English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Library News
January 2025
We hope you had a fantastic holiday season and are ready to kick off the new year with a bang! This month’s January news digital newsletter has some exciting updates and promotions to share. We are also looking forward to celebrating the lunar new year with you! Happy year of the snake!
First, we are grateful for your continued support and loyalty. We are where we are today because of our patrons. As we embark on another year together, we promise to continue delivering top-notch services and new materials that exceed your expectations.
Thank you again for making PCL your community center. The library is ramping up its technology offerings and outreach as per the strategic plan 2024- 2027. Here’s to a prosperous new year ahead!
“I would be totally lost without the library—it’s like a second home to me!”
—Ann D.
Closures
New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1
The library will be closed for Staff Development Day on Friday, January 10.
Upcoming Events
Storytimes Return Monday, January 13, 2025
Winter Reading
Log reading to earn prizes!
Get out of the post-holiday slump and conquer your reading list by signing up for our Winter Reading Challenge January 11-February 22, 2025! Grab a cup of hot cocoa, snuggle up with a blanket, and immerse yourself in the beautiful stories waiting for you—all ages. Registration opens on January 11.
Kids Winter Reading Prizes
When children finish their Winter Reading log sheets, they turn them in at the Youth Services desk in the Barclay Family Children’s Wing. Participants may choose 1 item from the blue prize bins and earn a raffle ticket to enter into one of the drawings.
The six raffles are:
- Yeti Squishmallow
- Dragon Squishmallow
- Pet Vet Kit
- $25 The End Bookstore gift card (2 winners)
- $25 AMC gift card
Snowman Challenge
Adults & Young Adults, Ages 12+
Calling all readers aged 12 to 109! Join our exciting Winter Reading Program and dive into a world of books while earning bingo boxes. Here’s how it works:
• Read Up to 240 Minutes: For every 30 minutes you read, you’ll earn a part of your snowman—hat, scarf, buttons, and more! Watch your snowman come to life as you reach your reading goals.
• Special Activities: Participate in fun and engaging activities to complete a box on the Bingo board. Activities can include anything from book-themed reading to attending a library program or making a snowball.
• Bingo Board Challenge: Complete rows, columns, or the entire board to get a raffle ticket for each block you complete and enjoy a rewarding reading journey this winter.
Register with Beanstack or at the Reference Desk for those who want to use paper. An incentive prize will be available at the reference desk for those who register while supplies last. Let’s see who can complete the Bingo board! Earn tickets for the grand prize of a Snowman kit! Happy reading!
AARP Tax Appointments Coming Soon
Essential notes for 2025:
Library staff will not be scheduling appointments this year. No phone calls, please.
AARP will not schedule appointments by phone until after January 27. A phone number will be provided after January 27.
Make sure to mark your calendars and secure your spot! See you at the library!
Year of the Snake New Year Celebration
All Ages | RSVP
Celebrate the Lunar New Year at the library with the Huaxia Chinese School of Lehigh Valley!
This fun-filled celebration includes origins of traditions and stories, music, dance, and challenging activities everyone will enjoy!
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2025 is the year of the Snake. The element is wood, making 2025 the year of the Wood-Snake. 2025 promises introspection, wisdom, and growth. January 29 is the date of the Lunar New Year.
Teen Dungeons & Dragons
Minor changes to this program:
Starting in January 2025, D&D Night will require RSVP.
To dive right into the dungeons, we ask new adventurers to be familiar with the game rules and have a character already prepared.
Guilds will still meet on the first and third Mondays of the month from 6 to 8 PM. Please email our Teen Library Assistant with any questions or concerns or for more information. As always, these sessions are free.
Age Limit: Grades 6-12
Grants
Under the direction of our director, Maryellen, she has taken the opportunity to advance the library’s mission, working tirelessly to improve the community we share. With limited funding provided to us and Parkland’s growing population, the library seeks solutions to keep providing our patrons with new services and materials for educational advancement to meet our goals for a measurable impact.
Additional Laptops
The library will add 20 new laptops to its collection for patron use, thanks to the PBDA Board of Directors, which approved the hardware from the CPF Digital Connectivity Technology Program.
Computer Literacy Classes
Adult computer literacy classes every Monday at 10am in January thanks to the PLA ATT Digital Literacy Grant! Drop in and spread the word as we decrease the digital divide.
