The Big & Little Free Library History Crawl

Join Audrey for a Little (and Big) Free Library Crawl unlike any other - this time we're bringing in the big momma library! This LFL crawl will trace the history of the Free Library of Philadelphia - from its humble 1894 beginnings in City Hall to its grand home on the Parkway - and we're doing it with a mission inspired by the Free Library's One Book One Philadelphia 2026 read: Our Missing Hearts and the OBO BINGO Challenge!

Join us online on May 23 to discuss the book! RSVP here

Big thanks to the Free Library Foundation for its generous donation of books to support us on our community service mission to get literature into as many hands as possible**!**

NOTE: Please be prepared to walk - A LOT!
Attendance is limited to 25 people.

💰DONATION: $10-$20 - Pay what you want - 100% will go to the Free Library Foundation as a donation to support literacy!
(No refund if you cancel) First pay goes.
HOW TO PAY: Use friends and family option/non-business option please.

• Venmo - @audrey-Heller1 (Last four digits of my phone # are 4478)
• PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/AudreyBug

THE CRAWL:
Distance: approximately 3.4 miles
As we hop from historic Free Library sites (it had three before it found its present home) to the quirky, charming LFLs hidden in the Center City area, we'll be stocking the LFLs with copies of Our Missing Hearts and other books (bring one or more from your own shelf to share). It's a morning of local library history, building friendships, and a little bit of "guerrilla" literary distribution.

I plotted out a delightful, flat 3.5ish mile loop starting and ending at the Free Library's Parkway Central location. And, if we're too pooped to walk the whole thing we can knock off a mile by taking the Philly Phlash back to the library.

Bring**:**

• A book (new or used) or two to stock the LFLs
• A bag to carry them and the new ones you pick up to take home
• Bottle of water

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The Free Library Foundation's One Book One Philadelphia 2026 choice is Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. Now in its 24th Year, One Book One Philadelphia is an outstanding literacy and civic dialogue initiative that encourages the greater Philadelphia region to come together through reading and conversation. Managed by the The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, programming in 2026 runs from April 7 through May 28 and includes a series of FREE events, online and in-person at Free Library locations across the city, exploring themes from the selected work and youth companion titles. Visit their Calendar of Events to learn more, and stay connected by following The Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
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📚*********Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng***
Genre: Fiction, Dystopia, Contemporary
From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes the inspiring new novel about a mother’s unshakeable love.
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. Read more...

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Housekeeping!

• Here are the Club’s Basic Rules and Liability Release. You should read them because by signing up for an event you agree to them! 🙂
• Some links above are affiliate links which means when you use them to buy your book they help support the club at no cost to you!

-------------------The below is silly babble just for the algorithm - no need for book club members to read this!-------------------------------
Walking tours through Philadelphia neighborhoods is such a fun way to make new friends and be social with book loving book club members who like to read and explore urban areas and try new activities such as hiking, reading, craft, hobbies, museums and more! It's especially fun for a book club to go on outdoor and indoor adventures with all the book club friends who like to explore and try new hobbies.