Imagine my surprise when Doug Corcoran told me it was the 100th anniversary of the founding of the library in Catasauqua! I was confidently thinking we had a few more years before we celebrated that amazing event, as the inauguration of the library wasn’t until the 1930s.

The Catasauqua women’s group first had the idea of making books available to the public, enabling people to supplement their education and expand their interests. Since its first inception in 1924, the community of Catasauqua and the surrounding areas have been proud to say this town had a thriving library.

Many of the current residents remember the library in its infancy. Corcoran reminisced about his time as a child, helping to shelve books and being rewarded with candy.

Martha Capwell was very proud to be a member of the library at the very start of the card catalog records - she was number five!

Ben Pletz, who has been coming to the library since he was small, is now working here on Saturdays.

Many residents remember spending their childhood enjoying the library, and they now bring their own children. Grandparents bring their grandchildren to play and read in the children’s room upstairs. It is wonderful to see this tradition passed down through the generations.

If you have a memory from previous years, please share it with us as we record your recollections for this momentous event.

Libraries may adapt the services they offer, but their aim remains the same - to delight and interest the community they serve. To shape and change, encourage and inform, never patronizing and always keeping the needs of our patrons at the forefront of everything we do.

We are proud to enter our centennial year, building on our legacy of 100 years of sharing knowledge and providing information to our community.

We invite you to celebrate this milestone with us. Our wonderful Friends of the Library group is busy planning events and activities for the fall season. Please join us with ideas and assistance to make this a celebration for all.

We extend a hearty thanks to all those who walked before us, giving up the opportunity to enjoy 100 years of this jewel of an asset in our area.

MAY BOOKS

Fiction: “Tom Clancy Act of Defiance,” Brian Andrews; “Summers at the Saint,” Mary Kay Andrews; “Feline Fatale,” Rita Mae Brown; “Think Twice,” Harlan Coben; “Evergreen Christmas,” Janet Dailey; “An Unfinished Murder,” Jude Devereaux; “Clive Cussler The Heist,” Jack du Brul; “This Summer Will Be Different,” Carley Fortune; “Camino Ghosts,” John Grisham; “Southern Man,” Greg Iles; “You Like It Darker,” Stephen King; “The Paradise Problem,” Christina Lauren; “Butcher,” Joyce Carol Oates; “Ella,” Diane Richards; “Mind Games,” Nora Roberts; “One Perfect Couple,” Ruth Ware

Nonfiction: “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space,” Adam Higginbotham; “ADHD Is Awesome,” Penn Holderness; “The Call to Serve: The Life of an American President, George Herbert Walker Bush: A Visual Biography,” Jon Meacham; “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Kristi Noem; “Say More,” Jen Psaki; “You Never Know,” Tom Selleck; “The Situation Room,” George Stephanopoulos; “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” Amy Tan

Large print: “Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver

Juvenile: “The One and Only Family,” Katherine Applegate; “Orris and Timble,” Kate DiCamillo; “The Secret Language of Birds,” Lynne Kelly; “Karen’s Sleepover: A Graphic Novel (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #8)” Ann M. Martin; “Spying on Spies,” Marissa Moss; “Windy Nights with Wild Horses (Magic Tree House)” Mary Pope Osborne; “Sweet Valley Twins: The Haunted House (A Graphic Novel),” Francine Pascal; “Emily’s Cupcake Magic (Cupcake Diaries: The New Batch),” Coco Simon; “Not Quite a Ghost,” Anne Ursu

Young adult: “Beyond the Isle of the Lost,” Melissa De La Cruz; “A Crane Among Wolves,” June Hur; “Powerful,” Lauren Roberts; “Black Girl You Are Atlas,” Renee Watson; “Sweet Nightmares,” Tracy Wolff

Children’s picture books: “Ahoy!” Sophie Blackall; “Bluey: Sleepytime,” Joe Brumm; “Peppa Pig and the Nature Walk,” Candlewick Press; “Being Home,” Traci Sorrell

Board book: “Hello, World! Garden Time: A Book of Plants and Gardening for Kids,” Jill McDonald