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Video: Woman visits Philly’s 54 libraries in one day

It’s never been done before...probably

It’s possible to visit every library in Philadelphia in one day.
Courtesy of Shutterstock

Philly has 54 libraries within its borders, placing it among the top 10 cities as far as locations go. And now, thanks to South Jersey native Kate Copp, we now know that it’s possible to visit every single one of them in one day.

Copp, the social media manager for Free Library of Philadelphia, spent 12 hours driving around Philadelphia with her husband one day with one mission: Explore the city through the eyes of the Free Library, making pit stops at all 54 locations.

The Widener branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, designed by Buell Kratzer Powell in 2005.
Courtesy of BKP

“I saw neighborhoods and areas of the city that I had never been to before,” Copp says. “It gave me a lay of the land, allowing me to piece together the geography.”

As the video shows, it takes Copp from 7:30 a.m. to 7:33 p.m. to visit each library, some of which she was surprised to learn were located in strip malls, while others were in “giant, stone buildings.”

“The one I was most surprised by, which I didn’t know was so beautiful, was the Widener Library near the edge of Strawberry Mansion,” Copp says. “It has this big glass facade, so when I got there, it just jumped out to me.”

Watch Copp make the 12-hour trek through Philly below.