Category Archives: Libraries

Books, Libraries

Giving thanks – for the gift of books and reading!

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When November arrives and it gets colder and darker, most of us begin to either head south or turn inwards. Turning inwards can mean different things to different people, but in this season of Thanksgiving, it seems like a perfect time to give thanks for many of our island blessings, including:

-The Long Island Community Library. This beautiful library was lovingly and thoughtfully brought into being over 20 years ago, led by a committee with Nancy Jordan at the helm. Designed by architect Frank Oliva, this light-filled and comfortable space is a wonderful haven in the summer for holidaying island families, as well as a place of warmth and coziness in the winter (especially during a power outage). It’s not only a place to find books, but a gathering space where one can enjoy working on puzzles or reading in the nook.

Our library is so inviting in the evening

-The Long Island Community Library board, including the Friends of the Long Island Community Library. This passionate group of folks, ably led by Katie McGarry, meets regularly to discuss the needs of the library, and plans all the great events and fundraising activities that bring us joy (and funding). I’m also grateful for all the volunteers that make the library run as many hours as it does.

The library board gathers to celebrate volunteers

-The Long Island Community Library librarians. Our co-library directors, Robin Goodell and Katie Norton, keep our library running smoothly, with grace and expertise. From the outside looking in, they make it look easy! They build on a tradition created by previous librarians, including Paula Johnson, Nancy Jordan, and Connie Brayley.

-The LICL book group. Started a few years ago, this core group of 10-15 readers gathers once a month to talk about a variety of books, chosen democratically among our group. From time to time we’ll bring in a guest author, or just an expert in the subject of the books. We even have dedicated folks who come from off island to join us, just for the book group.

The book group not only reads books together but we celebrate friends!

-The small glass case, currently curated by Karen Boss. This case is a great way to showcase community treasures, whether an individual’s collection, or a “group show.”

Treasures on view, on both sides of the case!

-The Dodwell Gallery, which brings to us larger works, in a similar vein – a solo show, such as the current show by Jennifer Wood, or a group of artwork with a theme, such as this summer’s nature photography show. There is always something visual to enjoy on a visit to the library, thanks to our current curatorial team, Jeanne Handy and Richard Mitchell.

Beautiful exhibits to brighten our days

-Our community of readers. When we first moved here it was such fun to find books in our mailbox, and share recommendations with each other. Living on an island is a perfect place to be a reader, and those of us who are commuters especially love having that built in reading time on the ferry. Besides the Long Island Community Library, we have avenues to books, such as little free libraries, and the Evergreen United Methodist Church library. It’s a joy to live in a community where if the conversation dwindles, we can always talk about books!

Our cozy and comfortable reading nook, full of Maine books

Happy Thanksgiving to all! And happy reading in the winter months to come, wherever you are.

Books, Libraries

Edible Book Festival – on Long Island!

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Who knew there were edible book festivals? The International Edible Book Festival is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day. The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, where “edible books” are created, displayed, and small events are held.

The Portland Public Library used to hold these festivals, as well as other libraries in Maine.

From page to palate, the Edible Books Festival is a community treat
Luke MacFadyen Edible Book Festival 2025

Ordinarily edible “books” are cakes, but this summer the talented and creative board of the Long Island Community Library took it one step further and created all sorts of lovely (and delicious) interpretations of books turned into food, such as slushies (“Frozen river” by Ariel Lawhon), a vegetable plate (“The tiny seed” by Eric Carle), pigs-in-a-blank (“Charlotte’s web” by E.B. White), chili (“Like water for chocolate” by Laura Esquivel), muffins (“If you give a moose a muffin” by Laura Joffe Numeroff), peach cobbler (“James and the giant peach” by Roald Dahl, raspberry cordial (“Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud Montgomery), iced tea (“The tea girl of Hummingbird Lane” by Lisa See), and branches of blueberries (“The berry pickers” by Amanda Peters). And many other clever and tasty treats.

During this annual event at LICL to honor and thank the library volunteers, this impressive edible book festival was a wonderful celebration of food – and books!

Under the Tuscan sun
The tiny seed
James and the giant peach
The frozen river
Charlotte’s web
The berry pickers
Anne of Green Gables

Books, Libraries

Little Free Library – Down front!

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Mary Caliandro had a dream – to return home to Long Island, after many years living elsewhere, most recently Chattanooga, Tennessee. So, a year ago Mary and her husband, Chris Mobley, ventured north and landed in the end condo down front, alongside the road leading down to Ponce’s Landing. Mary had another smaller dream, to put up a “little free library,” to offer books to the community. The location is perfect, as this crossroads is walked by many, on their way to the beach or Bakehouse, or beyond. Mary has been involved in books and reading and libraries for most of her life, and this is her way of giving back.

