April Library News
Find your joy this April at your library!
“Find Your Joy” is an invitation for people of all backgrounds to explore and discover what sparks joy in them at the library during National Library Week April 19-25. Award-winning librarian, author, and new host of the children’s program “Reading Rainbow,” Mychal Threets, will serve as Honorary Chair of National Library Week. The theme amplifies a message that is ever-present in Mychal Threets’ recurring viral videos about the innumerable ways people can find joy in the library, as well as in his debut picture book, I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy, published on February 3, 2026. We encourage everyone to stop in and renew or sign up for a library card this week!
Find your joy at the library this month with a lineup of free events for all ages and interests.
We’re excited to offer quality programs that educate, entertain, and spark curiosity. Whether you’re looking for a storytime, a hands-on workshop, or a thoughtful discussion. Be sure to check out these featured events and join us to discover new favorites in a welcoming, community-focused space.
All programming is sponsored by The Friends of the Parkland Community Library.
Learn more about The Friends on their webpage.
The next storytime break will be the last week of April 27-May 8.
Join us for 1-2-3 Play with Me Fridays in April.
Now Showing: Jeanne Stock through April.
Creative endeavors have always drawn me—whether at my easel, in the garden or kitchen, or at my computer. Any chance to create always captures my attention! Jeanne Stock is a graduate of Kutztown University with a BFA in Advertising Design. With a successful family now, she is lucky to have time to revisit her own artwork. “It is a real joy to have the opportunity to paint, and it is also my sincere pleasure to share my artwork with you.”
The Parkland Art League will rotate artist displays every two months at PCL. Head to the right of the Zirkel Meeting rooms to our gallery space. The public is welcome to view the gallery at any time the library is open. Purchase inquiries can be made through the Parkland Art League.
Earth Week April 18-24, 2026
Celebrate Earth Week at your library. The native garden is awakening; please stop by and see if you can identify some of the emerging plants. Additionally, we invite you to visit our blog, which addresses frequently asked questions about native plant gardens.
Free Trees from Neighborhood Forest arrive during Earth Week, April 18-24, for those who signed up! We will notify people by email. Also, check our home page scroller for the announcement.
Earth Day, April 22- Don’t miss Mother Nature, the play on 4/22 at 5:30pm
Arbor Day, April 24
Kurtland Farms’ Live Chat Details
Day & Time: Thursday, April 23, 2026, 2:00 PM EST
Prepare for Your Live Chat
Have you watched your host farm’s farm tour video yet? If not, click the green button below to watch Kurtland Farm’s farm tour. Try the Farm Tour Scavenger Hunt or Farm Tour Bingo activity while watching the video.
Write down any questions you come up with and have them ready for your live chat with Farmer Paige and Fluff.
Farm Tour Video
Join the Moo-vement! Your library has adopted a dairy calf. Check in monthly for a themed program. We’ll watch our calf grow and learn about the farming and technology that bring us the dairy products we enjoy.
Erza Jack Keats Mock Awards
In March, Youth Services hosted the Mock EJK Awards at the library. Participants first browsed and selected one or two that caught their interest; we then read the picks aloud. We narrowed the choices to ten titles for voting. Participants received six votes for their favorite author and illustrator, three for their top book, two for their second favorite, and one for their third favorite. The illustrator’s winner was clear, but there was a four-way tie for the author, resolved by voting.
And the winners are…
Best Author: Faith Takes the Train by Kesi Augustine (Author), Mokshini (Illustrator)
Best Illustrator: New Shoes for Leo by Lauren Agra Deedy (Author), Susan Gal (Illustrator)
The Ezra Jack Keats Award is given annually to an outstanding writer and illustrator early in their career by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in partnership with the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM).
Recommendations, Collections, and More!
Explore our amazing array of holidays, celebrations, and collections, filled with our most exciting picks. Dive into a world of entertainment with a variety of options, including audiobooks, music, movies, and much more. Make the most of your free time and indulge in some well-deserved relaxation and enjoyment.
Adaptations in April
Discover Kanopy’s Adaptations in April collection and see how your favorite stories transform on screen. Stream now and compare the book vs. the movie!
Earth Day, April 22
This Earth Day, learn how small actions make a big difference. Stream powerful documentaries and films on Kanopy that explore our planet, sustainability, and the fight for a greener future, all FREE with your library card!
Happy Holidays!
April brings a season of celebrations to the library as we honor Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. Discover a curated list of 20 titles that commemorate these observances and the wider arc of spring. From inspiring memoirs to accessible histories and engaging children’s books, there’s something for every reader. Stop by to borrow, learn, and explore new perspectives this season with our diverse selections. Go to Booklist.
A good online resource for exploring and comparing spring religious observances around the globe is A-Z World Culture, the fifth database listed in PCL’s alphabetical e-resources. Patrons can find the library’s e-resources if they locate/hover over the FIND IT tab in the navy blue task bar at the top of Parkland Community Library’s homepage. The drop-down menu reveals the link to PCL’s e-resources. Scroll down the e-resources page to find the alphabetical database offerings.
A patron’s first step would be to select A-Z World Culture, then choose one of 174 countries by either clicking a specific country on the world map or selecting it in the A-Z listing. Patrons would then be on a page containing 27 categories of information about their selected country, all represented by alphabetized, linked blue sections in a vertical column on the left side of the screen.
