New! Look here for the calendar of coming events.
Want to learn about our annual and special events – Book Sale, Plant Sale, and Winter Interlude? Click here.
Calendar of Events
Looking for latest updates? Click here for the current listing from The Free Library.
Click any colored entry for details. Click here to browse all the details.
Special Events
April 8 – May 22, 2024 – One Book One Philadelphia – Click here for events at Central Library and elsewhere
May 2 to May 4 2024: Friends of Falls Library Book Sale!
Monday, May 20, June 3, 10, 17, 11 AM: Yoga Storytime
Weekly Events
Every Tuesday, 2 to 4 PM: Fiber Arts Group
Wednesdays, 10:15 AM: Stories and Songs for Babies and Toddlers
April 2024
Wednesday, April 30: Book Sale Previews
May 2024
May 2, 3 and 4: Friends of Falls Library Spring Book Sale
Monday and Tuesday, May 6 and 7, 11 AM: Give What You Want/Free Book Sale
Monday, May 13, 4 PM: Read with a Dog
Monday, May 13, 5:30 to 6:30 PM: Author Event – Stephanie Feldman
Tuesday, May 14, 4 PM: The Brave Little Tailor
Friday, May 17, 1 to 4 PM: East Falls Village Art Show
Monday, May 20, 5:30 PM: Falls Book Club
Monday, May 21, 5:30 to 7 PM: Community Game Night
Thursday, May 23, 10 AM to 1 PM: State Senator Vincent Hughes – Information Table
June 2024
Monday, June 10, 1 to 6 PM: Red Cross Blood Drive
Thursday, June 13, 2 PM The Claymobile at the Library
Monday, June 24, 5:30 PM: Falls Book Club
Browse complete details below
Falls Library Spring Book Sale
Thursday, May 2, 11 AM to 4 PM; Friday, May 3, 11 AM to 4 PM; Saturday, May 4, 10 AM to 4 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave. entrance)
Yes! We will be having our popular Spring Sale, featuring thousands of books! This year’s sale will be three days long:
- May 2 (11 – 4pm)
- May 3 (11 – 4pm)
- May 4 (10 – 4pm)
Hardbacks are priced at $1 each, paperbacks 2/$1. Our sales always boast high-quality, eclectic, unique books for both gift-giving and personal reading.
Preview Sale (for dealers and Friends members) – Tues. April 30 (1pm –3pm). Refreshments. $3 an item. You can join the Friends ($10) at the preview. A Public Preview will be held later that day, from 4:30pm –6:30pm. $2 an item. All invited!
Give What You Want/Free Book Sale
Monday and Tuesday, May 6 and 7, 11 AM to 6:30 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room
See what treasures remain after our Spring book sale. Give what you want, or just take them. All proceeds will help support library programming and materials.
Sale runs from 11:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room and garden.
The Spring Sale is sponsored by the Friends of the Falls of Schuylkill Library with profits benefiting library projects.
The Brave Little Tailor
Tuesday, May 14, 4 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library
Join Enchantment Theatre Company for a delightful tale from the Brothers Grimm about a feisty litle tailor who kills seven flies in one blow. Impressed by his own accomplishment, he creates a sash with the words “Seven in One Blow” and wearing it, sets off to make his fortune. But, everyone he meets assumes that he has killed seven knights, not seven flies. Faced with a series of challenges, the tailor rises to meet each one. Using his pluck, courage and intelligence he defeats two evil giants, conquers a rampaging rhinoceros, saves the kingdom from a ferocious dragon, and wins the hand of the princess too! With expressive masks, life-size puppets, original music and imaginative scenic affects, Enchantment Theatre brings this beloved story to life in its uniquely magical way.
Children, teens, families and adults are welcome!
East Falls Village Art Show
Friday, May 17, 1 to 4 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave. entrance)
East Falls Village’s popular Art Show returns to the library, showcasing our neighbors’ photography, needlework, model-making, pottery, painting, drawing and more. Around twenty artists from our community will exhibit, including several Village members. Come and wander, talk to the artists and admire their work. Sorry, no on-site sales are allowed but feel free to ask the artists for their contact information.
