October News
2026
It is time for spooky season! Be sure to visit and explore our collection of spooky tales and eerie stories this season. Whether you want a terrifying read or a spectral adventure, we have options for every fan of the macabre. Join us at the Parkland Community Library this fall for all the fun and excitement — creep it real at your library!
PCL 2026 Youth Services Program Survey
We want to make Youth Services programs at Parkland Community Library even better for you and your family, and we’d love to hear what you think! Whether you attend regularly, drop in now and then, or haven’t joined us yet, we welcome your feedback. This anonymous survey takes about 3–5 minutes to complete.
Please share your thoughts by November 20, 2026.
New Aspen Catalog
We are excited to introduce an improved Aspen library experience. Explore our updated catalog with new features! Enjoy faster searches and see all available formats in your results. Titles are now grouped, including audiobooks, large print, Playaways, and more. We’ve upgraded the rating system for a straightforward, user-friendly experience. Aspen also offers personalized recommendations based on your borrowing history and handy sharing tools.
How to log in to Aspen
User Name: (Enter your Library Card number)
Password: (your 4-digit PIN, the last 4 digits of your phone number)
Signing in unlocks saved lists, holds, renewals, and personalized suggestions, all live behind your account.
Browse by category, or search the catalog directly
Explore curated categories and scan cover images to discover titles and authors without knowing exactly what you’re after.
Catalog Search
When you know what you want, type a term, pick the search type and collection, and run it. Search puts you in control of exactly what’s matched.
Advanced Search lives in the drop-down
The Advanced Search option is found in the search-method drop-down list, where you can build more precise queries.
Account History
To preserve your account reading history, please log in by December 1. After this date, the library may no longer have access to your history. We appreciate your understanding.
New Features:
- Improved search speed.
- All available formats grouped by title.
- Easy-to-use rating system.
- Personalized recommendations.
- Sharing tools.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding while we update the website to bring you a new and improved catalog experience. During this time, access to booklists may be temporarily interrupted. We truly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Fall-Themed Program Spotlight, Free at Your Library!
Library events require an RSVP unless otherwise specified.
Parkland Community Library has a fantastic fall lineup! Eric Mintel Returns! TV personality and Investigator Eric Mintel presents his strange findings right here in the Lehigh Valley! Explore strange phenomena and mysteries with behind-the-scenes insights. Experience the paranormal like never before. If you dare, see you there.
October 29, 11am: Halloween Preschool Storytime. Miss Lila’s Monster Mash is bone-to-be-wild! A festive storytime followed by a craft and a costume parade around the inside of the library.
October 29, 6pm: Join us for a “witchy” time with the Ladies of History! Eliza Blackheart of the Breckenvale Coven will share the history of witchcraft and Halloween. Costumes encouraged! We will start the evening at 6pm with a simple craft and costume contest, with prizes for: Best, Scariest, & Funniest Costumes. We will announce the winners at the end of the program. The show will start at 6:30pm.
October 31: Haunt on by to our annual trick-or-treat at the library! Dress in your spirited finest and receive a sweet treat from our candy stations while supplies last! Don’t forget to check out a creepy tale to read on into the night!
Friday, October 16
- 5pm: SWT Halloween Spooktacular, Covered Bridge Park, 2465 Wehr Mill Rd
- 5:30pm: NWT Trunk or Treat, Kolapechka Park, 4075 Coffeetown Rd, Coplay
Saturday, October 17, 5:30pm: UMT Trunk or Treat, Grange Park
Call for Submissions!
PCL is creating a community zine with art, writing, photography, and other creative work by residents. For the first issue, we’re inviting Parkland residents to submit original work for a chance to be included in print.
VOLUME 1: HERE.
Our first issue is inspired by the theme “HERE.” What does “here” mean to you? It could be a loved or missed place, your neighborhood, where you are now, or wish to be. It might also be about this community, known to all or just you. Check out our blog for details!
Hallow-Zine October
Theme: Spooky Season & Fall
Calling all creatives! Leave a Zine, take a Zine from our library! Drop off your local lore, hauntings, creepy and cozy, Halloween, pumpkin spice, and everything nice!
If you left a September zine, it will be displayed in October.
The Zine Library is located in PCL’s foyer. Leave a zine, take a zine, share your creativity with Parkland.
New Database!
We’re excited to introduce Parkland patrons to online access to the Ompractice. Find it on our eResources page, or see below.
Find Your Ompractice Class.
Browse through the weekly schedule or get personalized recommendations based on your interests.
Yoga, strength training, tai chi, Pilates, barre, stretching, back care classes, pelvic floor strength and mobility, and more.
Live or On Demand.
Join live camera-on classes from any device. Ompractice also has an on-demand video library you can access anytime.
Begin Your Practice.
Join a class with a community. Get guidance from your teacher and leave feeling awesome!
