2023 Christmas Extravaganza Pop Up Shop!

Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays

November 16 ~ December 16

10:00am ~ 4:00pm

In the Community Room

Stop in to the library and check out our annual Holiday Sale. You’ll find wreaths, glassware, figurines, vintage décor, decorations and more. Come down to find that perfect item to decorate your home or to gift to someone special!

Closed Thanksgiving. All proceeds benefit the library.

Click here to follow the Pop Up Shop’s Facebook Page!

Holiday Open House

Wednesday, December 20

and Thursday, December, 21

Join us for our upcoming Open House in gratitude to our community for its patronage and continued support.

Stop by and enjoy some light refreshments! While you are here, pause for a moment to enjoy the sounds of the season featuring live music!

Wednesday, December 20 at 2:00pm ~ NEPA Chamber Music Society

Thursday, December 21 at 2:00pm ~ Birch Hill Consort

Introducing Kanopy!

Kanopy is a free on demand streaming video platform for libraries that offers films, TV shows, documentaries, and kids content. To access their diverse collection of over 30,000 films, all you need is your library card. Click here or on the Kanopy page at left to get started today!

Introducing Creativebug!

Creativebug.com has thousands of award winning arts & crafts video classes taught by recognized design experts, crafters, and artists. You can browse through video classes in drawing, painting, sewing, crocheting, quilting, jewelry making, and more. Creativebug provides ideas and expert guidance for all levels.

Go to the Creativebug page at left for more information and links to get started!

Check out the history of the Back Mountain Memorial Library on our newest page!

Click here or on the Library History page at left to discover the story of the Library; one of almost 80 years of service and generous community support.

New at the Library

Jigsaw Puzzle Table!

The Library has just received a donation of a jigsaw puzzle table. There will be a puzzle available in the Reading Room for you to put in a few pieces, or as many as you like. Check it out on your next visit, but be careful, it may be habit forming!

Back Mountain Memorial Library New Books (Updated)

Each month, we will post a list of the newest titles that have been added to our collection.

For November 2023:

Express Loan

The Spy Coast: A Thriller by Tess Gerritsen

The Corsican Shadow by Dirk Cussler

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly

A Christmas Vanishing: A Novel by Anne Perry

The Long Game: A Novel by Elena Armas

The Edge by David Baldacci

A Very Inconvenient Scandal by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Inheritance by Nora Roberts

Alex Cross Must Die by James Patterson

The Ball at Versailles: A Novel by Danielle Steel

Iwo, 26 Charlie by P T Deutermann

Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell

The Watchmaker’s Hand by Jeffery Deaver

Fiction

The Spy Coast: A Thriller by Tess Gerritsen

The Corsican Shadow by Dirk Cussler

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly

A Christmas Vanishing: A Novel by Anne Perry

Rouge: A Novel by Mona Awad

The Wishing Game: A Novel by Meg Shaffer

The Girl in the Vault: A Thriller by Michael Ledwidge

A Play for Revenge by Cynthia Ellingsen

The Long Game: A Novel by Elena Armas

The Edge by David Baldacci

A Very Inconvenient Scandal by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Inheritance by Nora Roberts

Alex Cross Must Die by James Patterson

Iwo, 26 Charlie by P T Deutermann

Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell

The Watchmaker’s Hand by Jeffery Deaver

The Ball at Versailles: A Novel by Danielle Steel

The Little Liar: A Novel by Mitch Albom

The Caretaker: A Novel by Ron Rash

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

The Unmaking of June Farrow: A Novel by Adrienne Young

Robert B. Parker’s Broken Trust by Mike Lupica

Chenneville: A Novel of Murder, Loss and Vengeance by Paulette Jiles

Starling House by Alix E Harrow

A Royal Christmas: A Christmas Novella by Melody Carlson

The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple

Reykjavik by Ragnar Jonasson

The Housekeepers: A Novel by Alex Hay

Science Fiction

The Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher

Sisters of Starlit Seas by Terry Brooks

The Death I Gave Him by Em X Liu

Biography

My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Nonfiction

Nine Days to Eternity by Anke Evertz

The Great Disappearance by David Jeremiah

Ten Birds That Changed the World by Stephen Moss

The ADHD Parenting Guide for Girls by Richard Bass

The ADHD Parenting Guide for Boys by Richard Bass

The League of Lady Poisoners by Lisa Perrin

Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley by Larry Lederman

Black AF History by Michael Harriot

BOOKS ON CD

Dirty Thirty by Janet Evanovich

The Little Liar: A Novel by Mitch Albom

The Life We Chose by Matt Birkbeck

Losing Spring by V C Andrews

LARGE PRINT

Fiction

Bright Lights, Big Christmas: A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews

The Traitor Among Us by Anne Perry

Traitors Gate by Jeffrey Archer

The Secret by Lee Child

The Edge by David Baldacci

Alex Cross Must Die by James Patterson

YOUNG ADULT

Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in The Holocaust by Neal Shusterman

Check and Mate by Ali Hazelwood

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Murtagh: World of Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Plan A by Deb Caletti

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

The Only Girl in Town by Ally Condie

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold

The Camping and Hiking Encyclopedia by Kathryn Hulick

The Fishing Encyclopedia by Donna B McKinney

The Hunting Encyclopedia by Kate Conley

The Wildlife Watching Encyclopedia by Laura Perdew

SPECIAL DONATIONS

Noseferatu by Green Sawyer, donated by the author, Green Sawyer

The Back Mountain Memorial Library

is pleased to present

this commemorative book

of 75 years of our Annual Auction!

