Happy New Year to you all!

I would like to start this new year by repeating the mission and vision statements for the future of the Public Library of Catasauqua. Almost every entity now has a mission and vision statement, and I believe that without these, we lose a clear focus on our path to a healthier future for our library and community.

The mission of the Public Library of Catasauqua is to encourage reading for pleasure and knowledge, to promote lifelong learning through print and electronic resources and to offer services and programs that encourage personal growth, thereby contributing to the quality of life of the communities it serves.

As you may know, we serve Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Hanover Township (Lehigh County). Essentially, this is the same area Catasauqua Area School District serves.

The school district has been very good to the library. It supports us financially, together with Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Hanover Township (Lehigh County). CASD provides an Internet link and a filtering system for our computers. Without that help, we would be unable to provide the structure for our electronic resources.

We also belong to the Lehigh Carbon Library Cooperative. This is a group of 12 libraries that work together to lend books to users in other libraries in the cooperative.

So, if you thought this small library was limited in what it could lend, think again! You have access to the holdings of all 12 libraries. Request delivery to Catasauqua, which takes just a couple of days, and you can return the book to any of the 12 libraries.

The vision statement is the Public Library of Catasauqua aspires to serve as a vital link in the chain of services available to all members of the communities it serves: residents, businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations alike.

We endeavor to help anyone who comes into the library with questions they may have about local and government agencies.

We are very glad to be supported by three local agencies, as well as the CASD. This enables us to keep the lights on and the doors open.

We are also grateful to have a supportive community that provides for us through donations. All the donations we receive amount to a powerful contribution to our services to the public.

We constantly apply for grants to enable us to afford to keep up to date with many areas for the comfort of and resources for our community members.

The Harry C. Trexler Trust has been extremely generous to us this year, enabling us to renew the computers so we can run classes and to add a Spanish/English children’s computer.

***

NEW BOOKS

Fiction: “Eden’s Children,” V.C. Andrews; “The Mitford Affair,” Marie Benedict; “Don’t Open the Door,” Allison Brennan; “Tom Clancy Red Winter,” Marc Cameron; “Night Shift,” Robin Cook; “Hunting Time,” Jeffery Deaver; “Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus; “The Villa,” Rachel Hawkins; “NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority,” Marshall Karp; “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver; “Sleep No More,” Jayne Ann Krentz; “The House of Wolves,” James Patterson and Mike Lupica; “The Cabinet of Dr. Leng,” Preston & Child; “The Choice,” Nora Roberts; “The Whittiers,” Danielle Steel; “Without a Trace,” Danielle Steel; “The Devil’s Ransom,” Brad Taylor; “Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six,” Lisa Unger

Nonfiction: “Guinness World Records 2023,” Guinness World Records; “And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle,” Jon Meacham; “The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill,” Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch; “The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times,” Michelle Obama; “Spare,” Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; “The Revolutionary Samuel Adams,” Stacy Schiff

Juvenile: “Castle Redstone (Minecraft),” Sarwat Chadda; “Super Good Cookies for Kids,” Duff Goldman; “Collaborations: Cat Kid Comic Club (A Graphic Novel),” Dav Pilkey; “Mia in the Mix (Cupcake Diaries 2): The Graphic Novel,” Coco Simon

Young adult: “A Thousand Heartbeats,” Kiera Cass; “Five Survive,” Holly Jackson

Children’s picture books: “Cozy in Love,” Jan Brett; “Be Good, Peanut Butter!” Nicole Helget; “5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories,” Gabrielle Meyer; “Meet the Pups!: Pretzel and the Puppies (I Can Read Level 1),” Margret and H.A. Rey; “Construction Site: Farming Strong, All Year Long,” Sherri Duskey Rinker; “Tooth Fairy Helper (Uni the Unicorn),” Amy Krouse Rosenthal; “Little Owl’s Love,” Divya Srinivasan; “How to Catch a Loveosaurus,” Alice Walstead; “Kobe Eats Pizza!” A.L. Wegwerth