The people who work at the City Institute branch right by Rittenhouse Square Park are so pleasant…read more Years ago, when I didn't know you could have books sent over from other branches, I found the employees at the big branch on Vine Street to be pretty surly. The renovations are not what I thought they were going to be but hey, free books. The best part of borrowing is that you can get rid of them when you're done.

I have lived in Philly for 1.5 years, and I can't believe it has taken me so long to get a library…read morecard. I guess I can thank COVID for the push! My review is for PCI during altered operations during COVID - It is super simple to get a library card and reserve / hold books online. When they become available, you'll get an email. You give PCI a call and they will help you schedule a pickup time. Any books that are available for you by your pick up time (even if you scheduled before) are neatly packaged and ready for an easy pickup from the library, all with the appropriate COVID precautions. While there are wait times for some of the more popular books, I have easily found tons of great options to read. The staff at PCI is also so nice and willing to help you reschedule and figure out any issues related to overdue books, etc. As a bonus, they also have "Free Books / DVDs" outside of the library sometimes, so it's nice to browse and see if there is anything of interest. Super conveniently located right next to Rittenhouse. Check it out!

It feels somehow controversial (?) to write this review, but I was incredibly underwhelmed by my…read moreexperience at this museum. The Rosenbach is quite close to my home and I figured my parents recent visit would be a perfect opportunity to take the tour. I had heard a lot of really good things and love literature, so I was excited to have time in the mansion. A few things: 1) I think it is ridiculous you cannot see the museum without a guide. I would have absolutely LOVED coming and having time amongst the rare books to take a look and explore on my own time. The guided tour is too restrictive. 2) The guided tour that I experienced (it seems like your mileage really varies depending on your docent) lacked nuance, clarity, context, and frankly...fun. 30 minutes of sitting in a room while a man talks at you and shows barely legible photos on printer paper of rich people tangentially related to what you're about to see is brutal. The best museum experiences I've had recently do a GREAT job of understanding how the role of the items and people on display contextually brought us to the moment we're in: good, bad, or indifferent. This experience reminded me of my time at The Breakers in Rhode Island, which left me asking: "so what?" AND "so we're not going to talk about the atrocities these people probably engaged in?" At least at The Breakers I could have that experience on my own, without a guide, and explore the things that spoke most to me. Our guide had clear discomfort when speaking about the subjects' religious affiliation, mentioned that they had this insane and debaucherous "bachelor life" but was unwilling to outline anything that could have further connected us with who these people actually were. I had to FIND OUT FROM MY MOTHER, who was doing some googling after the tour, that the Rosenbach's once had NAPOLEON'S MUMMIFIED DICK in their collection?! People want to hear about the mummified dick, team. Sorry, we're humans. Anyways, there really is INCREDIBLE stuff in this collection. First editions, poetry, portraits. It's astonishing. It's the rest of the experience that falls completely flat. I would give it a try and hope you have a different experience than I did. I hear they do some interesting events based on the season and everyday folks can go in and handle books if there's a specific interest. I'll follow along on the journey but would love to see this museum join the present moment and think more critically about how this part of Philadelphia's history is spoken about to visitors and residents.

This was. the COOLEST tour. The library is filled with antique, first editions of the classics…read moreranging from a huge Shakespeare collection to Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Mark Twain and more. They have an English collection, an American room, and some extremely rare copies of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Winnie the Pooh, and others. Our guide was so knowledgeable and friendly, and not only were the books were seeing but the decor was also fabulous. At the entrance, they have a little waiting room with coffee and snacks and books you can look through. They have a TON of Dracula variations too.

First came here through 52 First Philly event and instantly loved it. It's a small, quaint museum…read moretucked right next to Washington Square Park, which already sets the vibe. During the First Flight event it was a bit busy, but still felt intimate and special. There's a members-only reading/library area that feels very old-world and scholarly, and a general exhibition space with rotating displays, historic prints, books, and artifacts tied to architecture, design, and Philadelphia history. It's quiet, thoughtful, and the kind of place where you naturally slow down and look closely at things. I went back again yesterday for a very specific and slightly heartbreaking reason. I realized I grabbed the wrong collectible pencil before. Mine said "52 Weeks" instead of "First Flight," which meant my collection was incomplete and yes, I was genuinely sad about it. I stopped in just to ask if they maybe had an extra one somewhere. Renee was INCREDIBLE. Truly the nicest human. She took the time to look and actually found one for me. It absolutely made my day. I honestly wanted to write this review just to thank her because that level of kindness and care really sticks with you. Also, on my second visit I realized how much I missed the first time around. The building itself is beautiful, classic architecture, warm and elegant without being intimidating. It's the kind of place that rewards repeat visits because you notice something new each time. A hidden gem, wonderful staff, and a really special Philly institution. I'll definitely be back. I'll admit the non member area is small. But it was very informational. I think it would be perfect for civic engineers.

I like going there. The general atmosphere is very unique and welcoming. I would encourage them to…read moreban the use of laptops in the library, it is a place to read, not to do the work.

The library is open 24 hours for students, faculty, and staff of Thomas Jefferson University and…read moreThomas Jefferson University Hospital. 3rd and 4th floors have books as well as quiet study areas. The second floor is more for group study. There are computer that you can use, and there are also copy machines and printers. There are study rooms which you can reserve which has a huge 42 inch monitor that can accommodate 6-8 people. There is also a nice fish tank on the second floor. It's a great library. The staff is friendly. Good place to study. Love this place!

Medical Library for Thomas Jefferson University. It currently has a small study center with nice…read morechairs. Great to hunker down and study.

