‘Tis the Season: Parkland Community Library Supports Informed Giving

Libraries provide citizens of all ages the knowledge they need to contribute effectively in their communities. During this holiday season, many people donate dollars and/or time to organizations and causes in addition to the gifts they give to their families and friends. Gifts to charities can create a lasting connection, provide for generations to come, and satisfy donors’ desires to make a difference by supporting causes that are meaningful to them. The Parkland Community Library can be an invaluable resource to help you determine which charities and non-profit organizations align most closely with your interests. A number of watch groups monitor and report how much funding an organization receives, uses towards its mission, and maintains in the local community. By using library resources, you can make a more informed decision about how to allocate your donations. And if finances are tight this holiday season, consider a time commitment through volunteering. When making giving decisions, consider gifting your local library, which benefits citizens within the community in many ways. Contributing dollars or time to your library ensures the preservation of library services for future generations and continues to open new doors for lifelong learning for all ages. Volunteering opportunities abound in libraries, from shelving materials to tutoring students to hosting programs. Libraries help people of all ages build five types of literacy skills (basic, information, civic/social, health, and financial) essential to greater success as citizens, students, parents, employers, employees, and consumers. These five literacies are components of PA Forward, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Library Association in which libraries partner with businesses and organizations to increase literacy levels across Pennsylvania. For more information about PA Forward, visit www.paforward.org. The Parkland Community Library is open Monday-Thursday, 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information, please call the library at 610-398-1361.

Affordable Care Act

Are you under 65 & Need affordable health insurance? Get answers! The Health Insurance Marketplace is a new way to find coverage that fits your budget and meets your needs. Whether you’re un-insured or just want to explore your choices, the Marketplace will help find coverage that is right for you. The Parkland Community Library is sponsoring an important information session, presented by the Federal Health Exchange Navigators for Lehigh County from Berks Encore. Come learn more about the Health Insurance Marketplace. November 21 @ 6:00 pm Parkland Community Library 4422 Walbert Ave Allentown, PA 18104 www.parklandlibrary.org You can also speak to or meet with a Navigator who will assist you in determining the financial assistance you are eligible for and in choosing a plan that meets your healthcare need, Call 610-741-5453 Today

What's the Smartest Card in Your Wallet?

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the Parkland Community Library joins with the American Library Association and public libraries nationwide to make sure that our students have the most import school supply of all – a free library card. Resources at the Parkland Community Library are available to anyone who has a library card. Students can turn to the library for materials, programs and services that support academic achievement. Students can use their library cards from home, too. Our library offers access to important educational resources, like e-books and online databases. Throughout the course of the month, the library will host a number of activities, including Touch a Truck on September 28th. Also, if you don't have a library card, sign up this month and get entered in a raffle to win a free Kindle Fire! For more information on how to sign up for a library card, visit the Parkland Community Library in person or visit the library online at www.parklandlibrary.org.

New Book Alerts

New Book Alerts is a free online service that showcases the newest titles purchased by your local library. You can select to receive alerts via email and/or RSS feeds. If you see a new title that you are interested in, just click "check catalog" to place a hold on the item right away. Click below to sign up with your email! http://nextgoodbook.com/newsletter/landing/l/a5a2bb67c65bb7737cdeb372e0d5bc78/c/1000

PCL’s 2013 Annual Summer Celebrity is New York Times best-selling novelist Michael Palmer, MD on Aug 1st!

PCL’s 2013 Annual Summer Celebrity is New York Times best-selling novelist Michael Palmer, MD on Thursday, August 1st at 7pm at the Parkland High School Auditorium, 2700 N. Cedar Crest Blvd. Allentown, PA 18104. Reservations Requested 610-398-1361 Michael Palmer, M.D., is the author of Political Suicide, Oath of Office, A Heartbeat Away, The Last Surgeon, The Second Opinion, The First Patient, The Fifth Vial, The Society, Fatal, The Patient, Miracle Cure, Critical Judgment, Silent Treatment, Natural Causes, Extreme Measures, Flashback, Side Effects, and The Sisterhood. His books have been translated into thirty-five languages. He trained in internal medicine at Boston City and Massachusetts General Hospitals, spent twenty years as a full-time practitioner of internal and emergency medicine, and is now an associate director of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s physician health program. He will speak and sign copies of his books, which will be available for purchase.

Get ready for Adult Summer Reading Club!

The 2013 theme is “Groundbreaking Reads” from June 10th-August 10th. The first 100 adults to sign up receive a free browsing bag or sticky note bookmark! Submit book reviews in the library or online & get a chance to win a prize through weekly drawings. Programs held in the South Whitehall Township building meeting room or outside. Book discussion: The Plague of Doves: a novel by Louise Erdrick on Tuesday, June 18th at 7pm. Kickoff: Edible Book Contest: Create an edible version of your favorite book! Thursday, June 20th. Entries arrive 4pm-6pm, everyone views and votes from 6pm-8pm, winner announced 8:15pm. Book/Movie discussion: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich on Tuesday, June 25th at 7pm. Join Debrosha McCants to make a “groundbreaking” piece of jewelry from cave geode slices on Wednesday, July 17th, at 7pm. Please RSVP. Book discussion: The Tiger’s Wife: a novel by Tea Obreht on Tuesday, July 16th at 7pm. Book/Movie discussion: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on Tuesday, July 23rd at 7pm. Finale: NY Times Best Selling Author Michael Palmer on Thursday, August 1st at 7pm at PHS Auditorium.

Communities matter @ your library: celebrate National Library Week April 14-20 (ALLENTOWN, PA) –This week, the Parkland Community Library joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians and library workers. Libraries today are more than repositories for books and other resources. Often the heart of their communities, campuses or schools, libraries are deeply committed to the places where their patrons live, work and study. Libraries are trusted places where everyone in the community can gather to reconnect and reengage with each other to enrich and shape the community and address local issues. Librarians work with elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large to discover what their communities needs are and meet them. Whether through offering e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or those to support early literacy, librarians listen to the community they serve, and they respond. The Parkland Community Library serves the Parkland School District area residents by providing numerous resources. The Parkland Community Library is celebrating National Library Week with book displays and free pencils and stickers for patrons. First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. For more information, visit the Parkland Community Library at 4422 Walbert Avenue, Allentown, PA , call 610-398-1361 or see the library’s Web site at www.parklandlibrary.org. Library hours are Mondays through Thursdays, 10am to 9pm; and Fridays and Saturdays, 10am to 5pm.

Chocolate: the PA Connection

Commonwealth Speaker Susan McLellan Plaisted presents Chocolate: The PA Connection on Thursday, March 7th at 6:30pm at the Jordan Lutheran Church Family Center, 5103 Snowdrift Road, Orefield, PA 18069. The aroma of chocolate wafts in the air as this presentation connects the cultural use of chocolate from Meso-America to Europe and back to colonial America and Pennsylvania. Learn the basics of cacao cultivation, harvesting and fermentation. Examine Mayan, Aztec and European artifacts to compare and contrast chocolate in different societies and explore the place of chocolate in Pennsylvania. Participants have the opportunity to grate "chocolate cakes" and make and sample a historic chocolate beverage. Free and Open to the Public! Please RSVP to 610-398-1361 This Commonwealth Speakers presentation is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Pennsylvania Humanities Council, a nonprofit organization, inspires individuals to enjoy and share a life of learning.