Families are welcome and we will have some light refreshments.
This program is hosted by East Falls Village.
Yoga Story Time
Monday, May 20, June 3, 10, 17, 2024, 11 AM
Falls of Schuylkill Library
Take a fun and playful yoga journey led by Sarah of Surya Moon Yoga!
We’ll learn individual and partner poses through songs and storytelling, all while building confidence, creativity, and strong, healthy bodies. Children and caregivers will practice how to center themselves through breathing and relaxation. This class is designed for caregivers with kiddos aged 2 to 5 years old, but anyone is welcome. Please bring your own yoga mat or beach towel to practice on.
State Senator Vincent Hughes – Information Table
Thursday, May 23. 2024, 10 AM to 1 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Avenue entrance)
Senator Hughes, along with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, PCA and the Campaign for Working Families, will be signing seniors up for Property Tax/Rent Rebates in the meeting room; Midvale Avenue entrance.
The Claymobile at the Library
Thursday, June 13, 2024, 2 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library
The Claymobile is a pop-up ceramics studio. Participants will learn skills from The Clay Studio’s professional teaching artists using clay to nurture imagination, critical thinking, and persistence. All materials will be provided and space may be limited. For ages 5 and up.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Monday, June 24. 2024, 5:30 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Avenue entrance)
There is a critical need for blood donations in the region. The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime. Can you help?
The event will be held in our meeting room from 1:00-6:00 PM. To schedule an appointment click here https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive
or call 1-800-REDCROSS orgo to redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code: Schuylkill Free Library
Falls Book Group
Monday, May 20, 2024, 5:30 PM: The book selection for this month will be West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge (2021).
Monday, June 24, 2024, 5:30 PM: The book selection for this month will be Before We Were Yours , by Lisa Wingate (2017).
The Falls Book Group is one of the Free Library’s longest running programs and is open to all. Interested in joining? For reading selections or to attend a meeting, please reach out to the adult librarian, with your name and contact info; a member of the book group will get back to you. If you are interested in joining or have questions, feel free to call Falls and ask for the branch manager. Our Book Group meets generally on fourth Monday of the month, in the downstairs meeting room.
Read with a Dog
Mondays, May 13, 4 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library
Young readers can come meet Daisy, a certified therapy dog, and share a story with her. Children can practice reading out loud, in a safe, judgment free space. Daisy loves to hear stories! Space may be limited.
Stories and Songs for Babies and Toddlers
Wednesdays through April 24, except April 17, 10:15 AM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave. entrance)
Join Ms. Grace for stories, songs, rhymes, and bounces perfect for infants and toddlers along with their caregivers! Free play with baby-friendly toys will wrap up the program. Siblings welcome.
Read, Baby, Read is a series of programs focused on language and literacy development for babies and toddlers, and their caregivers. Read, Baby, Read is made possible by a grant from the William Penn Foundation.
We will meet in the downstairs meeting room, please use the Midvale entrance through the garden.
Author/Book Events
Author Event: Stephanie Feldman
Monday, May 13, 5:30 PM
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room – Midvale Ave. entrance
Join Stephanie Feldman for a reading and Q & Q about her most recent novel, Saturnalia, a fantasy-thriller set in a near-future Philadelphia.
Stephanie Feldman is also the author of the award-winning novel The Angel of Losses. She teaches fiction writing at Acadia Univerisity and the University of Pennsylvania. She is co-editor of the multi-genre anthology Who Will Speak for America?.She lives outside of Philadelphia with her family.
This program is hosted by The Friends of Falls of Schuylkill Library, and will take place in the Community Room (use the Midvale Avenue entrance)
Community Game Nights
Monthly 5:30-7:00 PM: Monday April 15, Tuesday May 21
Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave entrance)
Enjoy board games? Looking to socialize? Meet up with neighbors? Have fun? Bring your favorite board game – Scrabble, Chess, Taboo, Pictionary, Ticket to Ride – or card game – and get set to have some fun! Penny Scott is your Game Night co-hostess.
