Parkway Central Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Rachael recently had the opportunity to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia. She sat in on panels, saw interesting new products and services, and spoke to other librarians about libraries. It was an amazing weekend! However, it wouldn’t have been complete without visiting a public library, so Rachael made her way to Parkway Central Library, which was a 15-minute walk from the convention center.

Parkway Central Library is the main public library of the Free Library of Philadelphia system, which has a total of 54 branches. Parkway Central Library is the largest within the system, and it was evident that this was built to be a grand building. As soon as one walks in, the visitor is greeted with an impressive marble and granite lobby. The eye is drawn to the statue of William Pepper, the library’s founder, at the top of a large staircase.

The first floor of the library housed various public services, such as senior services, human resources, and passport services. The Fiction, Bestsellers, and Film collections were also housed on this floor for easy browsing. Rachael’s time was limited during this visit, so she found herself going up the opulent staircase to immediately start exploring the other floors.

The second floor housed a large collection of various genres. Microfilm, maps, art, sciences - it was enough to turn anyone’s head. In the special collections, the curators were eager to showcase some of the treasures. There was such care in the maintenance of these delicate pieces. They also informed Rachael of the third floor, which housed the rare book collection, and there would be a tour of that floor shortly.

While waiting for the tour, Rachael attempted to visit the fourth floor but learned that it is closed to the public outside of certain events. So instead, she made her way to the ground floor, where the children’s and teen rooms are located. 

The hallway leading to the children’s room was peppered with art by school-aged children. One could get lost on this floor, so the library had a cartoon dog depicted on the walls, leading people directly to the children’s room. The library had seemed quiet and not very busy, but this room was bustling! This was where Rachael was able to speak to the librarians about the community. 

One of the more surprising pieces of information she learned that this library also supplemented the local public schools. Except for two schools, most schools in the area did not have a library, which meant school trips to the Parkway Central Library were common. This idea was reminiscent of the One City, One Library program we learned about at the Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts.  

With tour time approaching, Rachael made her way to the third floor and could not believe how large this collection was! The entire third floor was dedicated to rare items. The archivist who gave the tour showcased various cuneiform tablets, a section of the Book of the Dead on papyrus, a page from the Gutenberg Bible, Charles Dickens’ desk (he even scratched his initials on it!), and a taxidermy raven named Grip that was once a beloved pet of Charles Dickens. This was the raven who inspired Edgar Allen Poe. What was shown on this tour was incredible. There are additional rare items on display, and they are changed every six months.

Once the tour concluded, Rachael had to make her way to leave, but it was an amazing way to end her visit.  This is a wonderful example of a major urban showplace library. The space, collection, services, and staff are as grand as the building itself.