the FALL 2013 FALL OFF SHELF A MAGAZINE FROM thE FREE LIbRARy OF PhILAdELPhIA VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 1 3 • ISSUE VOLUME ONE FOR THE BOOKS thE GROUNdbREAKING ROSENbACh OF thE FREE LIbRARy OF PhILAdELPhIA FOUNdAtION ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE AT THE PARKWAY CENTRAL LIBRARY as we celebrate 450 years of the incomparable William Shakespeare, from the theatre stalls of Elizabethan England to the vibrant streets of 21st-century Philadelphia. Join us on Saturday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. for a spectacular evening of poetry and performance, dinner and dancing—all in honor of the Bard and in support of the Free Library! To purchase tickets, visit freelibrary.org/bard. A SELECTION OF UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS FOR MORE INFO: 215-567-4341 • FREELIbRARy.ORG/authOREVENtS NOV 7 • 7:30 PM NOV 12 • 7:30 PM NOV 14 • 7:30 PM NOV 18 • 7:30 PM NOV 19 • 7:30 PM FREE TICKET REQUIRED FREE TICKET REQUIRED FREE Deepak Chopra Katrina Robert Stone Julius Erving What Are You Hungry For?: van Grouw Ivan Klima The Chopra Solution to Death of the Permanent Weight Loss, The Unfeathered Bird My Crazy Century Dr. J: The Autobiography Black-Haired Girl Well-Being, and Lightness of Soul SIMULCAST AVAILABLE NOV 21 • 7:30 PM NOV 26 • 7:30 PM DEC 3 • 7:30 PM DEC 5 • 7:30 PM DEC 12 • 7:30 PM FREE FREE TICKET REQUIRED TICKET REQUIRED FREE Alice McDermott Joe Sacco John Heilemann Someone The Great War: July 1, 1916: and Deborah Solomon Lester Brown The First Day of the American Mirror: with Mark Helperin Breaking New Ground: Battle of the Somme The Life and Art of Lauren Grodstein A Personal History Double Down: Norman Rockwell Game Change 2012 The Explanation for Everything FROM thE PRESIdENt ANd dIRECtOR This issue kicks off the third anniversary of Off the Shelf, and to celebrate we’re bringing you stories that highlight the Free Library’s commitment to FREE LIbRARy OF PhILAdELPhIA guiding learning—a key tenet of our mission. While PRESIdENt ANd dIRECtOR Siobhan A. Reardon we have millions of items that you can check out, AssociatE dIRECtOR special collections that you can view, or digital Dr. Joseph McPeak services that you can access at freelibrary.org, many VICE PRESIdENt OF Development Melissa B. Greenberg of our resources truly come to life because of the expertise of our librarians and staff. VICE PRESIdENt OF ExtERNAL Affairs Sandra Horrocks Our cover story focuses on the Free Library Foundation’s recent merger dIRECtOR OF COMMUNICAtIONS with The Rosenbach Museum & Library, creating the The Rosenbach ANd bRANd MARKEtING Alix Gerz of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. Combined, the Free Library and the Rosenbach’s special collections now comprise one of SENIOR WRItER ANd EdItOR Michelle Saraceni Sheffer the most astounding collections of rare books and ephemera in the world. With new exhibitions and topical online resources in the works, COMMUNICAtIONS ANd PROdUCtION COORdINAtOR our librarians and curators are ensuring that our customers enjoy Eileen Owens learning about these amazing holdings. One of the rarest items in the FREE LIbRARy OF Free Library’s special collections is Shakespeare’s First Folio, which PhILAdELPhIA FOUNdAtION you’ll read all about in this issue’s Hidden Gems section and will have 1901 Vine Street, Suite 111 the chance to see live this coming winter, as it will be on display as Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-567-7710 part of the Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450, the Library’s year-long freelibrary.org/support birthday party for Shakespeare running throughout 2014. OFF thE ShELF Also in this issue, we’re bringing you news of how our librarians [email protected] are preparing to help customers better navigate a 21st-century world freelibrary.org/publications in which health care is a top priority and concern. With the creation Off the Shelf is published twice annually of a new Healthcare Advisory Council, a plethora of exciting new for supporters of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation and showcases initiatives are in the offing, ensuring that our customers have the the Library’s educational, economic, resources and knowledge they need to make healthy decisions and cultural contributions to the region. and live richer, fuller lives. ON THE COVER: oN tHe cover aNd Below As always, I hope you enjoy this issue of Off the Shelf! are a varIety oF IMaGes Illustrating tHe deptH aNd BreadtH oF tHe rare, Warmly, coMpleMeNtary collectIoNs oF tHe roseNBacH aNd tHe Free lIBrary. Siobhan A. Reardon PRESIdENt ANd dIRECtOR WHAT’S INSIDE 8 ONE FOR THE Books: THE GROUNDBREAKING ROSENBACH OF THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION 4 News aNd Notes 6 HIddeN GeMs: tHe FIrst FolIo 7 Focus oN: Happy BIrtHday to tHe Bard 12 tHe lIBrary oF tHe 21st ceNtury: NurturING MINd aNd Body 14 tHe FINal word: JaMIe Moyer 15 BOARD LISTS