January 2022

Valvano says, “Think about where you started, where you are and where you want to be.” These words easily apply to our approach on our personal lives, professional lives, communities, and other groups of belonging. These words also provide us with a starting point for a brand new year. At the end of Valvano’s speech, Jim quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm.”

The library community is embracing the essence of Valvano’s inspiration as we start 2022. We are energized and eager to work hard, to serve our community, and to continue to grow so that we can serve the current needs of our residents. Stuart Dybek once said, “The public library is where place and possibility meet.” The Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity provides our community with the place, the professionals, and the possibilities for unlimited opportunities. In 2022, our journey to enhance where place and possibility meet begins!

In 2021, staff, Board Members, patrons, and Friends of the Library participated in surveys, held focus groups, conducted interviews, and studied library trends. These activities will serve as a guide, as we create a new, five-year, strategic plan for the library that promotes growth, community, and learning. This plan will be published in the near future. The initial feedback from our information gathering efforts show that there is a desire and need to repurpose space and offer new areas of literacy exploration.

The original part of the library is over 90 years old and the library addition is over 20 years old. The age of the carpeting is obvious and updates to increase the building’s overall energy efficiency and environmental conservation operations would help us remain fiscally and socially responsible.

As the library strives to meet the current needs of patrons through these obstacles, we also look ahead and hope to update our beautiful library and incorporate timely innovations. Imagine our library with a space to display local historical archives, an updated children’s area that does more to activate creativity, imagination and learning, and a technology center that promotes learning, achieving daily life skills, and turning imagination into reality.

The library staff, along with a dedicated group of volunteers and friends is committed to making these possibilities become reality. Our plans include applying for capital improvement grants, seeking business and corporate support, and initiating fundraising events.

The library is grateful to the municipalities who support our mission. Public support through municipal budget dollars provides the funds for library core services and operating costs. Private support, as mentioned above, will make our future image of the library a reality. Community enthusiasm combined with the reflection of where we started, where we are today, and where want to go will enable the library to be extraordinary. The motto for the Jimmy V Foundation is, “Don’t give up...don’t ever give up.” Sounds right to me; the library community will never give up on serving our patrons in the best ways possible.

See you at the library!

Holly Bennett

Library Director, Information Conductor, and Community Ambassador

Job opening: Part-time circulation assistant

Approximately 12-16 hours per week

AND

Job opening: Full-time children's librarian

To apply, please see this page for details - or stop in the library before Monday, January 10th.

The Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity is in search of an Exterior Carpenter to assist with the building's decayed exterior soffits and rotted exterior columns. This work requires the ability to work on higher areas of the building, requiring ladders. This project is funded in part by a 2021 Grow NORCO Round 2 Grant. Please contact Holly Bennett, Executive Director at 610-759-4932 x. 6 or hbennett@nazarethlibrary.org if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity.

Check out The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King , Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs - and many other adult nonfiction titles about MLK Day.

See the special display at the library which supports PA Forward's Civic and Social Literacy Initiative.

Check out Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by Sally Lee and many other juvenile nonfiction titles about MLK Day, including

• A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech that Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein
• Martin Luther King: The Peaceful Warrior by Ed Clayton
• I Am Martin Luther King, Jr. by Brad Meltzer

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a major role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until he was assassinated in 1968. King advocated for equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.

Check out our library resources to learn more!

Read about Anneliese Warnke's experience using Ancestry Library:

"Looking at black and white photos and seeing the names of ancestors never gave me the connection to them that I wanted. Using genealogy resources like Ancestry, I was able to find a lot of information about my great-grandfather that I didn't know before, since he died before my father was born. I was able to find his draft registration card for WWII! It has his height, weight, eye and hair color, and that he had a 'ruddy' complexion. Before, it was just a few black and white photos; now I can picture what he looks like, and it's fairly similar to how my dad looks now. I ended up tracing my dad's side of the family all the way back to the 17th century. So much of both sides of my family didn't immigrate to America until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but it turns out that I have ancestors who were here before the Revolution. A great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather even fought in the war! Through that same side of the family, I was able to find that my great-great grandmother's brother was a prolific artist in North Carolina, Elliot Daingerfield! A lot of people in my family, including myself, are artists. It's neat to see that it runs in the family!

Knowing where I come from makes me proud of who I am today. I can connect who I am and what I love with who my ancestors were. I can see how my family changed and grew throughout the centuries to make us who we are today."

The Friends of the Library will meet on Tuesday, January 11th at 6:00pm at the library.

If you love the library and want to volunteer your time and talents on special projects and fundraisers, while making new friends - join us for a Friends meeting on January 11th.

Everyone is welcome! 

Mary Kubica

virtual event

Tuesday, March 1st, 7:00pm

Kubica is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her latest book is Local Woman Missing.

Registration is open now. Call the library at 610-759-4932 or stop at the circulation desk to register and receive the BlueJeans link.

Wanda Morris

virtual event

Tuesday, April 19th, 7:00pm

Morris' debut All Her Little Secrets is "... a page-turning tale dripping with suspense and intrigue ..." (Boston Globe).

Registration is open now. Call the library at 610-759-4932 or stop at the circulation desk to register and receive the BlueJeans link.

Sara Shepard

in-person event, place TBD

Saturday, April 30th, 11:00am

The author of "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Lying Game" series and a number of adult and young adult books will join us in-person for an author talk and book signing.

