This consulate is pretty useless. I've been trying to book an appointment for almost a year…read morewithout success. No one is reachable by phone. Emails are not responded to. Bookings are NEVEsR available. Avoid dealing with them if it is an option.

This is on the visa office of the consulate…read more Be prepared, be ready for a long wait, and be spontaneous for any kind of interaction with this consulate. Having a reservation does not mean you don't need to come early - or that you will meet with a visa official on the time you reserved. If you somehow landed in here on the better slots of the morning i.e. when they're not super packed and not completely annoyed by the crowd and have everything that they could possibly want ready, you will be given a receipt with your application number to pickup your passport. They may take additional documents if you ended up unluckily needing extra - but could either ask a hard copy brought or mailed to the office instead of emails. This could be an overall frustrating process, so stay calm and relax while you're waiting - really doesn't matter if you've got a reservation or not during the pickup hour on mon wed and fri.

"The mystery of chess boxing" --Wu Tang Clan…read more I love that each of the branches of libraries in Philly have "Free Library" out front. The best things in life are free and libraries are no exception for a free resource worth its weight in gold. Friendly staff. Library also serves as a health center. Many interesting events including a chess club as I am an avid chess player like Bobby Fischer and the Wu Tang Clan. The selection isn't that large compared to the main library in San Francisco that I frequent back home yet it is quality over quantity. Whoever orders the books here is doing an excellent job. Kudos to the librarians that order the excellent reads here. I had a casual game at the chess club and won. Better to quit while ahead so after I won a single match of chess I was ghost and went to the books here to pursue them for some time before getting on with it getting on with my day.

Whenever I need to print out directions I go here. They have nice printers. Only 4-Stars because…read morelast time I went to use the printer a man was outside pooping in a box. I also wish they sold stamps. Still good place.

The staff is very friendly and it was easy to make a library card. The library is a bit small but…read morevery clean. If a book is not available, the staff is happy to look and see if can be transferred to this library which resolves the small comment! Wish they were open on the weekend!

I love this little library! It has a great staff who are friendly and helpful. There's an…read moreexcellent selection of books, magazines, and movies. It's usually quiet even after school. The library is conveniently located right off Girard Avenue with lots of restaurants nearby.

Ok, I was headed to my nearest SS office when I noted that this location had a 5 star Yelp rating…read moreand I was like:"huh?". Well, let me tell you that rating is spot ON! I arrived on a Thur morning 30 min prior to opening and the most wonderful security person was already outside making sure folks lined up appropriately, but also informing folks what could NOT get done at this location (no new applications for a SS card), as well as the things that could be done on line so folks didn't waste time in line unnecessarily! And it got better from there: doors opened on time, check-in orderly, plenty signage explaining processes, the same officer even came inside and explained where to find the stations and the bathrooms! Then when I was called, the representative not only addressed my issue, but took time to explain other aspects of SS that were available to me! I have been to a number of SS offices in the Philly area and this was BY FAR the best experience. Did I mention I was out within 35 min? Only issue: street parking is limited, but office is assessable by SEPTA. This is my go-to office from now on! Make it yours

I didn't get the name of the representative I spoke with today. I wish I had because she was…read morepleasant, thorough, and was able to provide me with an answer. This is not always the case when speaking with social security. The 4240 Market Street location is tops

Who stars for the great architecture. What an interesting place to put a passport agency…read more So I walk in to get a passport and the security guy starts yelling at me and tells me to go stand out on the sidewalk and wait until somebody calls me to come in the door. I stand outside on the sidewalk with a bunch of people waiting. It's 87°. Eventually they call us to come in and stand in line to get through the metal detector. This is the standard take your shoes off and put your laptop in a bin same as TSA Nobody that works in this place is friendly or even remotely nice with the exception of a couple of the people behind the counter of the passport agency itself. Hello security guys, you don't have to be a jerk just because your security... they were downright rude. We finally got in and got in line for the passport application and I love you and be home the security guys inside the room we're just as rude as everybody else. The guy in the window, I didn't catch his name but he was Asian, he was nice and the only bright spot of this entire debacle. We got the application done after about a 45 minute wait and they tell us to come back at 2:45 to pick up the passports that should be done by three. We arrive at 2:45 as instructed and try to go inside and of course we are refused again and told to go stand outside and wait. So we sit outside where there is only a couple benches and nowhere really to sit, and the guy comes out and yells at everybody for sitting on the edge of the wall. WhT?? We sat there for a good hour. Finally they call some other people to come in and get in line to pick up their passport. Everybody else is left outside. Now by this time it is storming it is lightning and thunder ring and there is a severe flood warning. It was so bad that they canceled a bunch of flights out of the airport. But the jerks inside the building stood there looking through the glass and all the people standing outside in the downpour including a lady with a little tiny baby probably two or three months old. There is literally no option other than to stand outside in the heat and the cold and rain waiting. No mine do the inside is nice and there's plenty a room for people to stand and wait. Guess that would be too much to ask for with my tax dollars at work. And it seems like there is no recourse in there because there doesn't seem to be any supervisors, these guys acting like jerks have complete control over what they're doing and they literally endanger the lives of probably 30 people by forcing everybody to stand outside in a lightning and thunder storm waiting. Sigh. I would avoid this place like the plague if you can.

