| Parkland Community Library

September News

2025

National Library Card Sign-Up Month

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month, and we couldn’t be more excited to have you join us at our welcoming library. With a library card, you have access to a world of reliable information and resources. Our dedicated librarians are here to assist you in finding the information you need, whether it’s for school, work, or personal interests.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming programs and workshops designed for all ages. From storytime for toddlers to book clubs for adults, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Explore new interests, meet new friends, and expand your knowledge in a warm and inviting setting.

Make sure to stop by the Friends Book Shop during your visit. Browse through their collection of books, games, and movies, all at affordable prices. Your support helps fund library programs and services that benefit the entire community.

We invite you to discover the endless possibilities that await you at your local library. Whether you’re a lifelong reader or new to the world of books, we’re here to inspire and empower you on your journey of lifelong learning. See you at the library!

September 1

The library is closed for Labor Day.
The Friends of the Parkland Community Library generously sponsor the NLCSUM prizes.

RUN to the Library in September!

RUN to the library to celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month and be automatically entered in our raffles!

Renewals: One lucky patron will win a $10 gift card.

Use: A current library user could win a $10 gift card!

New: The Golden Library Card, worth 6 FREE Audiobooks from Libro.fm, will be awarded to a new sign-up!

*Libro.fm, an independent sponsor of the Golden Library Card, requires participants to be 18+.

New Cards: Families that register their children for their own card can visit the Barclay Family Children’s Wing to pick up a free book!

All Out Library Social

Saturday, September 13

Join us for our first library social! Explore all the hidden secret treasures that your library has to offer and win book bucks for shopping at the Friends of the Library Book Shop! Also, enjoy some light refreshments along the way. It’s a fun event you won’t want to miss! 

Games & Scavenger Hunts

Join us this September for National Library Card Sign-Up Month! Test your library knowledge, explore services, and participate in a scavenger hunt to win prizes.

Adults 18+ can pick up and return the paper game board at the reference desk and enter by the month’s end for a chance to win a prize.

Families can visit the Youth Services desk in the Barclay Family Children’s Wing to participate:

  • Children aged 0-5 years complete a laminated card in the library and receive a small prize instantly.
  • Kids aged 6-11 years old get a paper library certificate.

Teens aged 12-18: pick up a bingo sheet, and return it to the Barclay Family Children’s wing to win a small prize by the end of September.

Enjoy the hunt!

Event Calendar

Get a Share Card for children.

It’s never too early to visit the library! The Share Card (My First Library Card) is an early literacy program that helps children build reading and language skills. Reading early prepares children for kindergarten, fostering a love of books and readiness to learn.

1.4 million items at your fingertips!

Expanded Resource Sharing: The Lehigh Carbon Library Cooperative (LCLC) joined a partnership with the Lehigh Valley Library System and several libraries in Monroe County. This regional partnership provides FREE access to over 20 library catalogs in northeastern Pennsylvania!

Renew Your Card

New to our Collection: Laptops, Tablets, and Learning Kits

This year, we updated our in-house collections to include Hublet Tablets (available in the Barclay Family Children’s Wing) and 20 New HP Laptops (in the Tech Center). Patrons may borrow these items while visiting.

Read about our laptops here.

Our Tech Center has self-serve public computers with Internet access and Microsoft Office. All computers print to the library’s self-serve network printer for a charge of $0.10 for black & white and $0.50 for color per page.

Wireless internet access is available for all your devices. 

Now Available: Stay Sharp Kits

The Stay Sharp kits, themed for seniors, aim to boost mental acuity and physical activity. STEM Kits focus on stimulating the mind, supporting cognitive abilities, and enhancing memory. These kits vary and may contain memory games, puzzles, books, STEM tools, and more. Parkland library patrons can borrow them from the reference desk and return them during library hours. Read more.


2025 STEAM to Go! Kits

Best for school-age children

These hands-on kits focus on science and key areas, supporting learning inside and outside school. STEAM to GO! kits use play to develop cognitive, reading, critical thinking, and language skills in an engaging way. Each kit has 3-4 items, usually a book and 2-3 activities. Parkland library patrons can borrow and return these kits at the Barclay Family Children’s Wing during library hours.

Check them out at the circulation desk before use—more details on our Library of Things page.

New Launchpads

We have expanded our Launchpad collection with 12 new topics! Launchpads are pre-loaded learning tablets for ages 3-7. The collection is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Launchpads must be checked out and returned at the circulation desk at Parkland Community Library. Please stop by the Barclay Family Children’s wing to try them out today!

Visit our catalog to see the latest additions.

Event Spotlight!

The Parkland Community Library provides an extensive selection of engaging and educational programs suitable for all age groups.

These initiatives are ideal for inquisitive individuals eager to acquire knowledge and establish new social connections. Our diverse array of topics and experiential workshops facilitates the discovery of new interests in an engaging and enjoyable manner.

As a PA Forward Gold Star library, we are committed to delivering events, workshops, and programs that address the five literacies, thereby supporting community development and fostering partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and groups. We frequently organize events focused on Basic, Information, Civic and Social, Financial, and Health Literacy.

We invite you to explore how your local library can broaden your horizons. All programs are offered free of charge to all attendees. However, please be advised that priority admission is granted to Parkland home library patrons and paying non-residents. 

Event Calendar

The Friends of the PCL generously sponsor library events.

Financial
Literacy Series

In partnership with Neffs Bank

Join Neffs Bank this season for a Financial Literacy Series supporting our community commitment to PA Forward’s personal finance, investing, and business through innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development.

