Off the Shelf - Fall 2016

FALL 2016

VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 1

OFF the SHELF A MAGAZINE FROM THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA

MOLDING MINDS & MAKING CONNECTIONS: TEEN PROGRAMMING AT THE FREE LIBRARY

ALSO INSIDE: CUBAN MUSICAL TREASURES FROM THE FLEISHER COLLECTION FREE LIBRARY PRISON SERVICES THE NEW TACONY LIBRARY AND ARTS BUILDING

SECURE THE FREE LIBRARY’S TOMORROW M A K E A P L A N N E D G I F T TO DAY The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation is pleased to offer our supporters a unique way to make a difference to the future of the Library—by establishing a Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA). A CGA enables you to receive a guaranteed income for life in return for an outright gift today. Rates for CGAs are based on your age, and CGAs can be established for as little as $10,000, using cash or highly appreciated stock. Current rates are below as of October 1, 2016.

FOR MORE ABOUT CGAS—AS WELL AS ESTATE GIFTS—PLEASE CONTACT AMANDA GOLDSTEIN, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, CAMPAIGN, AT 215-567-7710 OR GOLDSTEINA@FREELIBRARY.ORG. SAMPLE RATES FOR A $10,000 SINGLE LIFE ANNUITY ANNUITANT AGE

65

70

75

80

85

90+

ANNUITANT RATE

4.7%

5.1%

5.8%

6.8%

7.8%

9%

CHARITABLE DEDUCTION $2955.60

$3691.20

$4,267.80

$4,791.10

$5,501.90

$6,190

ANNUAL PAYMENT

$510

$580

$680

$780

$900

$470

Rates current as of October 1, 2016 Not intended as legal, tax, or investment advice

UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS FOR MORE INFO: 215-567-4341 • FREELIBRARY.ORG/AUTHOREVENTS

NOV 15 • 7:30 PM

NOV 16 • 7:30 PM

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NOV 22 • 7:30 PM

NOV 29 • 7:30 PM

TICKET REQUIRED

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Robbie Robertson

John Edgar Wideman

Ross King

Janet Evanovich

Wally Lamb

Testimony

Writing to Save a Life: The Louis Till File

Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies

DEC 1 • 7:30 PM

DEC 6 • 7:30 PM

DEC 8 • 7:30 PM

DEC 13 • 7:30 PM

DEC 15 • 7:30 PM

FREE

FREE

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Kate Bornstein

Alexandra Horowitz

Turbo Twenty-Three: A Stephanie Plum Novel

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us

Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell

Michael Chabon Moonglow

Dava Sobel The Glass Universe with

Priyamvada Natarajan Mapping the Heavens

I’ll Take You There

Wesley Lowery They Can’t Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America’s Racial Justice Movement

FROM THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR

FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR

Siobhan A. Reardon

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Joseph Benford CHIEF OF STAFF

Indira C. Scott INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT

Susan S. Gould

VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Sandra Horrocks

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Alix Gerz

SENIOR WRITER AND EDITOR

Julie Berger

COMMUNICATIONS AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

Samantha Maldonado

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Jennifer Donsky Ned Scharff

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ryan Brandenberg (pages 3, 4, 8, 10, 11) Curt Hudson (page 4) FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION

1901 Vine Street, Suite 111 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-567-7710 freelibrary.org/support OFF THE SHELF

offtheshelf@freelibrary.org freelibrary.org/publications

In these pages, you’ll also read about the now-open Tacony Library and Arts Building, catch up on the latest news from around the system, and find out what novelist Ann Patchett has to say about running her own independent book store.

Our staff works to develop ever-more extra-ordinary programs every day. Come visit us this season to see what’s in store.

Warmly,

Siobhan A. Reardon

PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR

WHAT’S INSIDE 4 6 7 8 12 14 15

NEWS AND NOTES HIDDEN GEMS: RESURRECTING CUBA’S FORGOTTEN MUSICAL TREASURES FOCUS ON: FREE LIBRARY PRISON SERVICES MOLDING MINDS AND MAKING CONNECTIONS: TEEN PROGRAMMING AT THE FREE LIBRARY FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS: TACONY LIBRARY AND ARTS BUILDING THE FINAL WORD: ANN PATCHETT BOARD LISTS

ER JON ROEM

ON THE COVER AND BELOW: MAKER PROGRAMMING AT THE FREE LIBRARY OFFERS PARTICIPANTS HANDS-ON PROJECTS THAT FUSE TECHNOLOGY AND ARTS.