More details will be coming soon!

A local Nazareth Girl Scout will be hosting story time and craft on Wednesday, January 19th, 6:00pm. This project will assist in earning a Girl Scout Silver Award.  Help us assist our youngest patrons achieve their goals!

Join Miss Catherine on Thursday, January 20th, 6:30pm

for a special story and craft about snow!

Additional Girl Scout story times will also be hosted on Wednesday, February 9th and Wednesday, March 2nd, so mark your calendar now!

Achieving Your Dream with Northampton Community College

(Info Session for Adult Learners)

It’s not about your situation; it’s about your motivation! Join an informal group conversation with Brandon Kwiatek (Assistant Director, Admissions) to learn how Northampton can help you reach your goals whether they are for career development or self-fulfillment.

Thursday, January 13th, 6:30-7:30 pm

MLNV living room

AARP will be back for tax preparation assistance!

Anyone wanting to schedule a Saturday tax prep assistance appointment must visit the designated table at the library on

Saturday, January 29th between 9am and 12pm.

At that time, AARP will schedule appointments

for Saturdays from February 5th through April 9th (9:30am-1:30pm).

After appointments are filled, people will be directed to alternate sources of assistance.

Please do not call the library to schedule.

ALSO: Beginning around January 20th, interested patrons can call 1-888-227-7669 or visit www.aarpfoundation.org/taxaide for more information.

Tax preparation assistants will follow AARP's national guidelines regarding COVID regulations and masking.

Tuesdays at 10:30am - Shake and Boogie at the MLNV

Beginning January 12th, Wednesdays at 1:00pm - Storytime at the MLNV (Please note this change in time!)

Thursdays at 10:30am - Storytime at the old municipal building adjacent to the baseball fields on Hecktown Road

Fridays at 10:30am - Shake and Boogie in the Bushkill Township Municipal Building on Bushkill Center Road

In case of inclement weather, please check the library website or call 610-759-4932.

Wednesday Night Book Club

currently meeting in the living room at the library at 6:30pm

January 12th - The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

February 9th - The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

March 9th - Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason

April 13th - Agent Sonya by Ben MacIntyre

May 11th - Snow by John Banville

June 8th - Falling by T. J. Newman

July 13th - Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

August 10th - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

September 14th - Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

October 12th - The Hidden Things by Jamie Mason

November 9th - The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles

December 10th - Meet to select 2023 books

January 11th, 2023 - Every Day Is a Gift by Tammy Duckworth

For more information, email sgerken@aol.com. 

Brainy Bibliophiles Book Group

led by Jill E. Silvius, Ph.D.

• The group reads a mix of fiction, nonfiction, and classics - usually texts that are longer, more theoretical, and/or more complex than you might find in another book group.
• Participate in in-depth discussion with other MLNV patrons on a Tuesday, every third month, at 6:30 PM.
• The group plans to meet in-person but may meet on BlueJeans.

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Tuesday, March 8th - “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner (short story)

AND “Southern Gentlewoman, Necrophiliac, Murderess—and China-Painting Teacher?: A Critical Clue to Characterization in Faulkner's ‘A Rose for Emily’” (critical essay)

(Registrants can pick up a printed copy of both at the front desk).

Registration opens February 1st.

Tuesday, June 7th - Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation by Alan Burdick

Registration opens April 15th.

Tuesday, September 6th - 1st half of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, tr. Nevill Coghill

Prologue and tales of the Knight, Miller, Reeve, Cook, Man of Law, Shipman, Prioress, Tale of Sir Topaz, Tale of Melibee, Monk, Nun’s Priest, Physician, and Pardoner

Registration opens July 1st.

Tuesday, December 6th - 2nd half of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, tr. Nevill Coghill

Tales of the Wife of Bath, Friar, Summoner, Clerk, Merchant, Squire, Franklin, Second Nun, Canon’s Yeoman, Manciple, Parson, and Chaucer’s Retractions

Registration opens October 1st.

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• A limited number of copies of Why Time Flies and The Canterbury Tales will be available at the library for registrants to pick up and keep.
• See the MLNV newsletter for registration dates and details.
• Register by calling the library or asking at the circulation desk.
• For more information, email jsilvius@nazarethlibrary.org.

Are you looking for a fun way to get volunteer hours?

Are you interested in having direct input on teen services and programs at the MLNV?

Do you have great ideas about service projects?

Join the Teen Advisory Board (TAB)!

TAB is an open forum where teens discuss the issues related specifically to teen use of the library (materials and events).

Perks of joining the Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity's TAB: making new friends, receiving volunteer hours, and having the ability to make creative and financial choices involving teen programming.

Requirements to join: Entering 7th to 12th grade, having an MLNV library card, being willing to participate in TAB discussions and voice your opinions, and being willing to respect the opinions, tastes, privacy, and choices of others.

The winter session of TAB will meet, gathering in the living room or basement:

Tuesday, January 25th, 5:00pm

Wednesday, February 2nd, 5:00pm

Tuesday, February 8th, 5:00pm

Wednesday, February 16th, 5:00pm

Tuesday, February 22nd, 5:00pm

Wednesday, March 2nd, 5:00pm

Tuesday, March 8th, 5:00pm

Wednesday, March 16th, 5:00pm

If you are a current member or are interested in joining the TAB or want more information, please contact awarnke@nazarethlibrary.org.