Frank Peterson interacts with patrons of the Free Library System on a daily basis. Peterson, the head of the newspapers and magazines department at the Northeast Regional Branch, has been working at the second-largest branch of the Free Library near the intersection of Cottman and Bustleton avenues for more than 30 years.

“I’m an old-timer,” Peterson said with a sheepish laugh. “I’m from the Northeast. I grew up around here.”

Peterson, whose demeanor mirrors the library’s calm atmosphere he says community members have continually appreciated, has also seen the library system through its tumultuous battle for additional resources–and to remain functioning.

You can read the rest of this story on Philadelphia Neighborhoods, the publication of Temple University’s Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.