Our Prison Services project, begun in February 2016, is bringing families together through televisit storytimes. As the United States begins restoring its historic ties to Cuba, we are building a bridge to Cuban orchestral stages through our renowned Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music. And our cover story, “Molding Minds and Making Connections: Teen Programming at the Free Library,” takes a peek inside what teens are doing in our libraries across the city—everything from putting on fashion shows to meeting notable authors to getting hands-on work experience. All of these programs are part of our vision for what library programming looks like in the 21st century.

PHOTO BY

Off the Shelf is published twice annually for supporters of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation and showcases the Library’s educational, economic, and cultural contributions to the region.

Welcome to the fall 2016 issue of Off the Shelf !

The Free Library is well known for its commitment to advancing literacy in its many forms—reading, technological, even culinary. Yet we also touch lives every day in unexpected ways, going beyond the bounds of what people think of when they think of libraries. In this issue, we are celebrating some of the off-the-beaten-path ways the Library makes a deep impact on Philadelphians of all ages and stages.

2017

ANNOUNCING THE

FEATURED SELECTION

We are excited to announce that for our 15th anniversary year, One Book, One Philadelphia will feature Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is the story of an eccentric and gifted young man who gains a deeper understanding of himself while solving a neighborhood mystery. The New Yorker says, “This original and affecting novel is a triumph of empathy,” and The Daily Telegraph states, “Haddon is to be congratulated for imagining a new kind of hero, for the humbling instruction this warm and often funny novel offers and for showing us that the best lives are lived where differences are cherished.”

PLEASE JOIN US ON JANUARY 25, 2017, FOR AN EXCITING KICKOFF CELEBRATION OF ONE BOOK, ONE PHILADELPHIA IN PARKWAY CENTRAL LIBRARY’S MONTGOMERY AUDITORIUM AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE MEANTIME, START READING!

IN MEMORIAM We are saddened to report the recent loss of three beloved members of the Free Library family.

RUTH WILLIAMS, wife of Emeritus Board Member A. Morris Williams, Jr., was a staunch advocate for children’s education and literacy, as well as a major supporter of Author Events programming and our neighborhood libraries.

She never wavered in her commitment to this great institution.

PATRICIA KIND, a lifelong Library supporter, gave generously to support the Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative, as well as Summer Reading—gifts that continue to impact lives around the city.

CHARLES SMITH, who served the library for 32 years and retired this past spring as Assistant Chief of Parkway Central Library, following many years of leading the Business Department, helped to launch the new Business Resource and Innovation Center.

We will deeply miss them all.

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AROUND THE SYSTEM 1 Philadelphia-born rapper Freeway visited teens in Paschalville Library’s Teenscape music and makerspace for a recording session.

2 Mayor Jim Kenney read to children at Widener Library, in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

3 Customers celebrated South Philadelphia Library’s grand opening at a giant block party.

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4 Words at Play Vocabulary Initiative installed “book nooks” in barbershops in North Philadelphia.

CUSTOMER CORNER SARAH MILLER

“I’ve been going to the library for my entire life,” says Sarah Miller, a fast talker who likes basketball and volunteers at her school library.

“It’s a place that’s important to me.”

Many people can relate to her sentiment, but at 13 years old, Sarah’s “entire life” so far is comparatively short. Still, in the lifespan of a young teen, the Free Library has made an impact on her—so much so that she requested that guests at her recent Bat Mitzvah donate to the Free Library in lieu of gifts for her.

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Sarah’s decision stems from memories made in Mount Airy’s Lovett Memorial Library, where, as an early reader, she’d run upstairs to the Children’s Department and pick out books to read before bedtime—at first with the help of her mom, and then gradually by herself. She and her sisters would race to sit in a big comfy chair there to peruse their selections. “Getting there first was a big deal,” she says.

Summer Reading programs kept Sarah busy as she got a little older and was out of school, and in the winter, when a snow day was forecast, she’d borrow movies. As she progresses through school, Sarah anticipates that her visits to the library might take a different shape: “I think I’ll start using the library more for research and fun projects that need outside resources.”

Sarah appreciates that she can rely on the library for its peaceful environment and for a wide selection of books (fantasy and science fiction are her favorites), as well as audiobooks to take on long car rides. “One of the things that I love about libraries in general is that [they provide] a great way for people who might not be in the greatest financial situation to read books,” she says. “The staff are really nice and always willing to help you find whatever you need.”