The system currently in place to provide service for those who have an appointment over walk-ins is…read moretotally ridiculous. They have 12 windows where they can structure this a lot better to be more efficient in serving the public. If you have to get a passport or need to renew yours. I would highly recommend that you make an appointment.

I dealt with three employees here over the past two days and they are all SO kind and patient!!!…read moreWould highly recommend this store for all of your passport needs.

We went here today to renew passports. We had an appointment and got right in on time. Suzanne…read morewaited on us and she is a complete star. She took our photos, and checked over the applications we presented and even provided a mailing envelope. Fantastic experience and more fantastic because of this amazing Suzanne.

I hadn't been here in years until recently. I'm a member and that gave me the advantage of being…read moreable to search online for records I was interested in so that I could save the call numbers and save some time while there. I found the staff to be friendly and very helpful. Many of the records I wanted are in the closed stacks. You fill out a form with the call number and your name and sit at a table in the reading room. Seats are numbered and the number goes on the form and they will bring the record to you. You can do 3 at a time. If you want them to hold something you were looking through for the next day, they will hold it for you. You are allowed to take your computer, papers and phone. You can take a photo of any record which is helpful. The reading room has a lot of books. There is a family room with many books organized by family name so easy to search for a family you are looking for. Many of the records they have are not available elsewhere and may include handwritten notes a family member wrote on paper or you might find a full book on the family you are looking for. You could easily spend days and days there. There is a charge of $8.00 for non-members to enter while members are free. If you are researching Pennsylvania history or families in the area (including Delaware and New Jersey), you are bound to find something useful in your search. I appreciate that they are digitizing more and more records for those of us that don't live there and seldom can get to HSP.

As a hardcore researcher and genealogist, I borderline dread having to go to HSP to do any…read moreresearch. I say borderline because it's not 100% bad, but some staff members have a tendency to treat the public like children. They expect you to know things, even if you haven't been told what to do ahead of time (where to read books from the stacks, how to handle certain items, etc.). Yes, some things are common sense, but giving the public a little friendly guidance goes a long way. But the major turn-off for me is the exorbitant fees they charge for just about everything - from admission for non-members to copies to membership fees. And goodness forbid if you want to use a photo for a book from one of their collections - that's hundreds of dollars and a slew of conditions attached to it. It's $75 to become what they call a "Researcher" member. That only entitles you to 20 visits to the library per year (that's not even 2 visits a month!). You'd have to fork over $130 for a "Patron" membership to get 50 visits a year to their library (you want unlimited visits? Be prepared to part with anywhere from $500-$999, according to their membership brochure). Why I'm steamed about the amount of money they charge for services is only because they have materials donated to them, so they pay nothing for this stuff. They have the collections of the late Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies (that I never see displayed or talked about) as well as the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania (which handed over their collections to HSP in 2006), both of which were donated, and then they want the public to pay a mint to get copies? And as prices have risen, their hours have been reduced. They're no longer open on Saturdays and they have only one late night per week (Wednesday). If you're going to raise prices, put in some extra hours somewhere. (And be forewarned that if the person at the reception/cashier desk doesn't like you for whatever reason, they can actually deny you admission.) On the other side: Many staff members are knowledgable in helping researchers locate the information they're seeking and, sometimes, may offer them other directions to go in case they came to a dead end. They also have a wide variety of collections, *some* of which can't be found anywhere else (mainly because of the aforementioned acquisitions). They have cemetery records and the records of some funeral directors (such as Battersby) and churches (e.g. Christ Church) as well as an entire room dedicated to published family genealogies. I can take the bad with the good, but at the rates HSP charges, this historical goodie is a once-in-a-while treat, not to be used regularly (and it shouldn't be that way).

The library is open 24 hours for students, faculty, and staff of Thomas Jefferson University and…read moreThomas Jefferson University Hospital. 3rd and 4th floors have books as well as quiet study areas. The second floor is more for group study. There are computer that you can use, and there are also copy machines and printers. There are study rooms which you can reserve which has a huge 42 inch monitor that can accommodate 6-8 people. There is also a nice fish tank on the second floor. It's a great library. The staff is friendly. Good place to study. Love this place!

Medical Library for Thomas Jefferson University. It currently has a small study center with nice…read morechairs. Great to hunker down and study.