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Free Library of Philadelphia

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The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia governed by an independent Board of Trustees as per the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation is a separate 501(c)(3) non-profit with its own board of directors and serves to support the mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia through philanthropic dollars.

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44-559: The Free Library of Philadelphia was chartered in 1891 as "a general library which shall be free to all", through efforts led by Dr. William Pepper , who secured initial funding through a $ 225,000 bequest from his wealthy uncle, George S. Pepper. However, several libraries claimed the bequest, and only after the courts decided the money was intended to found a new public library did the Free Library finally open in March 1894. Its first location

88-454: A Second Language conversation groups, and computer classes. Many of these programs and services are funded in whole or in part by The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, a not-for-profit which exists to supplement the funds available through the City of Philadelphia for activities at the Free Library of Philadelphia. The Free Library's Culinary Literacy Center, which opened in the spring of 2014 at

132-402: A beginning balance of $ 9,047, transferred from the education fund. Knight Foundation incorporated in the state of Ohio with the goal of carrying out the work of the education fund. At its start, the foundation gave grants for education, social services, cultural organizations and some journalism-related causes. In its first decade, the foundation's financial resources came from contributions from

176-568: A grant. (Before 2010, an organization had to be a registered section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.) The process of asking for a grant begins with a letter of inquiry describing the project concept. In addition to the foundation's regular granting program, there are three contests (calls for entries): The Knight News Challenge , the Knight Arts Challenge and the Knight Community Information Challenge . In 2011

220-528: A member when the organization received its charter. A chartered member (British English) is a member who holds an individual chartered designation authorized under that organization's royal charter. Anglo-Saxon charters are documents from the early medieval period in Britain which typically make a grant of land or record a privilege. They are usually written on parchment , in Latin but often with sections in

264-427: A university. The form of charter used varies by period and jurisdiction. A charter of " Inspeximus " (Latin, literally "We have inspected") is frequently a royal charter, by which an earlier charter or series of charters relating to a particular foundation (such as a monastery or a guild) was recited and incorporated into a new charter, usually in order to confirm and renew its validity under present authority. Where

308-534: Is that sense which is retained in modern usage of the term. In early medieval Britain, charters transferred land from donors to recipients. The word entered the English language from the Old French charte , via Latin charta , and ultimately from Greek χάρτης ( khartes , meaning "layer of papyrus"). It has come to be synonymous with a document that sets out a grant of rights or privileges. The term

352-400: Is used for a special case (or as an exception) of an institutional charter. A charter school , for example, is one that has different rules, regulations, and statutes from a state school. Charter can be used as a synonym for "hire" or "lease", as in the "charter" of a bus , boat or plane . A charter member (US English) of an organization is an original member; that is, one who became

396-609: The Akron Beacon Journal , provided tuition assistance to college students in need. Following their father's death, John S. and James L. Knight created the Knight Memorial Education Fund in 1940 to continue the mission of helping needy Akron college students pay for college. The Akron Beacon Journal also contributed some money to the education fund. In December 1950, the Knight Foundation was created with

440-626: The Akron Beacon Journal and Miami Herald , and from personal grants from John and James Knight. Other Knight newspapers also contributed in the early 1960s; this led to a limited number of grants to those cities. Despite several family ties, the foundation was legally independent of Knight-owned newspapers. Newspaper contributions to the foundation stopped five years later. At that time, the Knights' mother Clara, who died on November 12, 1965, left her inheritance of 180,000 shares of Knight stock to

484-683: The Knight Foundation , is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education Fund in 1940. For its first decade, most of its contributions came from the Akron Beacon Journal and Miami Herald . The fund was incorporated as Knight Foundation in 1950 in Ohio, and reincorporated as the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Florida in 1993. Its first grant in

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528-623: The United States Congress that states the mission, authority, and activities of a group. Congress issued federal charters from 1791 until 1992 under Title 36 of the United States Code . A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body , including (but not necessarily limited to) cities , counties , towns , townships , charter townships , villages , and boroughs . Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under

572-406: The terms of reference ) is provided by the sponsor to formally authorize the existence of a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project purpose and objectives, identifies key stakeholders, and defines the authority of the project manager. It serves as a reference of authority for future planning of the project. The project scope is developed from

616-438: The 650 public-access computers and free WiFi throughout the Free Library's 54 branches.) In April 2012, the Free Library added The Techmobile, a Hot Spot on Wheels, which brings service to neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. The Techmobile has six public laptops. According to a study conducted by Penn's Fels Institute of Government , in 2017 nearly 25,000 people learned to read or taught someone else to read solely because of

660-461: The Free Library of Philadelphia system, comprising 54 neighborhood library locations and the Rosenbach , advances literacy, guides learning, and inspires curiosity with millions of digital and physical materials; 28,000 yearly programs and events; free public computers and Wi-Fi; and rich special collections. With more than 6 million in-person visits and millions more online annually, the Free Library and

704-503: The HABS column of the table below. Charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights , stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty ), and that the recipient admits a limited (or inferior) status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were historically granted, and it

