Starting Tuesday June 9, the Bethlehem Area Public Library will accept fine-free returns of all library materials currently on loan to our patrons. There are over 15,000 items checked out! It will take us some time to receive and return them all to our collection safely. In order to prepare to lend them out to […]
Access to Ancestry.com from home has been extended to BAPL patrons from home for the month of May. It can be accessed under “My account” here (top right of page). You will then need to log in using your library card number. Ancestry is a great genealogy tool. It is typically only available in the […]
For many of us, there is no greater feeling than browsing bookshelves–running your finger along the spines, feeling the inspiration, searching for your next great read among your fellow seekers. But we can’t get to the library these days; the Pennsylvania Department of Education closed all public libraries in the state until at least April […]
There’s a new face at the Bethlehem Area Public Library. She’s gazing out over the stacks, opposite the circulation desk. Her name is H.D., and BAPL is thrilled to finally hang her portrait for everyone in our community to enjoy. The portrait will hang permanently in the Main Library at West Church Street, commemorating H.D. […]
On your next visit to BAPL Coolidge in Bethlehem Township, be sure to note the addition of four beautifully illustrated panels in the children’s area. Artist Ursula Genthner loved children, literature, and painting, and for years her artwork graced the rooms of the Moravian Book Shop where she sold many of her pieces. When the […]
The Bethlehem Area Public Library is bringing a new library service to Fountain Hill. We purchased a used, no longer road-ready bookmobile and are turning it into a mini-branch to be located right next to the pool at the corner of Spiegel Street and Stanley Avenue. We are calling it Books on the Hill. Books […]
We are proud to announce a major upgrade to a one-of-a-kind local resource. Check out BAPL’s World War II database, where you can find over 12,000 entries on local service people from WWII. This collection includes the many accounts in The Bethlehem Globe-Times published during the war. Many articles are light-hearted, highlighting neighbors and friends […]
We are so excited to see Payrow Plaza come alive with color and activity and to watch its transformation into PLAY-row Plaza! Thanks to our friends at the Bethlehem Health Bureau for turning this space outside the library into a fun activity ground for kids! There’s hopscotch and learning activities and all sorts of fun […]
BAPL invites everyone to explore our newest location, BAPL Coolidge–a satellite library embedded in Bethlehem Township–for a grand opening celebration on Saturday, August 24 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Housed in the historic Coolidge Building and open three days a week, BAPL Coolidge offers a curated collection of books, DVDs, audiobooks, and other library […]
Megan Beste, District Director for Congresswoman Susan Wild, pleasantly surprised library staff at the new Coolidge satellite branch on Wednesday, July 24, when she dropped off a box of new books handpicked from the Library of Congress’s Surplus Books Program. The program’s mission is simply to help build library collections. The books and audio-books may be […]
BAPL is thrilled to announce it has awarded its portrait commission of local literary great H.D. to Angela Fraleigh, painter, professor, and chair of the Moravian College art department! The completed museum-quality portrait will hang permanently in the Main Library at West Church Street, commemorating H.D. as a citizen of Bethlehem who made a tremendous […]
There has been a lot going on at BAPL lately and we have the press clips to prove it! Here is a round up of recent write-ups (and one podcast!) on various goings on here at the library. “Turkeys and Trophies” (we’re a trophy), LehighValleyLive.com, 7/20/2019. “Bethlehem literary legend H.D. will be subject of new […]
Today, the Library Directors of the Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton libraries stocked a new bookshelf in an unusual location: the airport! The initiative is cleverly called the Airport Book Exchange (or ABE) and is a collaboration with the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, operators of Lehigh Valley International Airport (also known ABE Airport). Here is an article […]
Here is the latest Annual Report from 2018! Read on to learn all about all the exciting things that happened last year.
Here is some good news: we are ready to share the exciting new project known as Studio 11 at BAPL! This is our new public recording space, a free-to-use library service where you can record a podcast, cut a demo of your metal band, record your acoustic album full of songs about your cat, really […]