November News
What’s happening this month at your library.
November is shaping up to be a wonderfully busy month at PCL, with plenty of ways to learn, create, and connect. Whether you’re looking for a new recipe or inspiration for your Thanksgiving table, our staff can recommend the latest titles and spark your creativity. For those getting a head start on December holiday preparations, explore crafting resources like CreativeBug for fresh ideas and supplies to bring cheer to your home.
Don’t forget our online databases, apps, and recommended websites. Your library card includes access to Consumer Reports, The New York Times, The Morning Call, and The Wall Street Journal. Patrons can also browse our eResources anytime for more inspiration, schoolwork, genealogy, job tools, language apps, and step-by-step guidance. PowerLibrary offers full-text scholarly content for major college courses and all grade levels.
Along with our eResources and holiday-themed offerings, we have a full lineup of programs and events to keep you engaged all month—from fun playdates and storytimes to yoga, lively book clubs, and discussions.
Stop by, explore what we offer, and make the most of this festive season at your library.
Holiday Closure
November 25: 9am-5pm | Closed: November 26 & 27
Collection Shift
You may have noticed recent changes to the library collections. To make room for new materials, we are removing older items. CD audiobooks have been retired and are available for purchase at the Friends of the Library Book Shop.
Physical audiobooks, known as Playaways, remain available for borrowing.
Streaming e-audiobooks are also available through the Libby and hoopla apps.
Featured Events
Explore our featured special events at Parkland Community Library! Enjoy free activities for all ages, with engaging programs and unique events offered every month. We’d love to welcome you! Please RSVP through our events calendar to reserve your spot and help us prepare supplies.
Ornament Decorating
Everyone is welcome to decorate while supplies last. Your creations will adorn the holiday tree at Covered Bridge Park.
Visit the PCL Holiday Tree at Covered Bridge Park to see your ornaments!
South Whitehall Township Tree Lighting Event: Friday, December 4, 6-8PM. Covered Bridge Park: 2465 Wehr Mill Road, Allentown. Explore the illuminated park and bridge displays, music, food, kids’ activities, and crafts.
Art Gallery
Parkland Community Library is featuring Liz Kenny and Marge Kavchok through January 2027.
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 anytime the library is open. You can make purchase inquiries through the Parkland Art League.
Recomendations
Using your library card, you can enjoy complimentary access to all the fantastic eResources and streaming apps we offer at PCL. Our databases are also accessible on all your devices, making it easy to explore and learn from anywhere.
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.
Sci-Fi Culture Booklist
PCL’s “Out of this World” fiction and nonfiction book pics from the 2020s mark the annual Carbondalien Festival in downtown Carbondale, PA, on November 7. It’s small-town fun celebrating sci-fi culture, paranormal curiosity, and local history (In 1974, a mysterious, glowing object crashed into Russell Park Pond, and folks in the area have been buzzing about it ever since).
STEM/STEAM Day
International STEAM/STEM Day on November 8 (started in 2015 by toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment) is a time to spotlight the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math and to encourage people to follow their passions in these areas. This may be the perfect time to grab a STEAM/STEM-focused book from the display! Perhaps select a book on artificial intelligence (AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future, AI Snake Oil, or Empire of AI, all in 006.3) to keep up with rapidly changing technology, even if it is not part of the display.
Gratitude Items in Honor of Thanksgiving
The November 26th Thanksgiving holiday inspires a display dedicated to books about appreciation. Various parenting books (like How to Raise Kind Kids), works of poetry (like How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope), biographies (like Grateful American, about actor Gary Sinise), and regular nonfiction picks (like Get Me through the Next Five Minutes and The Power of Thank You) unite in this display and reflect one very positive theme.
Family-themed DVDs for the Holidays
In keeping with the gathering spirit of the Thanksgiving season, PCL’s DVD display for the month revolves around the theme of family. Viewers can laugh (You Again, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Uncle Buck), cry (The Farewell, The Family Stone), and even gasp (The Visit, The Darkness) over films that celebrate all the familial togetherness and dysfunction they can handle.
Fundraisers & Charity
New, unwrapped toys are welcome.
Estimated pick-up: early December.
Toys for Tots prefers that donors choose an appropriate gift for their child or relative and purchase it.
PCL has boxes throughout the library, including one in the lobby, one in the Barclay Family Children’s wing, and one in the Zirkel Meeting Room wing.
Donation Requirements: Ages 12 and under, extended to 14-16 years old.
Does NOT accept realistic-looking weapons and gifts with food. If donated, such items will NOT be distributed.
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