Spring 2023

Welcome to the first From the Desk of the Director in 2023! We are busy welcoming in the warm weather here at the library by planning a number of upcoming events, which we hope you will join us on. Here’s some quick info on what you can expect to see at the library over the next few weeks and months, as well as a picture of an icy morning we had a few weeks ago.
​We have a couple author events coming up. We’ll be ending April (National Poetry Month!) with a poetry reading and book launch by local author Sarah Carlson on the evening of Thursday, April 27 at 6pm. Sarah will be reading a few works from her most recent book, Tender Light Softens, and there will be the opportunity to purchase two of her books, one for $20 or both for $30. The library will also be hosting another local author, Karla Jordan from Madison, who has written two historical/general fiction novels. She will be discussing her most recent book The Road to Marietta. Join us on Wednesday, May 10 at 5:30pm to hear her speak!

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The library will be at a few upcoming community events. Help pick up litter and say hi to me at the 10th Annual Earth Day Clean-Up event from 1-3pm this Saturday, April 22nd. Then come visit me again at the library table at Fiddlehead Festival the next weekend, on the 29th, where we will have a fun children’s activity available as well as some library info. Finally, stop by the library May 6th from 10am-12pm and pick up a few plants from our Annual Plant Sale. If you have plants and/or seedlings to donate, please drop them off at the library the week preceding the sale, we’d be happy to have them! Here’s a little preview of a few plants we’ll have at the sale.
Of course, with the warm weather arriving, remember that we have a Maine State Park Pass available for checkout. Ask at the front desk the day before your trip to see if it’s available. We also have a Western Maine Play Museum Pass, so ask about that as well! We’ll soon be running a little fundraiser and the proceeds will be used to help support the continued yearly purchase of these passes, so if you like this service I encourage you to keep your eye out for that–we’ll be launching it at the end of the month, so stay tuned. We are trying to step up our fundraising game this year, so if you appreciate all that the library does for this community then we’d really appreciate it if you helped us out by participating in our fundraisers!

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As you can see, we have a lot going on at the library, and there will definitely be more to come! We hope to see you at some of our upcoming events. And if there’s anything you’d like to see the library do that we have not done, let me know! I love hearing about new ideas and ways the library can benefit the people in this town. Feel free to send me an email at [email protected], call the library at 207-778-4312 and ask for Jess, or just stop in and chat with me.
I’ll finish off with a book recommendation. This is actually an author recommendation specifically–for any historical fiction fans out there, I definitely suggest picking up a book by Kate Quinn! In recent years she has focused on writing World War II historical fiction, and her books are amazing. They’re based on real events and real people, and very well researched in my opinion. For audio listeners, the audiobook reader, Saskia Maarleveld, does an amazing job. My favorites are The Alice Network and The Rose Code, although they're all excellent. I had to take a pic of my books because most of the library copies are out! Quinn is a great writer, I can’t recommend her books highly enough.

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Interested in receiving this little newsletter directly in your email when it’s published, or receiving updates on events and programs the library does in your inbox? We are thinking of setting up an email newsletter, so if you’re interested, sign up here! Don’t worry folks – there will be minimal emails sent out. I hate getting junk mail as much as the rest of you. If you sign up for this newsletter you can expect to receive the following, and no more: 

• 4 From the Desk of the Director newsletters a year, one for each season (starting with Summer 2023)
• 2 notices about special programs, events, or fundraisers the library is doing, one when the event is first announced and another a week before the event as a reminder
• That’s it! Again, I hate junk mail, so I’ll try to keep everything as minimal as possible.

Hope everyone is enjoying and taking advantage of the spring weather! Hope to see you at some of the different events we have going on this season!