Philadelphia has one of the largest free libraries in the entire world. The collection of books and other resources in the Free Library of Philadelphia is quite incredible. It has lot of branches across the country and the wide categories of resources in the library's collection requires everyone planning to use the library to have a good idea as to what they can expect by becoming the member of the library. The plentiful resources and many programs/services that are offered by the Free library of Philadelphia make it one of the leading libraries in the world that is just free.

There are also many programs and activities organized by the Free library of Philadelphia including classes and lectures organized by the members themselves. There is always some good useful activity going on, be it the Career Services/workshops or library's initiative to help the students online with their homeworks and stuff. The discussions on the different topics and the different books make the library a base for knowledge gathering. It helps in promoting the books and the habit of reading among everyone.

The Free Library of Philadelphia remains as one of the foremost library to have internet accesses enabled for the members and many activities are done online. This makes the library accessible for everyone with leisure time in their home. They can have information at the finger tips! There is also initiative to have most of the content converted to electronic form, so magazines and other books only available as hard copies, can be made accessible through the computer.

Finding free library of Philadelphia digital library collections is pretty simple, most Philadelphia travel guides usually explain the beauty and rich historical culture of the city, which most history buffs would find very interesting.

There is one sure way to find Philadelphia digital library collections without travelling all the way to Philly:

- Go online!

The internet is the fastest, efficient and reliable way to get almost all the information you desire and this includes the free library of Philadelphia digital library collections. All you need is a computer and internet connectivity.

http://libwww.library.phila.gov/CenCol/

http://libwww.freelibrary.org/fraktur/

- What you would need to view the Free Library of Philadelphia Library website

You will need browsers:

- Netscape Version 4x or greater with Javascript turned on

- Internet explorer 4.x

- Desktop setting of 800 x 600 pixels, the color should be set to "High Color" or "True Color". The visuals can be optimally viewed on a 17″ monitor/screen.

According to most online Philadelphia travel guides, the Free Library of Philadelphia houses some of the greatest photographs and art work collections in the United States - most of these works can be viewed online, thanks to the power of technology.

http://harperlibrary.typepad.com/my_weblog/free-library-of-philadelphia/

The Free Library of Philadelphia is a public library system serving the city of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. The library offers one of the most extensive collections of the country, ranging from magazines and books to art, film, music and other media.

About the Library

The Free Library of Philadelphia was founded in the year 1891 and consists of over 1 million volumes. The Greek Revival building of the central library with its grand entrance hall, enormous reading rooms and sweeping marble staircase looks the way a library should look. The Edwin S Fleisher collection of the library with over 12,000 musical scores is the largest in the world. The department of history and social science has around 100,000 guidebooks, charts and maps. The library's rare-book room consists of a beautiful suite, which houses ancient Sumerian clay tablets, first editions of Dickens, medieval and also more modern manuscripts. The Children's department has the largest children's books collection of the city in a setting made for kids.

Branches

The Free Library of Philadelphia has 54 library locations, located throughout Philadelphia, which includes 1 Central Library, 49 branches, 3 regional libraries and 1 library for the Physically Handicapped and the Blind. However, the mayor in response to financial crisis faced by the city has decided to shut down 11 branches of the public library to save money. On December 2008, hundreds of parents, teachers and schoolchildren marched to protest the imminent closure of the library's 11 branches.

Location of the Central Library

The Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia is located at 19th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Philadelphia's Logan Circle.

Library Hours

The library remains open from 9 am to 9 pm on Monday to Wednesday, from 9 pm to 5 pm on Saturday, and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday. During late May to September, the library remains closed on Sunday. You can take tour of the rare book room from 11 am on Wednesdays.

For Philadelphia travel information to the Free library of Philadelphia you can visit:

http://www.library.phila.gov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Library_of_Philadelphia