While Lovett is under construction as part of Building Inspiration, Sarah goes to the Chestnut Hill Library. The Free Library has been an integral part of her personal history in fostering her love of reading and learning. Its presence in her life has been a present, and so for Sarah, giving back at such a young age makes sense.

• • • BY SAMANTHA MALDONADO

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• • • BY NED SCHARFF

HIDDEN GEMS

Resurrecting Cuba’s Forgotten Musical Treasures As the United States begins restoring its historic ties to Cuba, the Free Library of Philadelphia is reaching out as well—by sharing its unique collection of some of the island nation’s nearly forgotten classical music compositions.

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The concerto represents a piece that was simply lost to time, but other Cuban pieces in Fleisher—such as Homenaje a la Tonadilla by Julián Orbón and Obertura una Farsa Seria by Aurelio de la Vega— represent works that were banned when their composers left Cuba in the wake of the Revolution. Today, Cuba is welcoming back these pieces with open arms.

“Cuba has a priceless musical tradition that is integral to its national pride,” says Edwin A. Fleisher Collection Curator Gary Galván, who has visited Havana twice this year in an effort to return Cuban works to the orchestra stages of their native land, as well as to bring new Cuban works to the United States and the world.

As Galván shuttles back and forth to Havana to meet famed composers’ descendants, converse with living composers, and secure reprinting rights, the works that are inspiring him will be on display back at the Library.

The Library’s Fleisher Collection— the world’s largest lending library for orchestral performance sets— is the largest and one of the most important repositories of Pan American works in the world. Among its holdings are 24 Cuban scores once thought lost or missing that represent the work of 14 composers.

One of the long-missing pieces is Edgardo Martin’s Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, a beautiful 100-page conductor’s manuscript meticulously hand-copied by Venancio Flores, Fleisher’s personal music copyist.

Martin (1915–2004), a teacher, critic, and esteemed composer, was known for his dance-like cross rhythms and syncopated Latin sound.

The manuscript was composed from published parts and intended for use by the pioneering Symphony Club—the first training orchestra in the United States, which was founded

by Fleisher. It is, says Galván, a short, “attainable” piece with characteristic

Latin rhythms and “a distinct Cuban accent.” He adds that it represents the type of bright, poppy music that has the ability “to bring new faces, different faces into the concert hall.”

The special installation, Alma Vieja/ Alma Nueva (Old Soul/New Soul), will feature an assortment of these rare classical Cuban manuscripts, as well as links to online audio recordings of other Cuban classics.

Galván’s ultimate goal for the uncovered pieces is to inspire simultaneous concerts of the same works by orchestras in Havana and the States, preferably in Philadelphia, he says.

TOP: COVER PAGE FOR EDGARDO MARTIN’S CONCERTO FOR HORN AND ORCHESTRA, SHOWCASING THE BEAUTIFUL HAND LETTERING OF EDWIN FLEISHER’S PERSONAL MUSIC COPYIST VENANCIO FLORES BOTTOM: CURATOR GARY GALVÁN IN HAVANA

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“The Cubans are immensely excited about our work to revisit and resurrect a vital part of their musical history and culture,” reports Galván. “Our efforts there are the perfect complement to any diplomatic initiative.”

ALMA VIEJA/ALMA NUEVA WILL BE ON DISPLAY IN THE HALLWAY CASES OUTSIDE OF THE FLEISHER COLLECTION FROM JANUARY 1 THROUGH APRIL 30, 2017 AND WILL BE ACCESSIBLE DURING PARKWAY CENTRAL PUBLIC HOURS.

FOCUS ON

FREE LIBRARY PRISON SERVICES

A LITTLE BOY GAZES INTO A FREE LIBRARY VIDEO SCREEN WHEN SUDDENLY A FAMILIAR FACE APPEARS—THAT OF THE BOY’S FATHER, AN INMATE IN A PHILADELPHIA PRISON. “DAD,” THE BOY EXCLAIMS, “WHERE ARE YOU? I MISS YOU!” OVER THE NEXT EXTRAORDINARY HOUR, FATHER AND SON READ BOOKS TOGETHER, PRACTICE SPELLING, SING SONGS, TALK ABOUT SCHOOL, AND PRAY FOR EACH OTHER. BY THE SESSION’S END, EVEN THE EYES OF A SUPERVISING LIBRARIAN ARE DAMP WITH EMOTION. Their time together is part of Stories Alive, a pilot family literacy program connecting families separated by incarceration.

