Artwork from the Whitefield Elementary School
Hello Friends of Whitefield Library!
It is so very exciting to see all the changes to our dear old grange hall; and staff members have tried to keep you up to date on the building renovation progress. The generous donations, targeted grant efforts, selfless volunteerism and steadfast community support and hard work of so many have brought us to where we are. It has taken and will continue to take all of us working together in common cause to complete our plans for a fully restored building housing a vibrant library and community center where all of us can come together and continue our life-long learning and have the opportunity to participate in cultural, creative and artistic programs. We are well on our way! AND We need your help! We are thrilled to be able to tell you that the downstairs library will be opening in the very near future! Stay tuned!!! We can hardly wait to have you see what we have accomplished and to familiarize you with all the categories of wonderful books we have to loan out. With concerted effort on the part of the Book Committee, we have collected, combed through, cataloged, labeled and shelved over 6,000 books, with something for everyone, fiction and non-fiction; adult, young reader and children’s.
Calling all volunteers!
This post will show you some of us at work, the beautiful shelving and the rows and rows of books awaiting your discovery. We are looking for volunteers interested in learning the workings of the day to day running of our library operation. Initially our Winter hours will be Fridays and Saturdays from 10AM – 2PM. Volunteers will undergo training where they will learn about our book inventory and our computer system so they will know where to direct patrons; to look up books on our software, handle book check outs and returns and register new patrons. There will be ample training, instruction sheets and coaching on the job. We’re aiming to make it fun and easy and hope and trust that we will have lots of interested people to help in these efforts. If you are interested in volunteering and signing up for training, please contact the office at office@whitefieldlibrary.org or call 207-549-0170 for more information and specific timetable.
Book Donations!!
Books!
We are so appreciative of the many friends and neighbors who have donated books, both newly purchased, read and given to us, and the many used books from your own home libraries. The Book Committee has, at certain points in time, been inundated with your generous offerings; and over the last several months has not been able to accept your donations. The reason for this is multi-fold. First, we have limited space (although we are still quite spacious!) and secondly we have invested a great deal of time and effort in determining what books are appropriate and are likely to be loaned out and popular. It is with this in mind and with the aim of creating a library where there is a good balance of ‘classics’ and new releases, fiction and non-fiction; self help/crafts/spirituality and poetry, all the while keeping in mind the modern use of the internet, that we have created some guidelines for book donations. Please also keep in mind that books that we do accept may, over time, be deemed more appropriate for our ‘books for sale’ shelf. We do not wish to disappoint anyone, so please know that we value your donations and will do our utmost to see that they are shared in the most worthy fashion.
We ask that anyone wanting to drop off book donations, make an appointment. Again, you can contact the office at office@whitefieldlibrary.org or call 207-549-0170 to schedule a time when a library staff person can review your donations and see if they meet our suggested guidelines. We ask that you limit your donations to three paper bags worth per scheduled appointment. You may come back at another time with three more bags!
We cannot accept old, torn or musty books, encyclopedias of any kind, or any magazines including National Geographic. We particularly welcome newer releases of hard cover adult or children’s fiction or non-fiction. Please consider donating a new book you may have recently purchased, enjoyed and would like to share with others. Also, monetary donations are always welcome.
Thank you for your attention to this message. We welcome your contributions and participation in whatever ways work for you. We so look forward to seeing you ‘by the books’!
Margaret Fergusson, Book Committee