Ompractice
- Simply click here to sign up with your library card.
- Gain unlimited access to over 100 classes a week, designed to help users build their fitness, reduce stress, alleviate pain, increase mindfulness, and more.
- The platform is inclusive and accessible, with options for all fitness levels.
Looking for more health and wellness resources? Try checking out the Get Healthy U TV BingePass from Hoopla. Once borrowed, choose from accessible categories like strength, cardio, kickboxing, barre, bodyweight, low impact, yoga, and more.
What is a Hoopla Bingepass?
A Hoopla BingePass makes it easy to stream collections of premium content with just one click. It’s the ultimate boredom buster — unlocking interactive, educational, and entertaining media without costly subscription fees. You can explore a variety of content types designed for all ages, including digital magazines, podcasts, eBooks, documentaries, video courses, and more.
To explore all of our library’s Bingepass options, click here.
October Awareness, Observances, & Celebrations
Banned Books Week 2026
Established in 1982, Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community in shared support of the freedom to read.
Books are tools for understanding complex issues. Limiting young people’s access to books does not protect them from life’s complex and challenging problems. Young people deserve to see themselves reflected in a library’s books.
Removing and banning books from public libraries is a slippery slope to government censorship and the erosion of our country’s commitment to freedom of expression. Please reject any efforts to ban books and allow individuals and parents to decide on what they can read and believe.
Visit UniteAgainstBookBans.org to learn more and to join our efforts.
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second-highest ever documented by ALA.
These were the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2025:
- Sold by Patricia McCormick
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
- (TIE) Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
–Tricks by Ellen Hopkins - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- (TIE) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
–Identical by Ellen Hopkins
–Looking for Alaska by John Green
–Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout
We can trust individuals to make their own decisions about what they read and believe.
Parents have the right to guide their children’s reading, but parents should not be making decisions for other parents’ children. Specifically, a small group of parents should not dictate what books other people’s children are allowed to read.
The ALA and Banned Books Week announced Banned Books Week 2026, October 4–10. The campaign promotes joy and creativity as resilience with the theme “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.” Banned Books Week celebrates the right to read and the discovery of stories that broaden understanding. Books are windows into ourselves and others, doors to new ideas, and paths to participation. Nearly 92% of challenges came from pressure groups, officials, or decision-makers, and 66% of challenged titles were banned, limiting access to 920 books—the highest since 1990. Banned Books Week 2026 aims to raise awareness and emphasize the right to read, with October 10, 2026, designated as Let Freedom Read Day to oppose censorship. We can defend the freedom to read during Banned Books Week and beyond.
More ways to listen, read, and watch
Banned Together is streaming FREE on Kanopy with your library card! 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.
Whether you’re a scaredy-cat eager to enjoy Halloween or a horror fanatic seeking maximum fright, Hoopla has you covered! Explore these Halloween collections and embrace the spooky spirit.
Halloween Booklist
Prepare to embrace the Halloween season with our enchanting collection of Halloween-themed literature. From chilling thrillers to eerie horror narratives, we have carefully assembled a selection of reading materials designed to immerse you in the spirit of Halloween.
Whether you prefer supernatural tales of ghosts and ghouls or intense contemporary psychological thrillers, we have an option for every reader. Engage with supernatural themes through books that will sustain your interest and keep you turning the pages. Explore stories of haunted houses, mysterious disappearances, and otherworldly beings as you delve into these compelling narratives. With unexpected twists and turns in every chapter, these books will keep you in suspense until the end.
Curl up with a blanket, and prepare for a reading experience that may prompt you to check beneath your bed. Check out our hex-tra special selection.
Friends of the Library Week
Oct. 18-24
The Friends Book Shop is celebrating its fifth year!
At Parkland Community Library, we sincerely appreciate the dedication of our Friends of the Library volunteer group. The Friends organize fundraising activities, promote the library, and contribute through various volunteer efforts. We want to take this opportunity to thank them for sponsoring library events. Consider becoming a member or demonstrate your support by visiting the Book Shop. The hours of operation are posted on our homepage.
Catalog Features
Welcome to Aspen We are excited to introduce an improved Aspen library experience. Explore our updated catalog with new features! Enjoy faster searches and see all available formats in your results. Titles are now grouped by format, including audiobooks, large print, Playaways, and more. Aspen has upgraded the rating system for a straightforward, user-friendly experience.…
The Local Fold
A PCL Communizine: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS What is Parkland making? Parkland Community Library is creating a community zine filled with art, writing, photography, and creative work made by the people who live here. For our first issue, we’re inviting Parkland residents to submit original work by November 30, 2026, for a chance to be included…
September News
2026 A library card hits all the right notes! Find your rhythm this September for National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Now is a great time to sign up for a new card, renew an old one, or start using the one already in your wallet. Whether you want to curl up in a cozy corner…