Every Saturday, families who sign up can go to the Frankford, Kensington, or Widener neighborhood libraries to spend an hour visiting and reading with incarcerated parents via videoconference, in a private room set up at each library.

Families can choose from a range of books—selected by a children’s librarian, with a focus on parent-child relationships and appropriate for children ages 12 and under—that have been placed in both the libraries and the prisons. Children leave with copies of the books they read, theirs to keep.

Through this program, families not only achieve meaningful interactions while separated, but they familiarize themselves with the local library and its staff and its services. The program also encourages inmates to take advantage of the Library’s many resources, including an in-prison library as well as a re-entry guide and a temporary library card given immediately upon release—giving them a valuable key to a wealth of essential information, job assistance, and vocational training.

The Prison Services program is the creation of Widener Library head librarian Titus Moolathara, who helped establish libraries at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, Riverside Correctional Facility, and the Alternative and Special Detention Unit—all part of the Philadelphia Prison System.

“The library is the most important place in any prison,” explains Moolathara. To an inmate, it represents a world of opportunity for learning and understanding, he says—and some brief escape from the grim realities of prison life.

The Free Library and the Philadelphia Prison System both want to see on-site libraries expand to all six city jails. Beyond that, the Library hopes to establish Stories Alive as a model for federal and state prisons nationwide, especially those in remote locations.

Prison, Moolathara says, is a harsh environment in which inmates struggle against despair and fear of losing family connections. In reaching out to incarcerated parents and their families, “part of our mission is to support those connections while fostering access to hope and opportunity,” he says. With its growth in prison services, the Free Library is attempting to do just that.

• • • BY

NED SCHARFF

THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA PRISON SERVICES PROGRAM IS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH A SPARKS! IGNITION GRANT FOR LIBRARIES, PART OF THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS FOR LIBRARIES PROGRAM.

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• • • BY JULIE BERGER

MOLDING MINDS & MAKING CONNECTIONS T E E N P R O G R A M M I N G AT T H E F R E E L I B R A RY

Hanging out with friends.

Tinkering with technological creations.

Embarking on fashion design. Eating family-style meals. While these activities may sound like they are describing a college campus, or even the headquarters of a new-age tech start-up, it is at the Free Library that the teens of Philadelphia will find all of these opportunities—specially designed for them.

home, puts few demands on them, and feels safe,” says Peter Lehu, the regional librarian at Northeast Regional Library who previously ran Teen Tuesdays at Parkway Central Library.

In the afterschool hours, teens can plug in to everything from professional development opportunities, leadership roles, and art-and-technology project mash-ups to cooking lessons and relaxed hang-outs with pizza and games.

In our 21st-century world, youth need to be more than socialmedia savvy—the iGeneration needs to know how to iFix a host of e-problems. Creativity is the new hard work, and the Free Library’s outside-the-box teen programming aims to help Philadelphia teens translate their social-media smarts to imaginative thinking, school readiness, and work-wise preparation.

In most realms of their lives, teens get used to being told what to do and how to do it. The Free Library works actively to create spaces and programming in which the focus is shifted: What do YOU want to do? That guiding principle is what keeps teens coming back. “The library is that rare place that is not school or

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Much of the work is driven by participant interest. “In order to get someone to engage and learn, they need to be doing something they are interested in, that they want to learn,” says Sarah Winchowky, Maker Programming Project Manager. “For so long they have been told this is what you have to learn.” With monthly themes to guide projects, Maker Mentors help participants tap into their own interests. Driven by an Association for Library Service to Children Curiosity Creates grant, makers at Widener Library combined technical knowledge with fashion know-how to showcase an Afro-Futuristic Fashion Show, for which they built a stage, conducted a photo shoot, and compiled a fashion magazine. Such deep-engagement projects also draw in community members, inviting families and library goers to witness the makers’ work.

TEEN HANGOUTS Every Tuesday afternoon during the school year, teens meet up at Parkway Central Library. They can be found engaging in hip-hop dance workshops, conflict resolution seminars, talent shows, SAT prep, open mic performances, poetry slams, art exhibitions, and more. “It is often just teens socializing, playing games, and eating snacks,” Lehu says, “but teens have told us that they ‘need’ TEEN TUESDAY and look forward to it every week.”

