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1522 Broadview Blvd., Natrona Heights, PA 15065

December 2025 A Publication of Community Library of Allegheny Valley

Hours: Monday-Thursday 10:00am-7:00pm; Friday 10:00am-3:00pm; Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm; Closed Sunday

Thank You For Being A Friend!

We wish to extend a heartfelt thank you to our Friends of the Community Library of Allegheny Valley a dedicated group of volunteers working together to keep our library thriving. The Friends are passionate volunteers, who believe in the power of books, learning, and community.

They raise funds to support the library’s programs and services and promote the library within our community to ensure that the library remains a welcoming place for all Every dollar raised goes directly toward enhancing the library’s offerings.

If you see one of the Friends out and about in the community, be sure to thank them! You can support the Friends at one of their holiday pop-ups (see below) Or better yet, join the Friends! Just pick up an application on your next visit to the library.

The Friends of Community Library Pop-Up Sales & $5 Bag Sale

Tuesday, December 2

Friday, December 5

Stop in and purchase a Places of the Heart commemorative building including St. Joseph’s Church and Community Library of Allegheny Valley! Perfect for a village under the Christmas tree. See page 2 for the complete series. ($12 50) Cookbooks are just $10 and full of recipes from our community.

The library will be having a $5 bag book sale throughout the month of December. Stock up on books for cozy winter reading or snag some gifts for your favorite reader!

A few of our Friends (from left to right):

Mary Lou, Mary, Celeste, Beth, Janis, Deb, and Megan.

The Places of the Heart Collection $12.50 each

Collection includes Tarentum High School, Saint Joseph School, Harrison Homestead, Y.M.C.A. (Tarentum), Community Library of Allegheny Valley, First United Presbyterian Church, Saint Joseph Catholic Church, The Chapman Building, and Allegheny Valley Hospital. (Not available: Tarentum Train Station, Har-Brack Union High School, the Manos Theater )

Anime Club

Wednesday, December 10

5:00-7:00 pm

Join our group of fellow anime enthusiasts for good discussions, food, and showings of awesome anime! While this group is focused for adults, any teens grade 9 and up are welcome. If you are under 18, please provide a permission slip to attend. Permission slips are available at the library's front desk. Please register to attend.

50 Book Club Challenge

Tuesday, January 27

5:30-7:00 pm

Sip & Stitch

Wednesday, December 17

3:00-5:00 pm

Bring any tapestry or needlework such as sewing, embroidery, lace, knitting, crochet, weaving, etc to our Sip & Stitch monthly sessions Enjoy provided refreshments (coffee & tea) while chatting with other crafters Ages 16 and up Please register

The library challenges you to read 50 books in a year, and it’s never too late to start! Share your latest reads, swap your book recommendations, and socialize with fellow readers

This is a very fun and relaxed structure that allows you to share in all things reading Registration is not necessary (No meeting in December )

New in the New Year

We’re always looking for new programs to bring to our library We’re planning to start a monthly cooking club, a community garden club, and some yoga classes If you are interested in any of these or have any ideas for other adult programs, please contact Julia at strzesieskij@einetwork net or ask for her at the library!

The Kitchen Sink Book Club

Wednesday, January 22 | 5:30-7:00 pm

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler is our January book. From the beloved Pulitzer Prize-winning author a brilliantly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel that reveals, as only she can, the very nature of a family's life.

Brimming with the luminous insight, humor, and compassion that are Anne Tyler's hallmarks, this capacious novel takes us across three generations of the Whitshanks, their shared stories and longheld secrets, all the unguarded and richly lived moments that combine to define who and what they are as a family

Our February book is Expect Great Things: How the Katharine Gibbs School Revolutionized the American Workplace for Women by Vanda Kreft. A fun and fascinating social history of the famed Katharine Gibbs School, which from the 1910s to the 1960s, trained women for executive secretary positions but surreptitiously was instilling the self-confidence and strategic knowhow necessary for them to claim equality, power, and authority in the wider world It’s a safe bet that the secretaries on the TV series Mad Men would have attended this school!

Meet the Crew: Kathy, Local Historian

Longtime library patrons will probably recognize our Local Historian, Kathy Bollinger a Tarentum native and graduate of Tarentum High School! Kathy’s love for the library began when she worked at the Tarentum Library in high school as a page After attending college at IUP, Kathy became a Head Start teacher, before returning as the children’s librarian With a growing family, this was a perfect fit for Kathy She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren in her free time.

Favorite children’s books include Corduroy by Don Freeman, Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. In the adult category, Kathy enjoys mostly nonfiction: biographies, genealogy, home decorating genres. Lighthearted mysteries are also on the reading list. She likes mysteries by Karen Slaughter and Jeffrey Deaver, which you’ll find television adaptations of the Will Trent and Tracker series currently.

As our local historian, Kathy oversees this department and she is a wealth of knowledge. If you’re looking to research your family tree, Kathy can assist you, give you tips on how to begin, and help you with your research. Kathy’s favorite phrase is “Who Knew?”, which has also become the name of her monthly presentation where she shares her expertise on all things local. Programs are the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm. Say hello to our Genealogy Gem the next time you see her at the library or around town!

Community Library of AlleghenyValley is excited to announce our newest and most udderly delightful initiative Adopt a Cow! Through this fun and educational program, we’ve adopted a real dairy calf named Lucy, who lives on a Pennsylvania dairy farm Throughout the year, we’ll follow Lucy’s journey as she grows and learns on the farm She is already one-month old! Stop by the library to see updates, photos, and videos of Lucy, and discover fun facts about dairy farming and agriculture.

Families can also follow along at home using the Discover Dairy app just enter the code “LUCY” to learn more about our special calf and her farm family!

Stay tuned for themed activities, storytimes, and seasonal events as we celebrate our moo-velous new friend The Adopt a Cow program is part of the library’s ongoing commitment to creating engaging, educational, and community-centered experiences for all ages.

December 2025 CLAV News