Interested in Majiang (Mah Jongg)? Don’t know how to play? No problem! La Sripanawongsa, a seasoned player, and middle school teacher is willing to teach the game (Chinese style).
Ongoing Programs
Fiber Arts Group
Fiber Arts Group 1 MEETS WEEKLY – Every Tuesday, 2 to 4 PM, Main room
Craving for a crafts group to meet up with? Want to connect, socially, with other creatives working on portable crafts projects? Looking to share your crafts project or project ideas with other creatives? Stop by the Library – bring a portable craft project (knitting, crocheting, hand-sewing, embroidery, jewelry, etc) that you are working on. Don’t know how, but want to learn to hand-craft from others who are passionate about their projects? Stop in and watch and learn some basics.
About our other events
The Friends have several major fund-raising events through the years:
- The Book Sales have thousands of hardbacks, paperbacks, CD, DVDs, and audio books at very reasonable prices. Especially popular are the children’s book and games section and the rare or vintage tables. Click here for the Spring 2024 sale.
- Holiday Greens Sale, held in early December in cooperation with Vault + Vine on Midvale Avenue. Pick out your holiday tree and browse Vault + Vine for gifts, plants, and more – a great way to see friends and support two great organizations.
- The Friends hold social gatherings for all of East Falls from time to time. In The Winter Interludes, the Library great room was transformed into an evening winter wonderland of blue and white. With special permission, we hosted a wine bar, a sumptuous dessert buffet and a silent auction-all donation-from gift certificates to local businesses to hand made gifts.
Free to all, the East Falls Performers is a night of sheer delight featuring a broad range of local musical talent and sponsored by the Friends. Every year the competition gets tighter and the open spots smaller. This event is a must for understanding why we say, “our Library is the heart of East Falls.”
Having fun at the Winter Interlude – Photo by Brian Mudri
Friends Buy-A-Brick Fundraiser a Success!
At the May 28, 2022 Brick Dedication reception held in the Falls Library’s garden, the Friends of Falls of Schuylkill Library celebrated the completion of their Buy-A-Brick fundraising campaign with the unveiling of the brick walkways. With live music by La Bella Nota, balloons, and refreshments, the donors of the 184 personalized bricks were feted and honored with words of thanks from Wendy Moody (Chair of the campaign), Martha Fuller (President of the Friends of Falls Library), Emily Nichols (President of the East Falls Community Council) and Caroline Davidson (former Friends President) who read The Brick Poem, which Moody wrote for the occasion. (see below).
The bricks sold quickly ($100 each) with over $14,600 raised for library projects. Each brick was lasered with the donor’s choice of inscription, which included creative and endearing tributes to loved ones, pets, authors, and the library itself.
Buy-A-Brick Committee members also included Frankie Jueds, Suzanne Penn, and Mimi Mather, with refreshments chaired by Marie Filipponi and Mary Jean Cunningham. The bricks were inscribed by Lasermation Inc. and laid by Sean McCrossan.
A grateful thanks to our neighborhood donors and to our hard-working volunteers! Stop by the tranquil library garden to treat yourself to a bit of local history.
History and Architecture of the Falls Library
by Ellen Prantl
Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Falls of Schuylkill Library
Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Click here to see a YouTube video of the presentation
If you have ever wondered about the imposing Gothic Tudor stone structure with its iconic cupola and catfish weather vane gracing the corner of Midvale Ave and Warden Drive, view this video.
The building in question is the 108 year old Falls of Schuylkill Library, a vibrant and important educational, social, and cultural center in East Falls. Distinguished architect and East Falls resident Ellen Prantl talked of the Library, its history as an original Carnegie Library, its architectural design and construction.
Ms. Prantl’s illustrated talk focuses on the Carnegie library program, the requirements for a neighborhood to be selected as a site, the hiring of librarians under the program and the distinctive architecture of the building.
A resident of East Falls since 1985, Ms. Prantl is an architect with Jacobs, an international architectural/engineering firm with offices in center city. She specializes in institutional architecture with a focus on medical and research facilities. Ms. Prantl has also been an adjunct professor at Temple University, Moore College of Art and at Jefferson University.