Beyond Tuesdays, for the past two years hundreds of teens have descended on Parkway Central for FREE LIBRARY OF COMIC-CON , a full-day comics and gaming convention with exhibition space for teen artists, teen-run panel discussions with published artists, a gaming room, and more. This powerhouse event is a teen fan favorite, inspiring creativity and encouraging interest in graphic novels and manga materials.

Maker creations are “more about the process than the product,” says Winchowky. Through its programming, Maker Jawn teaches participants “it is okay to fail, and to try again—or try 16 more times”—a mindset that gets teens ready for the type of thinking required in a STEAM-powered world.

Teens can also find offerings at their neighborhood libraries, including the TEEN READING LOUNGE , an interactive book discussion series created by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. The program offers participants at various libraries more than the average book club: The chosen books serve as pathways to discuss topics like social change, violence, poverty, alcohol abuse, bullying, and self-discovery. Participants also hear from guest speakers and go on trips that make their reading come to life.

Maker Jawn is supported by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a grant from NBCUniversal Foundation 21st Century Solutions, and the Philadelphia City Institute Board of Managers.

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TEENS EXPERIMENT WITH LED LIGHTS AND OTHER HANDS-ON PROJECTS AT LIBRARIES ACROSS THE CITY.

MAKER PROGRAMMING Art and design meet engineering and technology in the MAKER JAWN program, which engages youth in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)based projects aimed to help them understand and become inspired by electronics and computing through imaginative tinkering. This unique mash-up of creativity and scientific exploration takes place at a cluster of libraries in North Philadelphia, giving youth in historically underserved neighborhoods access to technology, participatory education, and mentorship.

LEAP TEEN L E A D E R S H I P A S S I S TA N T S

CULINARY LITERACY The Free Library’s Culinary Literacy Center (CLC) has been opening up new pathways for teaching literacy, promoting healthy eating, and connecting with communities since 2014.

Teens have a prime seat at the table, through special CLC offerings like SUMMER THYME COOKS , a free summer cooking class for middle and high schoolers led by chefs from Vetri Community Partnership and designed to teach students basic cooking skills and smart shopping tips. After enjoying their creations at class family-style meals, students then take home ingredients so they can prepare the dish again for their families. The CLC also has partnerships with Philadelphia schools, offering food-based lessons both in the kitchen and in the school that support classroom curriculum.

Each school year the Free Library employs 120–150 high-school students as TEEN LEADERSHIP ASSISTANTS (TLAs) to support the Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP). They are hired to provide hands-on help to younger students— assisting with homework, reading together, and developing interest-driven programs. Yet the larger goals of this program are to mold teens into community role models and give them valuable work experience that prepares them for their future.

TLAs are paid for their work, and in addition to job training they participate in both professional development sessions and college preparation classes. Heather Sparks, the LEAP Program Manager, emphasizes, “We work to proactively empower both our employees and our young patrons so that they are prepared, fundamentally, for success in life.” TLA participant Eloise K. reflects, “This experience has shown me how to manage my time and money, but more importantly than that, it’s shown me how simply being there to help kids can make a huge difference in their day.”

The GET HYPE PHILLY! CAMPAIGN —a collective of 10 nonprofits headed by The Food Trust, focused on promoting health and positive youth development in Philadelphia—has also become a valuable library program in expanding health outreach. Get HYPE (which stands for “Healthy You. Positive Energy”) runs programs in the CLC as well as in neighborhood libraries in North Philadelphia.

Teen participants work together with the Library’s Teen Leadership Assistants in leading culinary lessons for younger LEAP participants. The program aims to help our youth become leaders for healthy change in their schools and communities through physical fitness, nutrition education, entrepreneurship, and civic involvement.

“Exposure is the main ingredient we offer, along with a deeper sense of community,” says Aurora Sanchez, Culinary Literacy Collaboration Coordinator.

Get HYPE Philly! is funded by GSK and administered by The Philadelphia Foundation.

TEENS LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER AND SUPPORT YOUNGER STUDENTS THROUGH OPPORTUNITIES AT THE LIBRARY.

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F I E L D FA M I LY TEEN AUTHOR SERIES An off-shoot of the Library’s renowned Author Events Series, the FIELD FAMILY TEEN AUTHOR SERIES can claim its own bona fides as a vibrant literary program.

The School Library Journal has said the Free Library of Philadelphia “has created a teen program that would make Oprah envious.” For no cost to schools or students, each student in a participating class receives a free copy of a visiting author’s book and has the opportunity to meet well-known authors like Jacqueline Woodson, Congressmen John Lewis, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor during a one-hour presentation.

