The Pennsylvania Library Association recognizes libraries for PA Forward® Star achievements earned between January 1, 2024 and December 31,2024
Mechanicsburg, PA (April 4, 2025) – April 6-12, 2025 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the essential role libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening communities. In honor of this week, the Pennsylvania Library Association is announcing the 2024 PA Forward® Star Library awardees showcasing libraries who are committed to providing quality literacy programming to their communities.
The theme for this year’s National Library Week is “Drawn to the Library!” and Pennsylvania’s libraries encourage everyone in the community to visit their local library to take part in the festivities and explore all the library has to offer.
Libraries give us a green light to experience something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and pursue our passions through book clubs, Storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, lectures, and more. Pennsylvania’s Libraries offer a wide array of programs, classes, and resources, including The POWER Library a collection of tools which library users can access from home with a card from their local library.
And libraries play a pivotal role in economic development by providing resources and support for job seekers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Libraries help families to save money by providing materials and collections available to them that they would never be able to afford on their own. Remember that getting your library card is a financially literate action.
No matter where you find yourself on the roadmap through life’s journey, preparing for a new career, launching a business, raising a family, or settling into retirement— Pennsylvania’s libraries offer the resources and support you need and an inclusive and supportive community where you will feel welcome.
This National Library Week take time to rediscover the library and see how it draws us together as a community. Whether you’re visiting for books, resources, or a place to connect, Pennsylvania’s libraries are here for you.
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries of all types across the country each April.
“Yes, you can go to your local library and check out books, but these agile institutions demonstrate day in and day out they offer more than books,” Buker added. “Libraries offer the world to those who enter their doors. It is an honor during this year’s National Library Week to highlight those efforts with the PA Forward® Star Library designation. Congratulations to all our participating Star Libraries.”
PA Forward®, which launched statewide in 2012, works through five key literacies – Basic, Information, Civic & Social, Health and Financial – to assist individuals in enhancing their overall quality of life. To continue helping libraries use PA Forward® to demonstrate all their libraries offer, in January 2017, the Association kicked off the Star Library program statewide. The Star Library recognition offers support to libraries who participate and integrate PA Forward®’s literacies in their programming activities. Program topics can include information such as retirement planning (financial literacy) to more physically active programs such as walking book club discussions (civic and social literacy and health literacy).
Libraries are recognized by their peers for meeting benchmarks within the bronze, silver, and gold star levels of the program. While one star is awarded for both the bronze and gold levels, a total of five stars are awarded in the silver category – one silver star for each of the five literacies of PA Forward®. For each silver star award, a number appears denoting the number of silver stars obtained to date.
Stars are awarded on a quarterly basis in the calendar year and the recognition is for the highest level attained in the program at the time of the award. The libraries noted below are those that earned a first-time star or a new star level between January 1, 2024, and December 31,2024. For more information about the Star Library Program, visit https://paforward.org/pa-forward-star-program/.
The next round of awards will be announced after July 6, 2025.
The list of awardees, by county, follows:
Adams County
Adams County Library System – Silver
Allegheny County
Avalon Public Library – Silver
Bethel Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Brentwood Library – Gold, Maintenance
Bridgeville Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Carnegie Library of Homestead – Gold, Maintenance
Community Library of Castle Shannon – Gold, Maintenance
Jefferson Hills Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Monroeville Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Northland Public Library Authority – Gold, Maintenance
Northern Tier Regional Library – Gold, Maintenance
Oakmont Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Sewickley Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
South Fayette Township Library – Gold, Maintenance
Upper St. Clair Township Library – Gold, Maintenance
Wernersville Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Western Allegheny Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Armstrong County
Ford City Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Berks County
Brandywine Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Exeter Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Fleetwood Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Kutztown Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Mifflin Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Muhlenberg Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Reading Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Sinking Spring Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Wernersville Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Blair County
Altoona Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Tyrone-Snyder Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Bradford County
Bradford Area Public Library – Bronze
Bucks County
Free Library of Northampton Township – Gold, Maintenance
Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Warminster Township Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Butler County
Butler Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Zelienople Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Cambria County
Cambria County Library – Gold, Maintenance
Centre County
Centre County Library and Historical Museum – Gold, Maintenance
Centre Hall Area Branch – Gold, Maintenance
Holt Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Chester County
Atglen Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Chester County Library – Gold, Maintenance
Downingtown Library – Silver
Henrietta Hankin Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Paoli Library – Gold, Maintenance
Tredyffrin Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Clarion County
Knox Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Clinton County
Annie Halenbake Ross Library – Gold, Maintenance
Crawford County
Cambridge Springs Public Library – Gold
Cumberland County
Bosler Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Cleve J. Fredricksen Library – Gold, Maintenance
Ezra Lehman Memorial Library – Shippensburg University – Gold, Maintenance
Dauphin County
Madlyn L. Hanes Library, Penn State University, Harrisburg – Gold, Maintenance
Delaware County
Helen Kate Furness Free Library – Silver
Lansdowne Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Marple Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Wolfgram Memorial Library – Bronze
Yeadon Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Erie County
Erie County Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Fayette County
German-Masontown Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Penn State Fayette – Gold, Maintenance
Franklin County
Alexander Hamilton Memorial Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Franklin County Library System – Silver
Grove Family Library – Gold, Maintenance
Fulton County
Fulton County Library – Gold, Maintenance
Indiana County
Indiana Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Jefferson County
Mengle Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lackawanna County
Abington Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Carbondale Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Dalton Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Scranton Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Taylor Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Valley Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lancaster County
Adamstown Area Library – Gold, Maintenance
Eastern Lancaster County Library – Gold, Maintenance
Ephrata Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Manheim Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Manheim Township Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Quarryville Library Center – Gold
Lawrence County
New Castle Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lebanon County
Matthews Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Myerstown Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Palmyra Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lehigh County
Allentown Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lower Macungie Library – Gold, Maintenance
Parkland Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Luzerne County
Hazelton Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Osterhout Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lycoming County
James V. Brown Library – Gold, Maintenance
Mercer County
Community Library of the Shenango Valley – Gold, Maintenance
Monroe County
Eastern Monroe Public Library – Bronze
Western Pocono Community Library – Gold
Montgomery County
Abington Township Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Ardmore Library – Gold, Maintenance
Bala Cynwyd Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Free Library of Springfield Township – Gold, Maintenance
Gladwyne Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Huntingdon Valley Library – Gold, Maintenance
Indian Valley Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lansdale Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Lower Merion Township Library – Bronze
Lower Providence Community Library – Gold
Ludington Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
North Wales Area Library – Gold, Maintenance
Penn State University Library, Abington – Silver
Perkiomen Valley Library – Silver
Pottstown Regional Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
William Jeanes Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Northampton County
Bangor Public Library – Silver
Easton Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Memorial Library of Nazareth & Vicinity – Gold, Maintenance
Northampton Area Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Northumberland County
Degenstein Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Potter County
Genesee Area Library – Gold, Maintenance
Pike County
Pike County Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Somerset County
Somerset County Library – Gold, Maintenance
Tioga County
Green Free Library – Gold, Maintenance
Knoxville Public Library – Bronze
Washington County
Burgettsville Community Library – Bronze
Clark Family Library, Washington and Jefferson College – Silver
Chartiers-Houston Community Library – Gold, Maintenance
Citizens Library and District Center – Gold, Maintenance
Peters Township public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Wyoming County
Tunkhannock Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
York County
Collinsville Public Library – Gold, Maintenance
Martin Memorial Library – Gold, Maintenance
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County – Gold, Maintenance
Red Land Community Library – Gold, Maintenance