Are You Kiddin' Me?! - The Entire Philly Free Library is CLOSING!!! ON OCTOBER 2ND!!! WTF!!

THIS IS BEYOND JACKED UP! SUPPORT YOUR LIBRARIES, PEOPLE. Go to their public programs. Request comment cards when you do and share your ideas and feedback. Jot down letters to the directors (in NYC, you get a formal response back!), letting them know you exist and how you and your family use the librarie's resources. The Library needs a serious PR campaign, good grief.

All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009 All Free Library of Philadelphia Customers, We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009. Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009: All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers, computer classes and after school programs, will be cancelled. We are exploring the possibility of relocating the Philadelphia Author Series programs to other non-library facilities. All library visits to schools, day care centers, senior centers and other community centers will cease. All community meetings at our branch and regional libraries, and the Parkway Central Library, will be cancelled. All GED, ABE and ESL programs held at Free Library branches will be discontinued, students should contact their teacher to see if other arrangements are being made. In addition, all library materials will be due on October 1, 2009. This will result in a diminishing borrowing period for books and other library materials, beginning September 11, 2009. No library materials will be able to be borrowed after September 30, 2009. Even as we remain hopeful that the State Legislature will act and pass the enabling funding legislation, we wanted to notify all of our customers of this very possible outcome. If you have any questions about impacts to Free Library services, call 215-686-5322, or visit the Free Library of Philadelphia website at www.freelibrary.org. If you have questions about changes to City services, or if you want to be kept informed about this situation, we encourage you to contact Philly 311 by calling 3-1-1 between the hours of 8am and 8 pm Monday-Friday, and 9am-5pm Saturdays, e-mail philly311@phila.gov, or visit the City of Philadelphia website at http://www.phila.gov. We thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support of the Free Library of Philadelphia during these difficult times. Siobhan Reardon, President and Director, Free Library of Philadelphia

Book Drop Locations

List of current book drop locations (click on link for additional information): Andorra Branch- 705 East Cathedral Road Philadelphia, PA 19128-2106 Bushrod Branch - 6304 Castor Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19149-2731 Bustleton Branch - 10199 Bustleton Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19116-3718 Charles Santore Branch - 932 South 7th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147-2932 Chestnut Hill Branch - 8711 Germantown Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19118-2716 David Cohen Ogontz Branch - 6017 Ogontz Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19141 Eastwick Branch - 2851 Island Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19153-2314 Falls of Schuylkill Branch - 3501 Midvale Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19129-1633 Fox Chase Branch - 501 Rhawn Street Philadelphia, PA 19111-2504 Fumo Family Branch - 2437 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19148-3508 Independence Branch - 18 S. 7th Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library - 68 West Chelten Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19144-2795 Katharine Drexel Branch - 11099 Knights Road Philadelphia, PA 19154-3516 Lucien E. Blackwell West Philadelphia Regional Lib - 125 South 52nd Street Philadelphia, PA 19139- 3408 Northeast Regional Library - 2228 Cottman Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19149-1297 Overbrook Park Branch - 7422 Haverford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19151-2995 Roxborough Branch - 6245 Ridge Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19128-2630 South Philadelphia Branch - 1700 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19145-2392 Thomas F. Donatucci - 1935 Shunk Street Philadelphia, PA 19145-4234 Torresdale Branch - 3079 Holme Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19136-1101 Walnut Street West - 201 South 40th Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 Welsh Road Branch - 9233 Roosevelt Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19114-2205 West Oak Lane Branch - 2000 Washington Lane Philadelphia, PA 19138-1344 Wynnefield Branch - 5325 Overbrook Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19131-1498

Holds Information

We regret to inform you that until the state legislature passes the necessary budgetary legislation, no new holds will be accepted after 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 10, 2009. All existing holds will be suspended on Wednesday, September 23, 2009. The last hold pickup notices will be sent on Wednesday, September 23, 2009, with a final pick up date of Monday, September, 28, 2009. Visit our catalog.

Interlibrary Loan

Effective September 10, 2009, no Interlibrary Loan orders will be processed. We regret to inform you that until the state legislature passes the necessary budgetary legislation, we cannot fulfill requests for materials from other institutions. If you place a new request, it will be put on hold until operations return to normal. We are very sorry for this inconvenience. Visit the Interlibrary Loan page.