxes located at the top of the page. You can also compare the digital collections image to the current street view of a location and see how much an area has changed over the years.
There are a little more than 100 images currently available —as we add locations to more images from our digital collections, they will begin to appear on this map. So be sure to check back periodically to see new additions!
Historical Images of Philadelphia Map
Tags:
digital collections,
maps
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Thu, June 11, 2009
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This morning, NBC’s Today Show explored the current state of libraries across the country—much like the Free Library of Philadelphia, the libraries profiled in the segment are experiencing an increase in traffic, a growing demand for computer access, and reduced hours, days of service, and budgets.
In times of economic strain and job loss, do you use your local library differently? Do you check out DVDs from the Library instead of paying to rent movies at national rental chains? Do you borrow career guidebooks, attend résumé-writing workshops, or apply for jobs using the Library’s computers or wireless access?
Check out the clip below for how libraries truly are the lifeline of communities across the country and let us know how you use your library!
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Wed, June 3, 2009
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Need a quick answer to a question to settle that office debate? Need to know when Parkway Central Closes or when Northeast Regional Library opens? With the Free Library of Philadelphia's new text-a-librarian service, you can have your answers at your fingertips.
Simply text a message to 66746. In the message box, type “askfree” and a space, then your question. Example: askfree What are the hours at Parkway Central?
Text messages should be for quick, simple questions that can be answered in short responses. A librarian should answer within two hours and usually much, much sooner. Our average response time is under five minutes. In the orange ASK section of our home page, you can click on “Text” to see a longer explanation in the form of an FAQ.
The Free Library of Philadelphia does not charge the patron for this service, however, cell phone providers generally charge customers for sending and/or receiving text messages.
There are also other ways to communicate and ask questions. Of course, we would love for you to visit one of our many library locations, check out books, and attend a program. If you can't come in person, you can call our General Information Department at 215-686-5322 or call your local branch.
Via the internet, the library offers a 24/7 chat service @ Ask Here PA. This service is designed to provide fast answers to your questions, using information found on the internet and in databases funded by the library. You can chat with a librarian, who will send you links to websites or articles contaning the information you requested. When Free Library staff is not available, a librarian from another library in Pennsylvania or even one from as far away as California will be there to assist you! If your question involves lengthy research or relates to your library record, the librarian will get you started and Free Library staff will follow up within two business days.
More involved research questions and comments can be sent to us directly via email. A librarian will answer your question within two business days.
So text, chat, email, phone or visit! The Free Library of Philadelphia staff is waiting for all of your questions.
Tags:
tech
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