Well, first things first: it is a law library so don't come here expecting too much excitement…read more For $150 yearly though, Jenkins offers a ton of resources to the solo practitioner, as well as free wireless and great reference librarians. The space is nice too, on the 12th floor of an office building. Jenkins also offers $5 daily memberships to non-lawyers, so people who might have a landlord-tenant issue or something similar can find their answers cheaply.

Lots of books and terminals in a nice space. They have Wi-Fi. Hours aren't great considering some…read morepeople need to be at their office standard hours -- hello-o? (Wednesdays you get til 7. But hours go by fast in this place.) If you need help beyond the basics, beware the dead wood. The younger (probably underpaid) staff, on the other hand, are actual, excellent librarians with knowledge. The CLE's are not to write home about. Pay your dues -- we need this library; but one gets the feeling some organizational streamlining is in order.

I always have nice efficient service at this branch. Today was no exception. Udi, at the…read moreReference Desk, helped me find a book when I didn't even know the name of the author or the person who was the subject of the book. Not only did he find it, it was on the shelf and I was able to check it out!

It's great that there's another branch of the library and this one seems to have more of a focus on…read morethe Chinatown neighborhood where it stands. That said, it is a very small branch with not a lot of room. I did manage to find a table in the back and moved a shelf to get at the power outlet. This is the same wifi system as at the Central Branch https://www.yelp.com/biz/free-library-of-philadelphia-philadelphia-10?hrid=HVbZ7Pj8GLjP9jv4hlOzIw. You need a library card to access their internet and since I'm not a Philadelphia resident, I don't qualify. I did manage to spend about 90 minutes here, which was long enough for one very discreet phone call and for my laptop to get to 100% before moving on. [Review 18290 overall - 587 in Pennsylvania - 1812 of 2022.]

"The mystery of chess boxing" --Wu Tang Clan…read more I love that each of the branches of libraries in Philly have "Free Library" out front. The best things in life are free and libraries are no exception for a free resource worth its weight in gold. Friendly staff. Library also serves as a health center. Many interesting events including a chess club as I am an avid chess player like Bobby Fischer and the Wu Tang Clan. The selection isn't that large compared to the main library in San Francisco that I frequent back home yet it is quality over quantity. Whoever orders the books here is doing an excellent job. Kudos to the librarians that order the excellent reads here. I had a casual game at the chess club and won. Better to quit while ahead so after I won a single match of chess I was ghost and went to the books here to pursue them for some time before getting on with it getting on with my day.

Whenever I need to print out directions I go here. They have nice printers. Only 4-Stars because…read morelast time I went to use the printer a man was outside pooping in a box. I also wish they sold stamps. Still good place.

I hadn't been here in years until recently. I'm a member and that gave me the advantage of being…read moreable to search online for records I was interested in so that I could save the call numbers and save some time while there. I found the staff to be friendly and very helpful. Many of the records I wanted are in the closed stacks. You fill out a form with the call number and your name and sit at a table in the reading room. Seats are numbered and the number goes on the form and they will bring the record to you. You can do 3 at a time. If you want them to hold something you were looking through for the next day, they will hold it for you. You are allowed to take your computer, papers and phone. You can take a photo of any record which is helpful. The reading room has a lot of books. There is a family room with many books organized by family name so easy to search for a family you are looking for. Many of the records they have are not available elsewhere and may include handwritten notes a family member wrote on paper or you might find a full book on the family you are looking for. You could easily spend days and days there. There is a charge of $8.00 for non-members to enter while members are free. If you are researching Pennsylvania history or families in the area (including Delaware and New Jersey), you are bound to find something useful in your search. I appreciate that they are digitizing more and more records for those of us that don't live there and seldom can get to HSP.

As a hardcore researcher and genealogist, I borderline dread having to go to HSP to do any…read moreresearch. I say borderline because it's not 100% bad, but some staff members have a tendency to treat the public like children. They expect you to know things, even if you haven't been told what to do ahead of time (where to read books from the stacks, how to handle certain items, etc.). Yes, some things are common sense, but giving the public a little friendly guidance goes a long way. But the major turn-off for me is the exorbitant fees they charge for just about everything - from admission for non-members to copies to membership fees. And goodness forbid if you want to use a photo for a book from one of their collections - that's hundreds of dollars and a slew of conditions attached to it. It's $75 to become what they call a "Researcher" member. That only entitles you to 20 visits to the library per year (that's not even 2 visits a month!). You'd have to fork over $130 for a "Patron" membership to get 50 visits a year to their library (you want unlimited visits? Be prepared to part with anywhere from $500-$999, according to their membership brochure). Why I'm steamed about the amount of money they charge for services is only because they have materials donated to them, so they pay nothing for this stuff. They have the collections of the late Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (that I never see displayed or talked about) as well as the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (which handed over their collections to HSP in 2006), both of which were donated, and then they want the public to pay a mint to get copies? And as prices have risen, their hours have been reduced. They're no longer open on Saturdays and they have only one late night per week (Wednesday). If you're going to raise prices, put in some extra hours somewhere. (And be forewarned that if the person at the reception/cashier desk doesn't like you for whatever reason, they can actually deny you admission.) On the other side: Many staff members are knowledgable in helping researchers locate the information they're seeking and, sometimes, may offer them other directions to go in case they came to a dead end. They also have a wide variety of collections, *some* of which can't be found anywhere else (mainly because of the aforementioned acquisitions). They have cemetery records and the records of some funeral directors (such as Battersby) and churches (e.g. Christ Church) as well as an entire room dedicated to published family genealogies. I can take the bad with the good, but at the rates HSP charges, this historical goodie is a once-in-a-while treat, not to be used regularly (and it shouldn't be that way).