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September News
2024
National Library Card Sign-Up Month
Autobots, roll out…to the library! Whether upgrading your skills, scouting for knowledge and information, or connecting with other heroic readers, a library card is your key to an arsenal of resources. Spark your creativity as a builder or programmer by tinkering in our crafting and builder programs; mine the library’s stacks and databases for new stories and adventures; kickstart your critical thinking skills to defeat the Decepticons of misinformation lurking online. If you’re hitting the road, use your library card to fuel your mind with books, launchpads, eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, and even borrow a museum pass, laptop, and even puzzles and games. See what’s happening at your library. Don’t forget to check back for September news, as we will update our blog throughout the month! Read more.
Library of Things Update: Laptops
Through October, PCL will update our laptops with the latest security and operating systems to ensure privacy and improve functionality. While you wait, we encourage patrons to visit our self-serve computers onsite in our Tech Center. Our reference staff can place a hold on a laptop for those in need, and we will release them as soon as the updates are completed. The status of the laptop updates will be posted in our October newsletter. We’re sorry for the inconvenience but look forward to these necessary advancements.
Significant September Dates
Closed: September 2
Regular Saturday Hours Resume
September 7, 9am-5pm
Storytimes resume September 9
Banned Books Week: September 22-28
Database Spotlight
*For in-library use only.
BookBrowse
Your guide to exceptional books, providing all you need to know about the books that matter.
This is a free curated resource of the best contemporary fiction and non-fiction, emphasizing books that engage, entertain, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world. BookBrowse provides in-depth reviews and “beyond the book” articles, such as, hand-selected read-alike recommendations for thousands of books and authors. In addition, this resource gives users the ability to browse by genre, time, setting, and a wide range of themes. Patrons can search for previews of notable books publishing soon.
Program Spotlight, Free at Your Library!
We have a few fun activities for patrons visiting the library this month.
Visit the Barclay Family Children’s Wing to:
Put on a show at our puppet theater or start a commotion on the felt board ocean!
Those who like to be creative can design a library card for our wall!
Remember to celebrate National Library Card Sign-Up Month by renewing or signing up for a library card this September! You can also enter our raffles to the left of the main entrance above the newspapers.
Rebel Girls Club
August 2024, Women’s Suffrage:
Rebels talked about Women’s Equality and learned about four women who were instrumental in winning Women’s Right to Vote!
We put this to practice by starting the gathering by deciding who should be given the only snack available. Voters could not choose themselves. Our discussion brought us back to our feelings of being part of the group’s decision-making process (of course, there were really enough snacks for everyone!)
The rebels followed up by creatively crafting mixed-media collages of the four famous women in the suffrage movement.
The Rebels ended the meeting with another vote on a topic for the October meeting. The choices were “Money Matters” or “Female Leaders.” After a discussion among the group, there was a unanimous vote to discuss Female Leaders. The rebels reasoned, “We can talk about money any time, but since it’s so close to Election Day, we should talk about leaders.”
And remember, this group is not just for young ladies. All genders and new friends are most welcome anytime!
RSVP. We hope to see you soon!
Reminder:
The rebels are not meeting in September.
October 24 Meeting:
Due to Halloween being on the last Thursday of the month, we have moved the October meeting.
Medicare Enrollment Assistance
September 2024 Appointments begin in partnership with PA MEDI
Parkland Community Library offers Medicare Enrollment Assistance by PA MEDI, formally SHIP. This program offers one-on-one appointments with a certified Medicare Enrollment Counselor who can help with enrollment or overview questions. Appointments can be made through our events calendar.
Grandparents Storytime Party!
One, two, Grandparents, we love you!
Enjoy a family storytime dedicated to grandparents and chosen grandparents.
Ukulele songs, stories, and a family craft!
For all ages.
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 | Hero’s Quest | Anime Club Drawing Club | Advisory Board
September Awareness & Celebrations
National Recovery Month
We want to raise awareness about mental health and substance use disorders, celebrate those who have overcome these challenges, and promote the importance of support systems for individuals in recovery. It’s celebrated through various events such as community rallies, educational workshops, art exhibits, and fundraising activities to reduce stigma and highlight the journey to recovery. The month serves as a reminder of the resilience of individuals in recovery and the need for continued efforts to support their well-being.