So, a few months ago, her smaller dream came to fruition, thanks to Mary’s cousin Robbie, who made and brought the little free library out to the island for Mary’s birthday, and Tom McVey, who installed it on the planter. The library has slowly become populated, most recently by children’s books, and more donations are welcome.

Mary’s favorite author is Stephen King – she has read all of his books. She also enjoys all types of fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, and biographies – most recently she read one about Jimmy Carter.

At the end of the summer Mary and Chris are moving from one end of the condos to the other, and will be moving the little free library with them – still a great location, and perhaps a bit more sheltered for the upcoming winter season, which is when we will need books more than ever. Mary says, about her little free library, “It’s a pleasure to have it” – and we are happy to have Mary and Chris here on the island, sharing their passion for books and reading, and brightening up their small corner of Long Island.

Libraries

Bottles found and collected

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How many people have bottles in their homes that they have found in their travels or even in their own backyard? The new exhibit at our island library share some of these beautiful bottles, collected by islanders, including Alyssa Poulin, Dave Singo, Henry MacVane, Tommy Marr, Lou Zeppiere, Christy Floyd Muesse, Nancy Thornston, Judy and Tim Churchard, Rennie and Joe Donovan, Shawn and Alanna Rich, Steve and Marci Train, Curt Murley, Nancy Thornton, Kim Preston, Beth Marchak and Steve Hart, Jack and Lisa Sullivan, Lou Zeppieri, Barbara and Dave Ramey, Nancy Berges, and Paula and David Johnson.

These brown and blue bottles are brought to us by Alyssa Poulin

There are all kinds of bottles, of all shapes and sizes and colors. There’s a vintage milk bottle, a ballast bottle (when filled with liquid and placed on a ship, the bottle remains upright when the ship lists), bottles with images on them (horse, Miss America), and even a heart shaped bottle.

Miss America!

Come enjoy this beautiful collection of bottles, especially on a sunny day when the sun streams through the windows, turning these objects into glorious light filled treasures.

Check out this awesome ballast bottle!
Libraries

Borrowed Christmas

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Currently on exhibit at the Long Island Community Library is another brilliant display from the clever mind of Karen Boss, the small glass case curator: Borrowed Christmas, which showcases part or all of creches or nativity sets belong to Long Islanders. This is a great exhibit on many levels, especially for those of us who have incomplete creches, or have figures that are broken. But put together we can create a complete creche – very symbolic of life itself. Not all of us have perfect creches, or perfect lives, so it’s lovely to think of a mismatched ragtag group gathering around the baby Jesus.

Nigerian creche scene

Also, for those who celebrate Epiphany, the wise men are often placed far from the creche, and as Epiphany draws near, so do the wise men. As Advent progresses, through the birth of Jesus, the scene is incomplete until all draw near, and 12 days later, all are together, worshipping the Christ Child.

The wise men, waiting their turn

To make this display even more interesting we have a menorah. Even though Hanukkah isn’t the Jewish Christmas, there are definitely connections that could be made, to add an extra layer to the month of December.

Festival of lights

Come see these lovely manger scene figurines and menorah, contributed by Carlene Barron, Rose Barter, Cheryl Boss, Karen Boss, Mary Caliandro, Candy Dale/Jim Schine, Linda McCann, Nancy Noble, Diane Watts, Betsy Whitman, and Dave Singo (see the December 2018 blog about Dave Singo’s lovely exhibit of his ceramic nativity scene that he created).

The Holy Family

Books, Libraries, Music

Art and Soul 2024

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It’s that time again! The biannual fundraiser of the Long Island Community Library. Where else can you buy books, flowers, and baked goods, as well as bid on artwork and purchase raffle tickets for beautiful themed baskets created by island organizations and individuals. There were even opportunities to listen to great music and create paper flowers. Mostly it’s a fine time to gather with island friends and neighbors and celebrate our wonderful island library, on a gorgeous July (20th) day.

Books, Libraries

Cuala Press

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In this month of March, when we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, I would like to share with you another wonderful treasure in the Portland Room of the Portland Public Library, the Cuala Press collection. This special collection of greeting cards, prints, and book covers was given to the public library by James Augustine Healy (1890-1975), a philanthropist and active proponent of Irish literature. He also gave Cuala Press materials to Colby College. (Healy had a summer home on Chebeague Island, to give further connection to our island community). The Maine Irish Heritage Center also owns some Cuala Press books.

