Free Library of Philadelphia – Falls of Schuylkill Branch

While this is one of the smaller Philadelphia library branches, there seem to be a good amount of computers and books for adults. The kids section is well thought out with much to keep the busy bodies busy! There are dollhouses, toys, trains, books, computers and cozy nooks galore!

Love this branch! All the desk people are super helpful. The manager was nice enough to seriously reduce the fines I had from letting 5 books go delinquently past due. The building is beautiful, nestles along a quiet corner of Midvale. A previous Unilocal review has a great description on the building so read his. While the space isn’t as huge as other branches the quality of books are more than decent, they definitely make the best of what they have. More times than not the library is a perfect volume, soft talking with intermediate normal. No wild kids running around but I do think they have the library partitioned in a way the kid stuff is away from all the other books-​a perk if you don’t have kiddies. All in all it is a tucked away treasure in East Falls.

PRO TIP: You can pull any book from The Free Library or any other Philly branch. You can put things on hold. People think cause if it’s not on the shelves, oh well they don’t have it. Wrong! they do have it, just not at that site. If you ask politely, this library has all the power of the main building, in a small neighborhood setting. They have DVD’s and CD’s. They have computers people can use. They have classes to help people use computers. They have a fierce scrabble game every thursday and stories for babies. As for the building itself, Jeff B’s review is amazing. What always strikes me are the pine trees. It throws me back to the salad days. It’s easy to make the mistake and believe that with all the new digital media, that libraries are dying. Don’t believe that. Go to this library and see for yourself. People use it and it’s an asset to the neighborhood.

Pluses: you can usually find a clean computer here. Pleasant drawing room atmosphere even with the kids occasionally being noisy. Kids rule but they don’t go out of their way to be unpleasant or impertinent to strangers. Can find nice selection among the DVDs and nice non-​fiction. One of the few branches I would feel comfortable exiting at night.
Minuses: Can’t think of any now. Previously mentioned personality clash cleared.

Satisfyingly unique in structure and service, the Falls of Schuylkill Branch Library in the East Falls Community is the perfect example of library-​community interaction at its best. Benefitting from one of the largest Friends of the Library chapters and a community that reads and has a strong sense of what their library should be like, the Falls branch offers a collection of materials both broad and deep. Your chances of finding that obscure title in poetry, literary criticism, cookery, or history will be quite good, as will your chances of finding the latest by Koontz. There is a fine and comprehensive children’s collection, as well.
Programs and activities offer a range from monthly todder story times in the artistically rendered Story Time Room, programs for all ages of children, an after school program, 4 book clubs, travel lectures, author talks, an annual Bastille Day soirée, Christmas Tree sale, and one of the largest used book sales in the City (proceeds benefit the branch library).
The staff is prompt, persistent, personable, and knowledgeable. As one of the busiest branches in the Free Library of Philadelphia system, they work hard to strike that rare balance of keeping up with the demand while staying attentive to each and every patron. Pleasantly, they succeed most every time.
Finally, the building itself will attract your eye, set amongst a small, award winning garden yard and tall evergreen trees on the corner of Midvale Avenue and Warden Drive. You’ll look up to a vaulted high ceiling, white plaster with dark wood beams arched across the whole length; peaked, high-​set windows; architectural woodwork throughout the interior; all set within a stone structure in the English Collegiate Style complete with a small steeple including a weather vane that has an intersting story of its own. Make no mistake, the structure was built in 1913 specifically to be the library for the East Falls community and has filled that role with pride and prestige ever since.