- Email Basics
- Internet Basics
- Cybersecurity Basics
- Video Conferencing Basics
New Book Drop
There is a new accessible book return by the library’s front door. PCL thanks Friends of the Library for funding the endeavor. The book return at the rear of the building will still be available, as will our North Whitehall Township Building box located at 3256 Levans Rd, Coplay, PA 18037.
Kanopy campaigns launching on January 1, 2025
Hoopla and Kanopy are free at-home streaming services courtesy of your library for Parkland School District and Northwestern residents only! Borrow, stream, and download content on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, and more. Download the hoopla app to get started, or contact the reference desk if you need help at 610-298-1361×106 or info@parklandlibrary.org. Please note these limits: Patrons can have up to five monthly borrows. Items listed as “bonus borrows” do not count toward the monthly limit.
Kanopy: Find movies, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, independent films, and educational videos that inspire, enrich, and entertain all ad-free experiences that can be enjoyed on your TV, mobile phone, tablet, and online free with your library card. Borrowers receive 25 tickets per month.
Go to the list.
Go to the list.
Go to the list.
Go to the list.
Go to the list.
Go to the list.
Parkland Art League
Glenn Kratzer
Glenn Kratzer’s collection is on display for purchase at PCL through February 28, 2025. Visit our latest Parkland Art League Exhibit in our Zirkel Meeting Rooms corridor gallery space!
Purchase inquiries can be made through the Parkland Art League. To view the collection online, visit their webpage.
Coming Soon!
Most Circulated Items of 2024
The latest installment of PCL’s Most Circulated Items of 2024 from our catalog will be updated shortly.
Please check back and stay updated with the latest updates—subscribe to our eNews.
We Recommend These Titles
The Little Lost Library
When Nora Pennington is asked to deliver an order of books to a creepy Gothic mansion on the outskirts of town, Lucille Wynter doesn’t answer her door. Nora enters the house to find it bursting with books and Lucille’s lifeless body. Nora and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society attempt to solve a series of murders related to Lucille Wynter’s missing books.
Tell Me Everything:
A Novel
With her remarkable insight into the human condition and silences that contain multitudes, Elizabeth Strout returns to the town of Crosby, Maine, and to her beloved cast of characters—Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, Bob Burgess, and more—as they deal with a shocking crime in their midst, fall in love and yet choose to be apart, and grapple with the question, as Lucy Barton puts it, “What does anyone’s life mean?”
Reagan: His Life and Legend
With its revelatory insights, Reagan: His Life and Legend is no apologia, depicting a man with a good-versus-evil worldview derived from his moralistic upbringing and Hollywood westerns. Providing fresh examinations of “trickle-down economics,” the Cold War’s end, the Iran-Contra affair, as well as a nuanced portrait of Reagan’s family, this definitive biography is as compelling a presidential biography as any in recent decades.
The Freaks Came Out to Write the Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper that Changed American Culture
A defining New York City institution co-founded by Norman Mailer, The Village Voice was the first newspaper to cover hip-hop and Off-Broadway to cover the AIDS crisis. It invented new forms of criticism and storytelling and revolutionized journalism, spawning hundreds of copycats.
Place a hold.
Appreciate a Dragon Day
Appreciate a Dragon Day is January 16. For centuries, myths, legends, and lore of magnificent, fire-breathing, and elemental beasts have captured our imaginations globally. Celebrate by enjoying themed stories from your library and watching your favorite dragon-themed film with friends.
We Recommend
I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen
Supports Pa Foward’s Gold Star program of Basic Literacy.
Most Circulated Adult Fiction of 2024
Let’s celebrate the New Year with our patrons’ favorite Fiction books of 2024! PCL is pleased to announce the Most Circulated Adult Fiction of 2024! Remember that most titles are available in several formats and may be available on our apps, Libby and hoopla. Some titles are also available on CD, ebook, and large print.…
February News
2025, see what’s happening at your library this month! Celebrate your love for the library! February is Library Lovers’ Month We want to thank our valued patrons for your continued library support. February is Library Lovers’ Month, and there is no better time to acknowledge and celebrate libraries’ incredible impact on our community. Your generosity…
Young Critics Book Club
2025 Monthly, on the third Thursday Young Critics Book Club is a monthly book discussion for ages 8-12. We will share ideas for other great reads while enjoying fun activities and snacks. Even if you have not finished the book, join us anyway. A parent or guardian must be present for this event. Be sure…