All this week we're visiting the American Philosophical Society, this country's first scholarly organization, founded in 1743.

The Society's library is a major national center for research into the history of the sciences, medicine, and technology. The library holds over seven million manuscripts, 300,000 books and periodicals, and 100,000 prints. Among the many extraordinary items in its collection are first editions of books by Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and John Audubon, as well as a majority of Benjamin Franklin's imprints and a significant portion of his personal library. Some of the library's holdings are rotated in exhibits that are free and open to the public - a major exhibit on scientific instrumentation will debut in September.

To find out more about the American Philosophical Society and its library, visit its web site at

http://www.amphilsoc.org