748-653: The Knight News Challenge, sought ideas that used "digital technology to inform communities." In addition to Knight's pivot toward funding digital innovations, the foundation also doubled down on its support of the First Amendment, funding regular surveys that gauged high school students' awareness of it, and helping create organizations like the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University to "preserve and expand First Amendment rights in

792-576: The Lewis Psalter (Lewis E M 185), a masterpiece of Parisian illumination from the reign of Saint Louis . The Free Library's music collections include the Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music, the largest lending library of orchestral performance sets in the world. Additionally, the Rosenbach Museum & Library is a subsidiary of the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation. In addition to

836-613: The Library in hosting the citywide One Book, One Philadelphia program, which encourages all Philadelphians to read and discuss the same book, fostering community and connection; the Summer Reading program, which engages some 50,000 Philadelphia school children each summer; and the Literacy Enrichment After-school Program (LEAP). In addition, the Free Library hosts months-long celebrations of literary milestones, from

880-622: The Parkway Central Library and the Rosenbach in downtown Philadelphia, the system operates 54 neighborhood and regional library locations throughout the city. Many of these locations were funded by Andrew Carnegie , who donated US$ 1.5 million to the library in 1903. The Parkway Central Library and twenty extant Carnegie-funded branch libraries were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 2007, as noted in

924-424: The Parkway Central Library, offers culinary classes for children, teens, families, and adults to teach literacy skills through cooking as well as math, chemistry, nutrition, and health. The Library hosts a renowned Author Events Series produced through its Foundation, which brings more than 100 writers, politicians, scientists, researchers, and musicians to the Free Library annually. The Library Foundation also supports

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968-503: The Rosenbach are among the most widely used educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia and boast a worldwide impact. On June 2, 1927, the Parkway Central Library opened for service at its present location at 1901 Vine Street on Logan Square . The building had been in planning since 1911; various obstacles, including World War I , held up progress. The grand Beaux-Arts building was designed by Julian Abele , chief designer in

1012-538: The area of journalism was given to the Inter American Press Association , a press advocacy group, in Miami. After Creed Black assumed the presidency of the foundation in 1988, its national presence grew. In 1990, the board of trustees voted to relocate its headquarters from Akron, Ohio , to Miami , Florida , where it has been headquartered since. From 1907 to 1933, Charles Landon Knight , publisher of

1056-1103: The birthdays of influential writers like Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare to the publication anniversaries of groundbreaking titles like Pride and Prejudice and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . The Free Library Foundation also manages READ by 4th, a citywide effort of public and private organizations aiming to significantly increase the number of students in Philadelphia entering the 4th grade at reading level by 2020. READ by 4th's comprehensive strategy includes improving early learning, providing parents with resources to teach their children reading skills, emphasizing summer reading and other strategies to prevent learning loss, decreasing absenteeism by addressing behavioral and health concerns, and enhancing reading instruction in schools. The Free Library's digital offerings include nearly 300,000 streaming or downloadable ebooks; 1,000 public computers; 1,700-plus author event podcasts; 150 online databases; daily homework and computer literacy classes online; Hot Spot community computer training centers; and

1100-473: The bulk of his Knight-Ridder shares to Knight Foundation. The foundation opened its first office in Akron with two full-time employees: President Ben Maidenburg , former Akron Beacon Journal executive editor and his secretary, Shirley Follo. More than a year after taking the reins, Maidenburg fell ill. The foundation's headquarters moved from Akron, Ohio to Miami in 1990. At that time, the foundation's portfolio

1144-431: The digital age through research and education, and by supporting litigation in favor of protecting freedom of expression and the press." Under Ibargüen, Knight also expanded its support of the arts, through "Knight Arts Challenges" in a number of Knight Communities. The Foundation's website describes grant-making programs in journalism, communities, and the arts. Communities which had Knight-Ridder Newspapers in 1991, at

1188-516: The earth. These three types were royal colonies, proprietary colonies , and corporate colonies. A charter colony by definition is a "colony chartered to an individual, trading company, etc., by the British crown ." Although charter colonies were not the most prevalent of the three types of colonies in the British Empire, they were by no means insignificant. A congressional charter is a law passed by

1232-473: The five-year initiative with $ 5.4 million in grants to build the connection between orchestras and their audiences. In 1999, the foundation approved a second phase, expanding the program to a total of $ 13 million over 12 years. Knight-Ridder newspapers and the foundation held ties to 26 U.S. cities and in 1998, the foundation's board of trustees voted to permanently fund these 26 cities, independent from where Knight-Ridder bought or sold their newspaper business in

1276-493: The foundation. The stock was valued at $ 5.2 million. Two years later, in 1974, Knight Newspapers merged with Ridder Publications to create Knight-Ridder Inc. , which created the largest newspaper company in the country at the time. Lee Hills , former president of Knight Newspapers, became Knight-Ridder chairman and CEO. Hills, a foundation trustee since 1960, was the first person outside the family to head Knight Newspapers. In April 1975, John Knight signed his final will, leaving

1320-430: The further creation of endowments of journalism programs at colleges and universities. The premise was that traditional journalism education had to change to meet the unique challenges of the digital age. Knight also began experimenting with non-traditional approaches to connecting with new grantees, such as contests that limited grantees to 150 words to describe ideas and were open to anybody. The first of these contests,

