Five Philly-Area Libraries You’ll Have to Drag the Kids Out Of

Story time at West Philly’s Lucien E. Blackwell Library. Photograph by Stuart Goldenberg

Langhorne Library
Head straight for Penn’s Little Village, a preschooler-size town where kids can fight (make-believe) fires, shop a grocery store, fix a car and even vote. 301 South Pine Street, Langhorne.

Henrietta Hankin Library
The slate at this Chester County local rivals those of some fancy private schools, with story times, nature classes, book clubs, Lego clubs, and a Girls Who Code club. Kids can even practice reading to a therapy dog at Tail Waggin’ Tutors sessions. 215 Windgate Drive, Chester Springs.

Princeton Public Library
With a giant fish tank, plenty of places to lounge (and a few to climb on), and a bevy of services and events (tutoring, a book festival, story reading in Mandarin, Spanish, Italian and more), this can easily become a daily destination. 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton.

Lucien E. Blackwell Library
This newly renovated West Philly spot has playgroups, story times, after-school programs, books that read aloud to you, a homeschool book club, a super-fun staff, and a pretty incredible program of free video-conferencing story sessions for kids and caregivers with incarcerated family members. 125 South 52nd Street, West Philly.

Collingswood Public Library
Movies, board games, comics, manga (indie Japanese comics) and Wii make this a hot spot for teens. 771 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood.

» See Also: The Philadelphian’s Guide to Local Libraries

Published as “Check It Out: Outdoor Voices, Please” in the March 2018 issue of Philadelphia magazine.