We know Philadelphia is among the most passionate musical cities, but there’s room to grow. Studies show playing a musical instrument can improve mood, school performance, and quality of life. Having to buy an instrument is just one hurdle toward learning to play, joining the city’s music ranks, and engaging with our booming cultural community. This is the opportunity for our library to come in as an institution boasting free access to all.

The MIC connects with patrons in Philadelphia’s music communities which we serve: students, scholars, publishers, writers and working and not-working-enough musicians. Other departments in the library and outside groups have expressed interested in collaborating with the collection. Many have donated instruments. The Free Library is one of a tiny handful of libraries in the United States and the world lending instruments. Building the program gave us the chance to build on the successes of librarians worldwide.

In September 2016, the MIC launched with six instrument kits. The collection has now exceeded 30 instruments. We’ve learned through surveys that patrons have used our instruments in performances with friends and family, to learn songs and the rudiments of music, to augment their own gear, and to use in conjunction with the library’s already-robust collection of resources (print scores and books, electronic resources, films on DVD).