ANNOuNcING THE 2014 FEATuRED SELEcTION We are excited to announce that the 2014 One Book, One Philadelphia featured selection is The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. Winner of the 2013 PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction and a finalist for the 2012 National Book Award, The Yellow Birds has been compared to Tim O’Brien’s classic war novel, The Things They Carried, for its powerful depiction of the truth and tragedy dIRECTOR OF AUTHOR of war. Poet/novelist Powers vividly tells the story of a young eveNTS POSItIoN eNDOWED soldier struggling to find meaning in his harrowing experiences The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation would as a soldier in Iraq, while suffering like to extend its heartfelt thanks to longtime Library profound guilt over his friend and supporters Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams, Jr., who fellow soldier’s death, as well as generously endowed the Director of Author Events alienation from community and position at the Free Library Foundation, held by Andy family upon his return home. Kahan, in recognition of his excellence in leading this According to The New York Times, flagship Free Library program. With their gift, the Author “Kevin Powers has something to Events Series will continue to foster great conversations say, something deeply moving with the world’s leading writers and thinkers for many about the frailty of man and years to come. Thank you, Ruth and Morris! the brutality of war, and we should all lean closer and listen.” Don’t miss the One Book Kickoff on January 22, 2014, and in the meantime, get reading! Taking Flight at Philadelphia International Airport The Free Library’s newest virtual library is now at the Philadelphia International Airport. Located in the D/E connector area, the Library’s free Wi-Fi welcomes users with a special splash page that provides access to our ebooks, Author Events podcasts, and historic photographs of Philadelphia from our digital collections. The Library’s strategic partnership with the airport launched in July, and we are excited to be able to offer our educational and entertaining content to visitors from around the world. Plus, we’re proud to announce that we’ve received the Top Innovator Award from the Urban Libraries Council for our work at the Airport! Expanded Free Library Wi-Fi services have begun in the A/B connector area—where our exhibition featuring 50 great Philadelphia writers continues through June 2014—with an anticipated, airport-wide Ge completion of the Library’s Wi-Fi in March of 2014. tHe Free lIBrary oF pHIladelpHIa welcoMes usersor travelers oF Its Free oN wItH-Fe GI ato! tHe pHIladelpHIa INterNatIoNal aIrport wItH a specIal splasH pa tHat provIdes curated coNteNt especIally F { 4 } { 5 } south PhILAdeLPhIA tACONY chArLes L. durhAM 2 KAthArIne dreXeL 4 3 1 It WAS AN ExCItING FEW MONthS AROUNd thE LIbRARy SyStEM thIS SUMMER, ESPECIALLy FOR OUR yOUNGESt CUStOMERS. (1) South Philadelphia Library hosted Girls Rock Philly, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls to start their own bands. (2) Young customers at Tacony Library made their own animated movies at a Claymation workshop. (3) Budding artists discovered the art of rock (and face!) painting at Katharine Drexel Library. (4) Teens explored the wonders of robotics at Charles L. Durham Library. Photo courtesy of Judge John courtesy Photo We want to hear from you! Here at Off the Shelf, we’re always looking for better ways CUSTOMER CORNER: to bring our readers the content they want in the format they prefer. To help better refine our magazine, we’re asking all of our JUDGE JOHN YOUNGE readers to visit freelibrary.org/publications and take a moment to complete a brief online survey about what you like best about Off the Shelf and what Free Library topics you’d like us to cover y BEFORE JUdGE JOhN ounge in the future. Let us know at freelibrary.org/publications! yOUNGE wAs PresIdIng OVER cAses In cIty hALL, he wAs A YOUNG LIBRARY FOR THE LIbrARY CUSTOMer dISCOVERIng the BLIND AND PHYSIcALLY vALues of KNOWLedge, IndePendence, And HANDIcAPPED NOW COMMunIty—IdeALs OFFERS DIGITIZED thAt WOULd guIde the wAy TO A cAreer In MAGAZINE PROGRAM PubLIc SERVIce. This past spring, the Library of Congress’s National Library Judge Younge grew up just a half-block away from the Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) Blanche A. Nixon/Cobbs Creek neighborhood library. transitioned its audio magazine program from outdated It was the first place he was allowed to visit on his analog cassette recordings to new digital cartridges. own without his parents. Working on homework or Customers of our Library for the Blind and Physically reading through his most recent stack of checked-out Handicapped can now enjoy enhanced sound quality and books, Younge says he and the library “were always navigation capabilities for all NLS-produced magazines on good terms.” on their digital talking-book players.