May, 2013

Written by Mary Braley

Happy Spring everybody! No matter what the calendar says, here in Maine May is the real 1st month of Spring. Be sure to take a look at our gardens as you come in or drive by. The crocuses are going by, but the daffodils are in full bloom & the lilac is budded, and who know what other lovely things will be there by the end of this month.

We give a big Thank You to Laurie Kelley & our Friends of the Library Group for making our gardens so beautiful. They add a lot to our little library.

To continue our Spring theme, our book display this month is gardening books. It has become a tradition to make that our May book display, and it is always popular. We try to have a mix of newer titles and old tried & true favorites. There are many more books on the subject back on our non-fiction shelves since we have more than we have room to display. Check some out to take home for good ideas or just to dream over.

We will be closed on Monday, May 27th for Memorial Day. This long holiday weekend is the unofficial start of the summer season. It’s also a day to remember loved ones who are no longer with us, and especially the veterans who have served and sacrificed to protect us over the years. So, we hope we can all enjoy some days to both celebrate and remember. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.

This last month we had a generous book donation from the Wentworth sisters of Porter. Miss Barbara Wentworth taught at H.B. Emery for many years and has fond memories of this town and her students. She & her sister have read and passed on many books to us over the years, and this year is no exception. The books they give us are in brand-new condition. There are many Christian fiction books, some of them series by popular authors like Beverly Lewis & Wanda Brunstetter, plus other stories of wide interest. We are adding several of these books to our collection, and the rest will be a great addition to our big book sale. Another patron gave us the 9th book in the very popular Lakeshore Chronicles series by Susan Wiggs. We are very grateful for these donations, plus the many others that we get from our friends & patrons. One book or many, they add a lot to our ability to provide good reading to our patrons. Thank you all very much.

We are making early plans to revive our Summer Reading Program. Karen Neary, a long-time teacher at H.B. Emery, and Erin Witham are volunteering to work on it for us. We will have much more information in the next newsletter. We really, really appreciate Karen’s & Erin’s help because the library staff is busy with running the library and preparing for the annual book sale. Everyone who works here is a part-time worker, so dedicated volunteers like these 2 ladies are a godsend.

Speaking of volunteers, we want to thank Erin Witham again, this time for helping with the Pre-School story hour. At least one other mother is planning to come read to the little ones sometimes, too. Heidi Libby has been doing Story Hour along with her other library duties, so these volunteers are a big help. Because of that help, we are planning to have Story Hour every week in May instead of every other week like we have been doing. Any and all pre-school age children with their parents or care-givers are welcome to come for a happy time. We love having little ones come to the library and learn to enjoy books. It will be a blessing & a benefit to them for years to come.

We are still planning a huge book sale for our 17th Annual Book Sale. We have just settled on definite dates. It will be on Saturday, June 29th from 10-2, right here on the library lawn. Since it will be outdoors, we have a rain date of July 13th planned just in case. By having the Book Sale a little later in the year, we are hoping for better weather. We have so many books that we would overflow the Old Town Hall where we have been holding the sale the past few years. The people who take care of the Old Town Hall are generously allowing us to use tables from there, though, and Boy Scouts will be helping to set up the sale as well. We couldn’t do it without all the people who help us. We have had many, many donations of books for the sale and are still happily accepting more. Please mark your calendars with those dates and spread the word among all your friends and families. We will try to publicize the Book Sale, but word of mouth will help us enormously. Hope to see you here for some wonderful bargains on all kinds of books.

We have recently put a sign on our book drop box near our back door asking people to please bring the books inside when we are open. We normally check the book box when we first open the library & remove any books left there. If people put books in the box through the day, we don’t know they have been returned. Sometimes patrons will be looking for a book that we can’t find because it is sitting in the book box. It only takes a few more seconds to walk into the library & drop your returns into the box beside the desk. We will really appreciate it if you do. Thanks a lot.

Thanks to everyone who put food in our basket for the Limington Food Pantry last month. The Pantry director says they did very well & are appreciative of all your help.