PENNSYLVANIA LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CELEBRATES NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK BY HIGHLIGTING LIBRARIES REACHING FOR THE STARS

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

This project is made possible, in part, by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, Governor.