The program operates in partnership with Philadelphia high schools and middle schools. Amanda Fiegel, an English-as-a-second-language teacher at Northeast High School whose students read author Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’, noted that “many of the students have never received new hardback books to treasure as their own.”

Her students met outside of class time to read and discuss the book, a rewarding experience because “there wasn’t pressure for them to be quizzed or tested; this was purely for themselves and their own enjoyment”—the best way to promote a lifetime love of reading.

The Field Family Teen Author Series is endowed through a generous grant from the family of Marie and Joseph Field.

This rich tapestry of teen programming provides valuable social and learning opportunities for Philadelphia’s teens. They will soon have even more of a home base at the Library, as work on The Marie and Joseph Field Teen Center—a cutting-edge teen-exclusive space that will include hang-out and study spaces, as well as a recording studio—gets underway at Parkway Central. Culinary Literacy Collaboration Coordinator Aurora Sanchez sums it up best: “We cannot place enough value on having somewhere to be that is as much yours as it is the other members of your community despite your age, race, or economic status. To be welcomed into those spaces wherever you might be in the city and offered enriching experiences that you are not receiving elsewhere, at no cost to you— how can we measure the value of a service so great?”

TEEN MATERIALS AT THE LIBRARY The Library’s current robust selection of teen materials can be traced to librarian Rachel Fryd, the dedicated Young Adult Materials Selector.

What is your process for finding good books for teens?

I read reviews in professional journals as well as try to keep on top of book blogs from publishers and fans— so I can get both the ivory tower as well as the boots-on-the-ground information.

What are the hallmarks of an excellent teen book? How are young adult (YA) materials typically different from adult materials? A great teen book works on the emotions. Adolescence is a time unlike any other in human development— you have first freedoms and responsibilities, losses of innocence, fledgling steps into adult worlds—so YA fiction tends to work along those themes and lines of drama and discovery. Adult books tend to be ... less fun. To me at least!

What is your favorite part of your job?

There are so many great parts of my job—but basically it’s that I read about and talk about and write about books all day long and I get to share my excitement about great books. Fourteen-year-old me is very proud of adult me for working this out.

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from the

NEIGHBORHOODS

TACONY LIBRARY AND ARTS BUILDING— NOW OPEN! When customers first learned their Tacony neighborhood library— opened in 1906 with $43,380 from the Carnegie Foundation—was going to undergo extensive renovations as part of the Building Inspiration: 21st Century Libraries Initiative, many felt excitement—and even relief that this beloved community hub would get some fresh love, paint, and attention.

But some also felt a deep well of concern.

This feeling was a testament to the importance of the library in the life of the neighborhood—especially its youngest residents. Where would local children go after school when the library was closed? What would the children do in the summer heat with no Summer Reading program?

Where would books be read, homework completed, computers explored, and friends met if not at Tacony Library?

These concerns were heard and taken very seriously by a consortium of individuals representing different organizations with a common pursuit: a temporary space to house materials and services while the Tacony Library received its facelift.

Enter center stage: Councilman Bobby Henon. Councilman Henon focused his energies on sourcing nearby locations that could serve as a temporary library, as well as securing skilled hands to customize this temporary home. There existed a number of vacancies along Torresdale Avenue, the same commercial corridor as the Tacony Library’s address, but which of them would be right for this venture?

Enter stage right: the Tacony Community Development Corporation (CDC). At the helm of the CDC, Alex Balloon took up the challenge and used his deep neighborhood knowledge to help find the right space.

But why stop at “only” a library when you could bring in an arts partner too?

In 1872, industrialist Henry Disston moved his sawmill from downtown Philadelphia to Tacony, transforming the area into a thriving industrial center. Disston also funded many

NEIGHBORHOOD CHILDREN ENJOYING THE LAB

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STAFF SPOTLIGHT: SUZIN WEBER,

community projects, including the Tacony Music Hall on Longshore Avenue, which still stands. And it was the Disston family who bequeathed the plot of land at Torresdale Avenue and Knorr Street for the construction of a public library. Yet the arts and culture scene in the area today is not thriving.

TACONY LIBRARY AND ARTS BUILDING (LAB) BRANCH MANAGER AND ADULT/TEEN LIBRARIAN How did you get started working for the Free Library?

