This Saturday, a dozen branches of the Free Library of Philadelphia will begin six-day service—they’ll open on Saturdays—for the first time in four years. For the occasion, Sarah Barr profiles her local, the Holmesburg Branch

That strange Philly shape: how did it get there? And why? Steve Currall traces all the geopolitical, economic, municipal, and accidental sources that led to the setting of Philadelphia’s boundaries, imaginary, and sometimes hidden lines of destiny

A historic school in Northeast Philly, established through the generosity of Thomas Holme, Pennsylvania’s first Surveyor General, is saved, to be renovated.