1364-539: The future. Across the 26 cities, the foundation deployed program directors to oversee funding initiatives. Each city has a Knight Community Advisory Committee, a group made up of local residents, which offer funding suggestions for their city. In 2005, to address the Internet's increasingly disruptive impact on the traditional media industry, Knight began a number of systemic changes in its approach to making grants. As one of his first actions as CEO, Alberto Ibargüen suspended

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1408-495: The laws of the state or province in which they are located. Often, this event is marked by the award or declaration of a municipal charter, a term used because municipal power was historically granted by the sovereign, by royal charter . Charters for chivalric orders and other orders, such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta . In project management , a project charter or project definition (sometimes called

1452-462: The legal fiction that the King had granted it "voluntarily, and by the free exercise of [his] royal authority", in the manner of medieval charters. At one time a royal charter was the only way in which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means (such as the registration process for limited companies ) are generally now used instead. A university charter is a charter issued to create or recognise

1496-728: The local community foundation is the first point of contact for funding: The foundation endows Knight Chairs who are journalists in tenured positions at universities across the United States. Journalism-technology labs in various universities are also funded by Knight Foundation. Knight Foundation funds multimedia training in newsrooms such as National Public Radio and through programs like Knight-Mozilla OpenNews. Knight Foundation presidents have been: John S. Knight , James L. Knight , Lee Hills , Creed C. Black , Hodding Carter III (1997–2005), and Alberto Ibargüen (2005–present). Any individual or U.S.-based organization may apply for

1540-630: The office of prominent Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer , and first opened its doors in 1927. Its design, that of the adjacent Philadelphia Family Court building , and their placement on Logan Circle closely follow that of the Hôtel de Crillon and the Hôtel de la Marine on Paris 's Place de la Concorde . The mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia is "to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity." The Free Library of Philadelphia hosts more than 25,000 events each year, including job-search workshops, small business programming, English as

1584-484: The original documents are lost, an inspeximus charter may sometimes preserve their texts and lists of witnesses. See Articles of association . In the context of a political uprising, a charter might lay out the basic principles and goals of the movement, define the organizational structure of the movement, and describe the roles and responsibilities of its members. John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation , also known as

1628-469: The project charter. In medieval Europe, royal charters were used to create cities (i.e., localities with recognised legal rights and privileges). The date that such a charter was granted is considered to be when a city was "founded", regardless of when the locality originally began to be settled. The Charter of 1814 , France's constitution during the Bourbon Restoration , was thus called to promote

1672-750: The resources of the Free Library. In addition, nearly 1,000 people found jobs based on the career resources of the Free Library, and some 8,600 entrepreneurs were able to start, grow or improve their small businesses because of programs and resources available free of charge at the Library. Located at the Parkway Central Library , the Free Library's Special Collections span genres and generations, from ancient cuneiform tablets to historic photographs of Philadelphia. The Free Library of Philadelphia's Children's Literature Research Collection houses an extensive research collection of children's literature published after 1836. The Rare Book Department features one of

1716-589: The roving Techmobile. In March 2011, the library launched Free Library Hot Spots, placing new computer labs and computer trainers in existing community centers in low-income areas of the city. The initiative was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Each Hot Spot provides computers, internet access, printers, and a small selection of Free Library materials. (These are in addition to

1760-512: The time of the last founder James L. Knight 's death, are considered to be among the 26 "Knight Communities" which are eligible for funding through the Foundation's community and arts programs. Knight works in 26 communities in the United States. In eight communities, a local program director leads the work: Another 18 communities have 'Knight Donor Advised Funds' guided by Knight Foundation via local community foundations. In those communities,

1804-488: The vernacular, describing the bounds of estates, which often correspond closely to modern parish boundaries. The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church , but from the 8th century surviving charters were increasingly used to grant land to lay people . The British Empire used three main types of colonies as it sought to expand its territory to distant parts of

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1848-420: The world's most renowned Charles Dickens collections, with first editions, personal letters, and Dickens’ stuffed pet raven, Grip, as well as extensive collections of illuminated manuscripts , Americana, Beatrix Potter , early children's books, Edgar Allan Poe , Pennsylvania German folk art, and more. The collection includes over 50 Books of Hours and numerous bibles, liturgical texts, and psalters, including

1892-478: Was three cramped rooms in City Hall . On February 11, 1895, the library was moved to the old Concert Hall at 1217-1221 Chestnut Street . Library officials criticized their new home as "an entirely unsuitable building, where its work is done in unsafe, unsanitary and overcrowded quarters, temporary make-shifts". On December 1, 1910, the Library was moved again, to the northeast corner of 13th and Locust Streets. Today,

1936-537: Was valued at $ 522 million and staff had grown to 14 employees. On February 5, 1991, James Knight died, leaving a bulk of his estate, $ 200 million, to the foundation. Hills succeeded as chairman of the board. With the foundation besieged by requests in the early 1990s for emergency funding to "save our symphony," Penelope McPhee, director of the Arts Program, designed the Magic of Music initiative . In 1992, Knight launched

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