I started working for the Free Library 20 years ago as the Children’s Librarian at Wyoming Library. My first supervisory assignment was at Ogontz, where I had the privilege to work with Councilman David Cohen as a library community partner. Prior to coming to Tacony in 2013, I worked in the Humanities Department at Northeast Regional, the Adult Department at Coleman Regional, and spent over a decade as the Branch Manager at Wyoming.

Enter stage left: the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

Mural Arts suggested this new space could also serve as the artistic home for two artists-in-residence. They would work on their own art, as well as engage children in arts programs, and then leave their permanent aesthetic mark on the area with two creations adorning the neighborhood.

On June 29, this coordinated vision became reality. The Tacony Library and Arts Building (LAB) opened at 6918 Torresdale Avenue (just one-and-a-half blocks from Tacony Library) for library and art business! Councilman Henon, Mural Arts’ Jane Golden, Tacony CDC’s Alex Balloon, and the Library’s Siobhan Reardon cut the ribbon on the former hardware store turned LAB, to the delight of those assembled. This hub for learning, creativity, and community engagement encourages visitors to attend arts-focused events and workshops, borrow books, use computers, and access free Wi-Fi.

What do you enjoy most about your current role as branch head of the Tacony LAB? I really enjoy Tacony’s community partners: the Tacony Civic Association, the Tacony Community Development Corporation, the Tacony Historical Society, and Councilman Bobby Henon’s office.

They all share a common drive for the revitalization of the Tacony community, and it’s gratifying to know the library is an important part of that vision.

And did we mention that it’s also beautiful? Come check out the Tacony LAB today!

How do you anticipate the Tacony LAB will positively impact customers?

When the plans for Tacony Library’s renovations became public, community members expressed concern for the neighborhood children and how the closure would impact their educations and school achievement. With the LAB, we are able to continue to provide books; LEAP; STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] activities; preschool manipulatives; and visits to schools, daycares, and camps, as well as craft and drawing activities with our Artists-in-Residence from Mural Arts.

• • • BY JENNIFER DONSKY

Building Inspiration Update

If you could have lunch with any author, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would love to have lunch with C.S. Lewis. He was a noted academic skeptic who eventually became a devout Christian. I have a background in theology and apologetics, and I think it would be fascinating to not only hear about his process of coming to faith but to discuss current events and hear his take on them from a theological perspective. I’d like to hear what he’d think of Star Trek, too!

Following the completion of the new South Philadelphia Library, construction is now underway at the other four 21st Century Libraries: Lillian Marrero, Logan, Lovett Memorial, and Tacony.

Visit 21stcenturylibraries.org for more information.

• • • BY JENNIFER DONSKY

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WITH ANN PATCHETT TO LISTEN TO FREE, DOWNLOADABLE PODCASTS FEATURING ANN PATCHETT, VISIT FREELIBRARY.ORG/AUTHOREVENTS.

Amid swirls of concern over the death of the independent book shop, Ann Patchett has been bringing “independent” back for the past five years at her Parnassus Books, a thriving book hub in Nashville she owns and runs with business partner Karen Hayes.

Named for the mountain in Greece that was the mythological home of music, poetry, and knowledge, Parnassus Books is helping her live out one of her life callings: “[I] believe that recommending books is the birthright of every zealous reader.” We at the Free Library can’t help but recommend a few of her own powerful works, which include the bestselling Bel Canto, The Patron Saint of Liars, and State of Wonder.

The PEN/Faulkner Award and Orange Prize winner is back with the tale of an unexpected romantic encounter in her newest book, Commonwealth.

Listen in on her recent conversation at Parkway Central Library with author Jacqueline Woodson at freelibrary.org/authorevents.

OTS WHAT ROLE HAVE LIBRARIES PLAYED IN YOUR LIFE? WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK THEY PLAY IN OUR 21ST-CENTURY WORLD? AP Libraries have been so many different things to me at different points in my life. As a kid the library was a place to meet my friends and do my homework, to stumble onto books I never would have known I was looking for. In college and graduate school the library was a place to get inspired. I used to go and look at books of paintings and books of photography to come up with story ideas.

Later on libraries meant novel research. I would go to Vanderbilt’s library in Nashville to listen to record albums of old operas when I was writing Bel Canto. These days the library is part of my civic responsibility, helping to bring in writers to speak through a partnership with Parnassus Books.

I think the role of the library now is the same as it’s always been— making books available to readers—while taking on countless new roles: The library is a community center, an information center, a place to use computers, get help filling out a job application, a place for story time and book clubs and ESL classes. Some people think that libraries are becoming obsolete when in fact the opposite is true: They’re growing in every direction.

