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Thanks for visiting the Friends of the Free Library of Philadelphia website. The Friends of the Free Library, founded in 1973, is an independent, nonprofit, charitable organization that stewards equitable library services through neighborhood-based Friends Groups who volunteer to support their local branch library.
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BiblioBash 2012

Friends of Holmesburg in the Northeast Times

Friends of Holmesburg Library president Karen Lash was featured in a recent Northeast Times article on resolutions. Click here to read her inspiring quote and call to action for 2012!

Santa Visits Holmesburg Library

Check out the great photos from Friends of Holmesburg's visit from Santa Claus at the Holmesburg Branch, click here for the photos and to read more about the festive event!

Back-to-School Survival Night at Lillian Marrero Library

Check out this amazing video from the Lillian Marrero Back-to-School Survival Night on October 6, filmed and edited by Anthony Paris Films!

Join the Leaders for Readers Challenge

Leaders for Readers Challenge invites the mayoral and city council candidates in the November 8 election to "diligently work to restore the 20 percent ($8 million) cut to the Free Library's city operating budget over the next two years, so that by July 1, 2014, EVERY library is open for 6-day-per-week service, shelves are stocked with books, and programs that support literacy, learning, and job readiness are in place." Children will be invited to sign the Reader's Challenge: "I commit to read more, every day, and to seek help to improve if I need it." Click here for information on how to get involved.

The 2012-2016 Strategic Plan Now Complete

In October 2010 FFL's working Strategic Planning committee, led by Arts and Business Council volunteer facilitator Marlin Kinsey, convened. The committee was composed of FFL board members Jane Lamb, Roseann Gill, Marjorie Dugan, Amy Greer, Mary Kilroy and Gary Giogioso; Free Library Director Siobhan Reardon, Co-director Joe Mc Peak and branch managers Darren Cottman, Sara Palmer and Suzin Rigsby; Friends Group leaders Joe Baker, Susan Posternock, Claudette Raynor, and Sheila Washington; and FFL staffers Susan Montella and Amy Dougherty. For the complete Executive Summary and Strategic Plan Goals, click here.

Leave the libraries alone. You don’t understand their value.

Best-selling author Philip Pullman spoke to a packed meeting on January 20, 2011, called to defend Oxfordshire libraries. He gave this inspirational speech.

Economic Value of the Free Library of Philadelphia

In the summer of 2010, the Library began work with the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government to conduct an economic impact study that quantified its contribution to the regional economy. In other words, the Library wanted answers to the question: What is the Library worth to the citizens of Philadelphia? Download the study here.

Public Libraries Provide a Safety Net for Our Neediest Children

Unequal access to information results in a steadily growing knowledge gap between low- and middle-income children. Among the many remedies recommended to improve the lives of our neediest children, one of the most important resides quietly at the end of the block: the local public library. Read the full article.

Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries

The library's role as a technology resource has increased dramatically, and now nearly every library in the country offers free access to computers and the Internet. Millions of people rely on library technology to find work, apply for college, secure government benefits, learn about critical medical treatments, and connect with their communities.

Unfortunately libraries are struggling to maintain the technology necessary to keep pace with demand. The University of Washington Information School, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, conducted this first of its kind, large-scale study of who uses public computers and Internet access in public libraries, the ways library patrons use this free technology service, why they use it, and how it affects their lives. Click here to access this report.

News Log:

Inquirer (7/15/2010): $47 million in budget cuts spare libraries
Daily News (7/15/2010): In Philadelphia's latest budget, cuts abound
LA Times (7/6/2010): U.S. public libraries: We lose them at our peril