Renovated Free Library branches aim

[freemexy]

The gleaming, white Lillian Marrero Library on Lehigh Avenue is easily the most magnificent building in the Fairhill neighborhood. And that's long been a problem for the Free Library.
The building was a gift from Andrew Carnegie, the early 20th-century philanthropist, who believed that community libraries could help lift people out of poverty. To ennoble the experience of borrowing a book, Carnegie libraries were often modeled on classical palaces, with grand staircases, columned porticos, and hushed, wood-paneled reading rooms. At Marrero, you had to climb 23 steps to the entrance, then shoulder-open a pair of heavy oak doors. For elderly and disabled residents in the heavily Latino Fairhill section, Carnegie's great civic resource may just as well have been located on the moon.mobile dvr 3g gps
Figuring out a better way to get people in the front door of its branches has taken on new urgency for the Free Library. As more of the world's information fits in the palm of our hands, fewer people need to check out a physical book. In the last few years, the Free Library has watched its total number of visitors dribble down, from 13.8 million in fiscal 2014 to 9.9 million in fiscal 2017.
Hoping to counter the trend, the Free Library has just renovated four branches — Lovett, Logan, Tacony, and Marrero — to make them more welcoming and flexible. In each case, it brought the doors down to where the people are, at sidewalk level, and installed elevators. The interiors have been reconfigured to appeal to a generation raised on smartphones. The transformation marks the beginning of a sea change for Philadelphia, from the library as a storehouse of books to the library as a community gathering place.
The library's response to the disruption of the internet resembles the strategies pioneered by big retailers like Apple and Warby Parker. Rather than think of their stores as outlets that exist to ring up sales, they have reimagined them as places to have experiences that reinforce loyalty to the product. They serve as clubhouses for the brand.
In a similar way, the four library branches have been outfitted with meeting and study rooms, and furnished with soft seating and cafe tables to encourage people to hang out. The number of books and bookshelves have been greatly reduced. "We've stopped talking about stuff and now talk more about the experience, being with other people," Siobhan Reardon, the Free Library's president, told me.