  • September 17: Navigating Your Financial Life
  • October 15: Unmasking Fraud
  • November 19: Plan Smart – Your Financial Road Map
  • December 17: The Year-End Advantage: Unwrapping Financial Insights

Light breakfast provided.

Baby Yoga

(8 weeks through crawling)

Join Whitney of Mama Aura Wellness for Baby Yoga! This is a unique bonding experience for babies from 8 weeks through crawling.

**Note: Participants will be seated on the floor. Please bring a yoga mat and/or a thick blanket for your baby to lie on.

Monthly Teen Events

At PCL, we provide teen programs explicitly designed for tweens and teens in grades 5 through 12. These programs provide meaningful experiences and connections to other teens in the area outside of their usual school interactions.

D&D Night | Anime Club Drawing Club | Writing Club |Advisory Board

Make a Bookmark

Celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month! Kids can also get their very own card, the LCLC Shared card (My First Library Card).

Come explore your creative side! Drop by the Barclay Family Children’s Wing, where you can make a fun bookmark. We’re excited to see you there!

This summer, children decorated popsicles to create a Summer Reading bookshelf. Special thanks to our teen volunteers who patiently assembled this beautiful mural! Shout-out to Sarah, Avila, Kelly, Bates, Gabrielle, and Laskosky for making this event memorable for our visitors.

The Flavor Shelf, Spice of the Month

Add a little spice to your library visit with The Flavor Shelf! Each month, Parkland Community Library will spotlight a different culinary spice—bringing a blend of culture, cuisine, and curiosity right to your hands.  

Stop by the Reference desk the first week of each month to check out your spice pack (while supplies last!)

Now Showing: Gloria Hasel

Gloria Hasel, a talented local artist from Lehigh Valley, loves bringing the beauty and wonder of nature to life through her paintings in acrylic and oil. She aims to share the mood and awe that each scene or creature inspired in her when she first encountered it. As she continues to grow and learn in her artistic journey, she enthusiastically challenges herself with a variety of subjects. Her main interests include capturing the serenity of natural settings, animals, and lately, figures depicted in different lighting conditions.

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. Sales of artwork can be completed by contacting the artist directly.

New! Idea Lab

The Tech Center now features the Idea Lab! This makerspace and learning center is where inventive creators can build skills, explore technology, and create exciting projects. Please schedule an appointment on the Tech Center’s Idea Lab website. A valid library card is required; material fees may apply.

Make an appointment on the Idea Lab website.

We Recommend

Using your library card, you can enjoy complimentary access to all the fantastic eResources and streaming apps we offer at PCL. Plus, our databases are accessible on all your devices, making it easy to explore and learn wherever you are!

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.

Rosh Hashanah

To find out about the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah—or any other topic of interest—consider Parkland Community Library’s three Britannica databases. The kind of great content you might remember from the Britannica reference book set years ago is now available online, customized for the researcher’s level and customizable to the researcher’s preferences. What could be more back-to-school perfect?!

From the PCL’s website, navigate to the “FIND IT” area of the navy blue toolbar and select “eResources” from the drop-down menu. Then, scroll down, past the “popular” boxed choices, to the alphabetical listing of databases in green text. There are three excellent choices within the “B”s, depending upon your research level: Britannica Reference Center (for adults and high schoolers), Britannica Young Adults (for later elementary school students through middle schoolers), and Britannica School PreK-5th (for very young learners). Access requires your library card #.

Each of these resources offers an easy-to-use search bar to locate any available articles (including primary sources for the first two), images, videos, and audio clips. Key words appear in bold blue within articles (for “Rosh Hashanah,” Judaism, shofar, and Leviticus, for example). The resources also all feature a toolbox of customizable options, including the ability to modify reading levels, adjust font size, change spacing to assist dyslexic learners, and translate into over 200 languages. Of course, each allows saving, sending, printing, and accessing pre-made citations.

The Britannica School PreK-5th database—which is highly visual– contains a Fundamentals section, a world atlas, and virtual tours perfect for young learners. The other, higher-level Britannica databases have articles separated into helpful segments for level 3 users (like Introduction, Background, Meaning as part of High Holidays, and Practices for “Rosh Hashanah”). There are also How-To documents (click the icon with three horizontal lines on the home page) for preparing presentations, research papers, science reports, and book reviews.

Football DVDs:

The NFL 2025 football season begins on September 5 and officially “kicks off” the return of the most popular sport in America. Parkland Community Library pays homage to the hoopla with a DVD display of pigskin titles, including Rudy, Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans, 80 for Brady, and Invincible.

PCL even offers the nonfiction selection The Lehigh-Lafayette Legacy, about the annual match-up between the Patriot League teams. Started in 1184, this is the longest-played college football rivalry in the USA. Catch our latest DVD booklist in the PCL catalog. 

Football DVD List

Hispanic Heritage Month

September 15-October 15

From compelling novels by Hispanic authors to lively Latin music, immerse yourself in the traditions, stories, and rhythms that define Hispanic heritage.

Zen mode: activated. Get started with yoga or enhance your practice with this Hoopla collection of books, music, and videos on the art of yoga.

Those interested in yoga, check out our upcoming events:

Gentle Stretch: Chair Yoga for All
Mindful Breathing

For kids:
Kids’ Yoga Storytime (ages 3-8)
Baby Yoga (8 weeks through crawling)

Murder is messy. So is the plot. Channel your inner detective with these suspenseful crime thrillers on Hoopla.

February News

2026, see what’s happening at your library this month! Here is the February overview of upcoming events, new items, recommendations, and monthly awareness initiatives. We are pleased to share what’s happening this month with you.  February is Library Lovers’ Month Library Lovers’ Month is here, and we want to express our gratitude to all our…

Continue Reading February News