The Cuala Press (pronounced coo-la) was an Irish private press set up in 1908 by Elizabeth Yeats and Lily Yeats, the sisters of William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet, dramatist, and writer. Their brother Jack provided illustrations for some of the works of the press, which promoted Irish cultural heritage and decorative arts. It was also the only Arts and Crafts press to be run and staffed by women (which also helps us to celebrate Women’s History Month in March).

Books, Libraries

Stories behind the glass: the library at Victoria Mansion

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For many of us in Portland, a tradition at Christmas time is to visit the Victoria Mansion, which is lovingly and lavishly decorated. One of my favorite rooms is the library, of course, full of beautifully bound books behind glass cases. This library was a hidden collection until recently, when two Victoria Mansion staff members, Sue Flaherty and Michelle Josephson, did a thorough investigation of the books behind the glass cases, and in the process learned even more about the families that lived in the Mansion: the Morses and Libbys.

There are 1061 books in the library, including histories, fiction, adventure stories, religious books, and a hymnal dating back to 1795, which is the oldest book in the collection. The fiction includes books by Kate Douglas Wiggin (see November’s blog), who was friends with Mrs. Libby (Louisa). Books by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were also popular, so the local Maine authors are well represented. Some of the books include inscriptions, which give even more clues to relationships between the donor of the book and the lucky recipient. Occasionally items were found in some of the books, such as a pressed flower or bookmark.

Private libraries are a wonderful source of history, to learn more about the people who collected their books. Several years ago I had the honor of cataloguing the books in the Wadsworth Longfellow House, including the books in the bedroom of Anne Longfellow Pierce, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s sister, as well as the books in sitting room.

So, next time you are in a historic house museum, take a closer look at those books in the book cases or on shelves, as they may also have a story to tell about the inhabitants.

Special thanks to Sue Flaherty and Michelle Josephson for providing information for this blog.

Books, Libraries

Kate Douglas Wiggin – Maine woman writer with California roots

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Years ago, when I was the Special Collections Librarian at Westbrook College (later University of New England), and in charge of the Maine Women Writers Collection, I met Glenys Tarlow, collector of books by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923). She offered to give a talk about Wiggin, which I followed up on. Through that talk I met Carla Turner, who owned Kate Douglas Wiggin’s summer home, Quillcote, in Hollis, Maine. Carla was kind enough to invite me out to see her beautiful home, and she also took me to the Salmon Falls Library, which was established in 1911 by Kate Douglas Wiggin as the Salmon Falls Village Library and Tearoom (every small town needs one!). It was truly an honor to meet these generous women, connected to Kate Douglas Wiggin – one of the wonderful side benefits of my job.

Many people are familiar with Kate Douglas Wiggin’s most famous book, “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm,” but many don’t know of all Wiggin’s other talents and interests, including as an educator (a leader in the free kindergarten movement) and composer. As a native Californian I was intrigued to learn of Wiggin’s connections to California. Teenage Kate’s family moved to Santa Barbara, where I also lived as a teenager in the nearby town of Carpinteria. In her early 20s she headed the Silver Street Kindergarten in San Francisco—the first free kindergarten on the West Coast of the United States (I was born in nearby Berkeley and lived in San Francisco after college).

What is also interesting about Wiggin is how she was connected to Maine, despite being born in Philadelphia. When Kate’s father died, her mother moved the family to Portland, and then Hollis, Maine. Kate later attended Gorham Female Seminary. She spent time off and on at Quillcote throughout the years, getting involved in the local community, and even setting one of her books in Buxton. When she died at the age of 66, her ashes were scattered on the Saco River.

As you can see, I feel a bit of a kinship for this famous author who was bi-coastal, with roots in the two places I’ve lived the longest – California (26 years) and Maine (27 years).  

Libraries

Volunteers welcome and appreciated!

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Where would we be without volunteers? At the Long Island Community Library we would be nowhere. This volunteer run library exists due to the many hours of volunteers giving their time, which allow the library to be open every day of the week in the summer, and most days the rest of the year. Volunteers not only keep the library open, but they curate gallery shows, provide tech support, bake goods for events, write blogs, run programs, organize a continuous book sale, and generally make sure that the library is a safe and fun place for families, seniors, and all of the community.

In August we celebrated these volunteers with a lovely event in the library, full of delicious food, beautiful flowers, great conversation, and a time to thank departing board members and library staff. We are so grateful to our volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know.