This book is a unique and beautiful window into a part of the history and the community of the Back Mountain. It features a history of the Back Mountain Memorial Library auction with a collection of pictures of the auction throughout the years, images of clippings from the Dallas Post and Sunday Independent, Auction posters, and Sue Hand’s Auction paintings.

You can purchase the commemorative book of “75 Years of Memories” for $10.00 at the library’s front desk.

November/December Display Case

Nancy Semcheski, of Larksville, will be displaying her vintage Christmas items this December.

Nancy has been collecting these items for over forty years. It has been a passion of hers since she first got married. “I have always loved the Christmas season. The simple things my parents did during the holidays have carried over to my own family life”, she says.

Of her collection, her favorite piece is the glass Santa lantern. “I’m lucky to have two. I found them together at a thrift store when my children were little, it was a lucky find!” Nancy hopes that when library visitors view the display case, they will spot something joyful from their past.

November/December Art Wall

The Library will be featuring a mother/son duo this November and December.

Cindy Hagen has worked in the field of graphic arts for her entire career. She holds an associate degree from LCCC and a BFA from Kutztown. She currently paints in watercolor, oil, and acrylic while also enjoying graphite, ink, and pastel pencil. She currently designs greeting cards and seasonal products including window clings for holidays and special events on a fulltime freelance basis. Her work has been included in several group exhibitions but this is her first two person showing with her son, Jake.

Jake Grzech is a junior at Pittston Area High School where he is extremely involved in numerous activities such as Key Club, Youth Advisory Committee at the Luzerne Foundation, National Honor Society, Young Lawyers Club, varsity swim team, Leo Club, and others. He began studying art while in eighth grade, and in the past few years has achieved excellence in numerous drawing and painting mediums. Jake has exhibited his work in the Emerging Artists’ Exhibition at King’s College, at the Pittston Art Walk, and in the Suzanne Rossetti Memorial Juried Art Exhibition at LCCC where he has won numerous special awards including the Triple Blue award and fourth place overall.

“Our New Normal: How Teens are Redefining School Life”

Click the link below to watch this digital special on how teens are redefining school life.

From vax and mask mandates to curriculum protests, students in America are seeking a new normal amid the ongoing chaos created by the pandemic. So how are they doing? Watch “Our New Normal” Hosted by @StudentReportingLabs & featuring @ItsAmnaNawaz.

Produced by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. Although the live event has ended, you can watch it in full here.

Dallas Post Archive 1929-1986

The Dallas Post covers the Back Mountain communities of Luzerne County in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The newspaper was established in 1889 and offers its readers community, church, school, and local sports news.

Click the Dallas Post Archive tab at the left, go to the Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive at https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/, or click here.

Click on Browse by Title.

Scroll down to the Dallas Post.

cloudLibrary by Bibliotheca is Here!

Download our eBook service to enjoy books and audiobooks on all your devices! You will need a library card for Luzerne County.

Download the cloudLibrary app from the App Store on your mobile device or computer. Click here for the direct link to choose your app and get started! Once the app is downloaded, and you have your library card, you can set up an account in the app in a few easy steps!

For complete instructions, click on the tab at left to go to our eBooks & Online Books Page.

cloudLibrary NewsStand

eMagazines Are Here!

Download our eMagazine service, from the Back Mountain Memorial Library and the Luzerne County Library System, to enjoy magazines on all your devices! You will need a library card for Luzerne County.

Check out magazines to download and read online or offline in a variety of languages. Using cloudLibrary NewsStand is as easy as cloudLibrary. Simply go to their website at cloudlibrary.magzter.com, or you can download their app onto your device! You can find it in your app store under cloudLibrary NewsStand.

For complete instructions, click on the tab at left to go to our eBooks & Online Books Page.

Free Library of Philadelphia

Click here, or on the picture at left, to visit the website for the Free Library of Philadelphia. Its programs, resources, services, eBook, and eAudiobook collection are available to the public at no charge to anyone with a card for their local Pennsylvania library. Once on the website, click on Get a Library Card in the upper right corner of the screen to fill out the online application or print a paper application to mail in.

Please continue to check the library website and Facebook page for updates, activities, and online library card sign up. If you do not have a library card, you can get one online which will enable you to be able to make use of our Cloud Library, eBooks, and eAudio books. Click here, fill out the form, and submit.

Keep in mind our Back Mountain Businesses. Check their websites, Facebook pages, or call to find out how they can help you with their available services.

Books can be returned to the library book drop. We look forward to seeing you. Stay healthy and safe!

The Giving Evergreen

The "Giving Evergreens" is a sculpture, created by Sanford Werfel, of three evergreen trees with pine needle clusters finished in gold, silver, and copper and hand carved stones.

Adding a pine needle cluster, stone, or tree is a lasting and exceptional way to celebrate, honor, or remember someone who has touched your life!

Click on the picture at left, or the Support the Library page tab, for a Giving Evergreen Engraving Form.

To Renew Items Online:

1) Click on the icon or the Online Catalogue tab at left.

2) You will be directed to a new page. At the upper right corner there is a My Account link. Click on the link.

3) The site will prompt you for your barcode and password. The barcode number is on your card, the default password for all patrons is "CHANGEME." (Once you have logged in you can set the password to one of your choosing.)

4) Click on the Checkouts tab.

5) Click on the box next to the item you want to renew.

6) Click on the Renew button.

(To change your password: In My Account,

click on the Change Pin tab.)