Additional Resources
- PA Dept. of Drug & Alcohol Programs
- CDC: National Recovery Month Toolkit
- Recovery Centers of America
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
#MyPCL #HealthLiteracy #PaForward #CommunitySupport #CelebrateRecovery #LibraryCommunity #StrengthInSupport #TakeAction #SupportRecovery
Hispanic Heritage Month Kanopy
Sunday, September 15–Tuesday, October 15
The theme for 2024 is “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.” — Yvette Delgado, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Library cardholders can stream ad-free with Kanopy! Find movies, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, independent films, and educational videos that inspire, enrich, and entertain. Enjoy it on your TV, mobile phone, tablet, and online for free with your library card. Unlimited borrows! This service is only available to PCL Home Library Patrons (Parkland School District and Northwestern residents).
Virtual Exhibits by the Smithsonian
This interactive virtual exhibit allows the curious to reexamine the shaping of U.S. history through Latino identity, immigration, and historical legacies. Listen to oral histories and examine historical objects in 3D and biographies showing how the past relates to the present.
PA Voters Information
Mark your calendars with these important dates for the General Election on Nov. 5, 2024.
Pennsylvania voters can request a mail-in ballot without providing a reason. Voters can skip the lines on election day with mail-in voting. Read more about this convenient way to vote: vote.pa.gov/MailBallot
Mail ballots must be RECEIVED by your county election office by 8PM on Nov. 5. Your ballot must be in the inner secrecy envelope and the pre-addressed outer return envelope, where the voter must sign and put today’s date.
Visit vote.pa.gov to learn about mail-in voting, your voting systems, and how you can get involved.
#ReadytoVotePA
September’s Artist: Cathy Rhoades
Parkland Art League Display at PCL
Read about the Parkland Art League on their website.
We Recommend
Check out these fantastic titles picked by our librarians!
I was a Teenage Slasher
“1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small-town Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here, Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.”– Provided by publisher.
T-shirt Swim Club: Stories from Being Fat in a World of Thin People
“Part memoir, part support group, comedian Ian Karmel, with help from his sister Alisa, a clinical psychologist, opens up about the daily humiliations of being fat and traces the way that fat-gaining it, losing it, worrying about it, trying to hide it-dictates the way so many of us live.”– Provided by publisher.
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
Bookstores have always been unlike any other store, shaping readers and writers and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They are potent spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been and what might be lost. The Bookshop is a love letter to bookstores, a charming chronicle for anyone who cherishes these sanctuaries of literature, and essential reading to understand how these vital institutions have shaped American life—and why we still need them.
God of the Woods
The daughter of a wealthy family, Barbara Van Laar, is discovered missing from her summer camp bunk in the camp they owned. She is now the second Van Laar child who has disappeared in this region, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds–chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow.
The Fall Mum Sale has sold out! We appreciate your support!
The Friends of PCL Fundraiser
The Friends sold coupons for a 9-inch fall mum at Lehigh Valley Home & Garden Center, 4220 Crackersport Road, Allentown. To ensure the best selection of colors, the coupons should be redeemed by October 1. Mums are available after that date until they are sold out.
Top 5 Challenged Books of 2023
These are the top 5 challenged books in the U.S. in 2023. The complete list is below. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship by focusing on efforts to…
Food Collection Site
The Parkland Community Library is a dropbox location assisting Parkland CARES Food Pantry as a food collection site! We will collect the four items below to support our Parkland Snack Pack program. The program currently serves over 450 monthly students, aiming to reach 900. Please consider donating to this worthy cause! 2024 Mac and CheeseChicken…
Medicare Enrollment Assistance
PA MEDI Parkland Community Library offers Medicare Enrollment Assistance by PA MEDI, formally SHIP. This program offers one-on-one appointments with a certified Medicare Enrollment Counselor who can help with enrollment or overview questions. Appointments can be made through our events calendar. What a Medicare Counselor can help with: PA MEDI is here to help you!…