NEWSWORKS TONIGHT

Greg Gentile and Tracey Abner got off on the wrong foot.

"Pirates or ninjas?" said Greg.

"Um ... ninjas," said Tracey.

"Man, I'm a pirate," he revealed.

"I like ninjas," she replied.

"I'm a pirate. I'm a for-hire pirate," said Gregg. "I do parties."

If this one doesn't work out, another opportunity one will be along in five minutes.

On a snowy Wednesday evening, in a back meeting room at the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, 15 women sat at 15 different tables. Fourteen men sat down with each, briefly, for a micro-date.

As any single woman in a city will tell you, the dating scene is lopsided. Speed-dating sessions at the public library are no different. There were supposed to be 15 guys, but the library had a hard time filling those seats. They had to turn away 25 women.

Because it is a library, they brought books as ice breakers.

" 'Urban Tribes,' what's that about?" said Natasha Williams.

"It's about how a lot of people in our generation don't live near their families to have a support structure," said Peter Rambo, trying to impress. "Their support structure becomes their friends."

"You look nervous."

"I am nervous."

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" sat down with "Jane Eyre." A devotee of Ayn Rand chatted up a fan of "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," a children's picture book. The biography of Steve Jobs met the Kindle. Twice.

"There are a lot of people who don't know we exist," said Dan Shiffer, who organized the event with a different kind of love on his mind. "Our biggest loss group is between when kids graduate from high school, and when adults have children and come back. Doing events that appeal to people 25 to 35, that's our lost generation."

Each of the participants jotted down who they would like to meet again and submitted their list to Shiffer. He matched the people who'd noted they like each other and sent out contact emails.

Even if love wasn't found that night, it's not a bust.

"There was a lot I haven't read but I heard of," said Jen Nagel, a single-but-looking English teacher. "Why should I read that? Why did you like this book? I added books to my mental list. My girlfriends recommend books to me, so I read girlfriend books. Having men suggest books is new ground."

The Free Library is hosting speed-dating events all week in various neighborhoods, but the main branch is the most popular. At the end of the evening, there were 30 potential second dates.