Tag Archives: Island libraries

Libraries

A fellow island library – Matinicus Island

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My bucket list includes a visit to Matinicus Island. Some people think Long Island is the wild frontier, but of all the populated Maine islands, Matinicus seems like the one that is especially on the edge of civilization.

A recent article in the Bangor Daily News, more about banned books than about the library, brought to light this small island’s tiny library. It was picked up by the Smithsonian magazine, NBC news, NPR, Portland Press Herald. One of the best articles is by author Eva Murray, on the Maine Boats website.

I shared the Bangor Daily News article with some of my fellow LICL board members, and we thought that the Matinicus Library’s experience mirrored ours, almost 35 years ago, when we started up our island library. (See our blog post about our own humble beginnings)

The Matinicus Island Library was founded in 2016, beginning its life in an 8×10 foot shed. In 2020 they added an adjoining shed. They now have a children’s room. The library is run solely by volunteers, like the Long Island Community Library. As Eva Murray says, “Matinicus is neither stylish nor convenient as a tourist destination,” which makes it all the more appealing. Hopefully they will someday welcome this fellow islander (and librarian) to their beloved island library.

For information, see their Facebook page.

Books, Libraries

A Nova Scotian island library

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Recent travels took us to an island off the coast of Nova Scotia’s south shore: Tancook Island. The congenial crew member pointed us in the direction of his house, where his wife, Hillary, runs the island museum, art gallery (Wishing Stones), and … library! Books spill out everywhere in this charming spot, as well as shelves full of videos, magazines, board games, and puzzles. There were comfortable chairs and couches to relax in, and a wood stove to keep warm by in the colder months.

Hillary started the library with her own books, but once the word got out that there was a library on the island books began to appear. She connected with the South Shore public library system, which offers a rotating selection of books and videos through a bookmobile that comes to Chester, the town on the mainland which the ferry from Tancook connects to.

Hillary doesn’t bother with a check out system – instead, she trusts the islanders to return the books in a timely manner, and they do! Overall, Hillary provides a comfortable gathering place on Tancook Island, where anyone in the community of about 100 souls (in the winter) is welcome to hang out, knit, visit, and read.

For more on Tancook’s library see: http://www.wishingstonesgallery.com/9322.html