OTS YOU HAVE LIVED EVERYWHERE FROM LOS ANGELES TO NASHVILLE TO IOWA TO MASSACHUSETTS. HOW HAS LIVING IN SO MANY PLACES IMPACTED YOUR WRITING? AP I did live in a lot of places when I was young. I moved around all the time. But I came back to Nashville (where I grew up) when I was 30 and I’ve been here for 22 years now. At this point I feel like I’m completely planted. It’s great to have friends in so many places, and I travel very easily. Still, I think if I had spent my entire life in Nashville I’d probably still be writing the same books. I have a big imagination.

OTS WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU ABOUT OWNING YOUR OWN INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE? AP I’m surprised by how much fun it is, how much I love the people I work with. We’re like a sit-com. There are five of us who bring our dogs to the store. We’re all books and dogs and candy from Trader Joe’s. As a novelist I’m used to being alone all the time, so I never knew it could be like this. Andy, our manager, said it was the only job he’d ever had where if the whole staff went in together to buy a lottery ticket and it won, none of us would quit.

OTS TO YOU, THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA IS ALSO THE FREE LIBRARY OF_. WHY? AP The Free Library of the people, for the people, by the people.

You can have the best building in the world (and you do), the greatest books, but what makes a library magic are the people who work there, the people who come in to use the services, and the belief that these books and services matter to the community.

That’s what the Free Library has in spades.

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FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA BOARD OF TRUSTEES

NOW ON VIEW AT THE ROSENBACH

CHAIR

Pamela Dembe

The Art of Ownership

MEMBERS

Donna Allie Maria Arias Christopher Arlene Jacqueline Barnett Doug Carney Jeffrey Cooper Brigitte Daniel Donald Generals Melissa Grimm Anuj Gupta Robert C. Heim Nancy D. Kolb Kathryn Ott Lovell H.W. Jerome Maddox Sonia Sanchez Suzanne Simons John J. Soroko Nicholas D. Torres Ignatius C. Wang

Book Plates and Book Collectors from 1480 to the Present

THROUGH JANUARY 15, 2017 Presenting beautiful and curious specimens from five centuries of book ownership, The Art of Ownership delves into the stories behind exceptional bookplates and the men and women who owned them.

EMERITUS

Gloria Twine Chisum Armand Della Porta W. Wilson Goode, Sr. Herman Mattleman Teresa Sarmina

EX-OFFICIO

Tobey Gordon Dichter

Chair, Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation Board of Directors

FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR

Tobey Gordon Dichter

ROSENBACH.ORG | @ROSENBACHMUSEUM

MEMBERS

Robert Adelson Cynthia Affleck Phyllis W. Beck Carol Banford Jeffry Benoliel Sheldon Bonovitz Benito Cachinero-Sรกnchez George Day Andrea Ehrlich Richard A. Greenawalt Melissa Grimm Janet Haas Robert C. Heim John Imbesi Mike Innocenzo Philip Jaurigue Geoffrey Kent Alexander Kerr Marciene Mattleman Thomas B. Morris Stephanie Naidoff Bernard Newman Patrick M. Oates Nick Pournader Greg Redden William R. Sasso Susan G. Smith Miriam Spector Stacey Leigh Spector Lenore Steiner Barbara Sutherland Monica Vachher Jay Weinstein Larry Weiss

EMERITUS

James H. Averill Peter A. Benoliel Marie Field Elizabeth Gemmill W. Wilson Goode, Sr Daniel Gordon Leslie Anne Miller A. Morris Williams, Jr.

EX-OFFICIO

TAKE A FRONT ROW SEAT The George S. Pepper Society recognizes those who give $1,000 or more annually to the Free Library Foundation.

In appreciation of their generosity, Peppers receive advance access to and reserved seating at the Author Events Series; exclusive invitations to private events, including those with world-renowned authors; and much more.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PEPPER SOCIETY, CONTACT EMILY SUDA AT SUDAE@FREELIBRARY.ORG OR 215-814-3511.

Pamela Dembe

Chair, Free Library of Philadelphia Board of Trustees

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SUPPORT THE FREE LIBRARY! To make a gift to the Foundation, please visit freelibrary.org/support or call 215-567-7710.

a gumshoe gala

save the date for an evening of

mystery merriment and Melodrama

at the free library of philadelphia

saturday, december 3, 2016

7:00 p.m

parkway central library

freelibrary.org/gala