Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library

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The building that today houses our library was built in 1857 by Lewis Lukens, who “contributed greatly to the commercial, cultural and civic life of Conshohocken.”  After his death, his grandchildren gave the house at 301 Fayette Street to the borough of Conshohocken to be used as a library.  As their grandfather before them, Lukens’ decedents paid it forward to the community, giving them a permanent location to provide opportunities for “lifelong learning for all ages.”

In 1973, Conshohocken Free Library became a part of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library.  Today were receive wonderful support as one of five branches, supporting our collections and staff.  Last year we even received funding to offset programming cost thanks to Director Karen DeAngelo and MC-NPL board members.

The Friends of the Conshohocken Free Library help support programing and other learning resources as requested.  They raise funds through a monthly used book sale and donations.  In the spring, they canvas local businesses to support our Summer Reading program and in return, give back to the local business as well.

The building itself is the responsibility of the community.  We own it and we are responsible for its upkeep.  We owe it to the Lukens family to pay it forward by providing funding and support for maintenance, upkeep and improvements.  Many of those decisions are made by the library’s advisory board, a group of volunteers, listed below, who donate their time and energy monthly to guide decisions on maintaining the building and raising funds to support those efforts.

These are just a few examples of how members of the community pay it forward in the spirit of the Lukens family.  There is always room for more support in our efforts.  There are currently financial needs to support upgrading our fire alarm system, replacing the roof, security cameras to monitor the exterior of the building and everything else that happens in between.  It’s important everyone enjoying our library in Conshohocken and beyond know the story of the Lukens’ generous donation, and especially the condition that if the building ever stops being a library, it goes back to the decedents of the Lukens family.

The Conshohocken Free Library is a 501c3 organization and donations keep our building a library.  Donations can be made in person at the library or online by credit card.  Let’s keep the library standing for future generations to enjoy lifelong learning opportunities. 

Holly Holst-Branch Manager

Library Board Members:

Brian Butch Coll- President

Ned Stern- Vice President

Mario D’Achille- Treasuer

Jennifer McCracken- Secretary

Binne Bianco

Bryan Collins

Eric Heal

Kathy McCarthy

Bob Moore

Kevin Olkowski

Johnny Pasquarello

Alice Marie Schwartz

Dr. Dennis Yankosky

Join us for the December meeting of CFL Book Club in the community room on Wednesday, December 20 at 6:30pm. We’ll be discussing James McBride’s “Deacon King Kong”. If you are on a long request list for “Heaven and Earth Grocery” store, this is an earlier work from the same author to hold you over. Copies are available at the circulation desk now!

About the Book:

Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction

Winner of the Gotham Book Prize

One of Barack Obama’s “Favorite Books of the Year”

Oprah’s Book Club Pick

Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine

A Washington Post Notable Novel

From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.

The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong, James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird. In Deacon King Kong, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself.

As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion.

Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water. Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.