Holidays & Festivals
Among these sections is the Holidays and Festivals section. Selecting Holidays and Festivals will provide patrons with descriptions of each event (for example, Orthodox Easter in Ukraine), dates from 2026-2028, any closures (government and business shutdowns), background on each item, and interesting celebration details.
Kanopy and hoopla are free at-home streaming apps, courtesy of your library, available to Parkland School District and paying nonresidents only.
With hoopla, patrons can borrow, stream, and download content on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and more. hoopla offers access to a vast collection of books, videos, and music, all free with your library card.
A big thank you to APCI Federal Credit Union Kids Klub for their wonderful donation of children’s financial literacy books to Parkland Community Library!
As a PA Forward® gold star library, this donation supports our initiative under the PA Library Association (PaLA), which works to strengthen the state’s libraries through education, advocacy, and leadership.
Scholarships available to Library Volunteers
Available in the spring each year in Honor of Alice Madden and Norman Dietrich
The Friends of the Parkland Community are now accepting applications for their annual scholarships. Graduating high school seniors or current college students who have volunteered in some capacity at the Friends Book Sales or Parkland Community Library are eligible to apply. The application can be found on the Library website. Click on Support Us and scroll down to FPCL information until you get to the scholarship application. Applications must be submitted by June 30, 2026.
This annual scholarship, created in memory of Alice Madden and Norman Dietrich, is awarded each spring to eligible volunteers. Students must be graduating high school seniors who have volunteered with the Friends or at Parkland Community Library.
Celebrate National Library Week, April 19-25, 2026. Find Your Joy!
On behalf of the Parkland Community, we thank Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre for supporting libraries.
National Library Week Days of Note
National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening communities. Millions of people across the country visit their libraries every week.
The theme is “Find Your Joy” with Honorary Chair Mychal Threets!
Right to Read Day
Monday, April 20: Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read. The American Library Association (ALA) kicks off National Library Week with the release of its State of America’s Libraries Report, including the list of Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2025.
National Library Workers Day
Tuesday, April 21: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
Nominate a stellar library worker! Nominations may come from library users, students, children, colleagues, faculty, or management. Please visit the Galaxy of Stars to see your nomination. It will be updated weekly.
Take Action for Libraries Day
Thursday, April 23: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.
This year, as library funding is under scrutiny. The ALA encourages every library advocate to Show Up for Our Libraries by telling Congress to protect federal support for libraries. Please contact Congress in multiple ways.
Use the tags #ForOurLibraries and #FundLibraries to help us identify and promote your posts.
Show up for libraries!
Whether you cherish your library’s children’s department, appreciate the social environment of a program, seek a quiet area for work, or visit to escape the house and read a newspaper, your library remains dedicated to serving you. We kindly request your assistance in preserving these amenities so they remain available to everyone who enjoys them.
Please advocate on our behalf regarding the importance of your library as a communal space. Additionally, we encourage you to express support for federal library funding whenever possible.
1. Call Your U.S. House Representative!
The two bipartisan “Dear Appropriator” letters by Representatives McGovern and Bacon are now available for signatures from other House Representatives. We need as many signatures on these letters as possible to encourage Appropriations Committee members to include funds for library services in the budget. And House lawmakers only have until March 20 to sign on, so we need them to act fast!
Calls are weighted higher than emails by Congressional staff, so we need all library supporters to pitch in and make a call to your House Representative before March 20.
Call On Your House Rep. to Support Libraries!
You can also check what Congressmembers have signed on to so far on the ALA’s Fund Libraries page.
2. Send Your Representative an Email
It’s important that your House Representative hears from you on all fronts, so after you make a phone call, use our tool to send them an email to back it up. The more often they hear from constituents on the value of library services, the better!
Tell five other people to take action by sharing these links to send messages to Congress in support of federal library funding, and then encourage them to share on social, too!
3. Help spread the word on social media or in person.
Use the tags #ForOurLibraries and #FundLibraries to help us identify and promote your posts.
You can use this simple action page to share your story with your Congressmembers—just make sure to customize the default text box!
Or share your story with ALA – use their easy submission form to send your library story.
“I love libraries enthusiastically every week! To serve as Honorary Chair for National Library Week takes that enthusiasm to a whole new level. Celebrating libraries, thanking library workers, visiting libraries is how I find my joy. There are so many library kids and library grown-ups who have yet to fully embrace their library joy, and I am so excited for them! When they enter the world of libraries and stories, I am confident they will find not only their library joy but their courage to believe in their own story and maybe even share it with others.” —Mychal Threets
Native Plant Garden
Find some inspiration! This blog aims to answer common questions about native plant gardens. We hope this information enhances your enjoyment of the library’s gardens and landscaping. The Parkland Community Library would like to thank The Friends of PCL for their generous donation, which has made this project a success. Blueprint of the library’s gardens.…
Seed Library
The Seed Library kicks off on March 28, 2026. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting, the Seed Library has something for everyone. Mix and match your seed packets to create a garden that suits your preferences and tastes. We have various seeds, from root vegetables to vines, herbs, and wildflowers. Exciting news –…
March News
2026, What’s Happening at Your Library March is here, and we’re excited to share some wonderful new items at the library just for you! A heartfelt thank-you for all the love and support you showed during Library Lovers Month! Our dedicated team is always eager to enhance your library experience, so please don’t hesitate to…