About

In 2023, Parkland Community Library (PCL) celebrated 50 years. Articles of Incorporation were signed on August 2, 1973, and officially approved by the Department of State on August 21, 1973. Over the years of expanding its patronship, the library was relocated to larger locations several times to meet the district’s needs at its current location in the South Whitehall Township Complex. In December 2024, Representative Mike Schlossberg presented Maryellen Kanaar, the library's executive director, with a House citation celebrating 50 years of service. Mr. Schlossberg congratulated the staff and volunteers who have made 50 years of service to our community possible. Parkland Community Library started in 1973 as a grassroots effort and was housed in a converted building in Guthsville, South Whitehall Township. By February 1974, six months after the first library building opened, the library owned 2,699 items. It was open 12 hours a week to serve the 25,419 residents of South Whitehall, North Whitehall, and Upper Macungie Townships. By the end of that year, 659 registered borrowers had borrowed 4,373 items. In 1981, the library moved to a new building of 5,000 square feet. By June 1982, one year after the current Parkland Library building opened, the collection had grown to 21,060 items, and the library had expanded its hours of operation to 46 hours a week. 8,321 registered library users borrowed 112,762 items that year. The library's service area included a population of 32,185. The library steadily outgrew the 1981 building as the community expanded and the population increased its use of the library. The 2010 U.S. Census recorded a population of 54,976 people for Parkland. The area continues to grow. The 2020 U.S. Census recorded 73,578 residents in the library’s service area. The area continues to grow. After many attempts to build a new, larger building in Upper Macungie Township and two failed referendums in 2013 and 2016, the Board of Directors changed course. The board began working with South Whitehall Township to expand its current location. The library achieved a much-needed modernization and expansion in 2021 from 5,400 square feet to over 11,000 square feet. The expansion included additional parking, a second-floor office space for staff, a new large meeting room, a shipping and receiving room, two ADA-compliant bathrooms, and an area for the Friends of the Library to have an ongoing bookshop. We also created a new children's wing and story hour room with storage by moving the staff upstairs. In February 2023, PCL received the 2023 Lehigh Valley Environmental Innovations Nonprofit Award, presented by The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Energy & Environment Committee, for renovating our existing building, committing to energy efficiency, using recycled content building materials, and commitment to sustainability as a whole.