Whitefield Library Annual Appeal

Dear Friends of the Whitefield Library,

Thanks to your generosity, the Whitefield Library has reached its one year anniversary date of the reopening of our newly renovated space (Jan. 14, 2022). We know that we took the right path when we read encouraging remarks such as this most recent from one of our patrons, “This has been such a great addition to our community. My family loves the library!” With that, on behalf of our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and patrons, thank you for the past support which helped to make our reopening possible. On this one year anniversary, we are reaching out again with our Annual Appeal asking you to support (with whatever amount you are financially comfortable giving) the continued operations of our community library.

After more than 20,000 hours of volunteer labor, the five “Geezers” on the renovation crew had swept up the last of the sawdust, packed up their tools, and anxiously watched the volunteer Book Committee begin their preparation for Opening Day. Hours and hours of sorting, cataloguing, determining space, and shelving books were generously given by a small handful of determined women on a mission. They very successfully met that Day 1 opening deadline last January, but thankfully, they didn’t stop there! During this past year, they have trained over 19 new volunteers to help with circulation and patron services. They laid the framework for a fully functioning library service. Building a library requires passion and commitment, and our library has been “gifted” with every one of these community volunteers.

In order to gain future growth and sustainability we launched the most logical “next” step in the process; leadership. We have been very fortunate to have Shawn Gallagher step in as our Library Administrator. With his direction and management, we have adopted much needed policy and procedures. Also, our little library is stretching into a collaborative mode with Maine State Library facilitators, and with Shawn’s help we are meeting even more of the criteria to gain MSL affiliation. We’re so fortunate to have his energy and leadership. Wednesdays from 1:30-6:00 is a great time to meet Shawn at the library and to have a chance to chat about our library’s vision for the future.

Along with our reopening came our Children’s Program under the coordination of Emma Nelson. Storytime brought more delight and enthusiasm as families brought the kids to listen to stories, find new books, and dive into creative crafts that matched the season. The Halloween Craftacular was most definitely met with high energy and much enthusiastic participation! There will be more of that in 2023 as Ms. Emma and Hayley Parlin prepare an exciting agenda. The significance of connecting kids to books with engaging literary experiences has a long term positive impact for a community. What began with 46 children using our summer library in 2017, has grown to 500 “young people patrons” today. That is encouraging!

A few of our other accomplishments this year have been:

• Additional day/hours to be open
• Updated website with interactive capability for OPAC, book renewal, patron/ volunteer sign up
• Book circulation increased from 294 in the summer of 2017 to 2,337 today
• Library Card for every patron
• Convenient Drop Box for returning books
• Free WiFi with parking lot capability
• Free access to a patron computer with internet capability
• Installation of heat pumps to decrease energy consumption
• Organized planning for two adult programs (Book Club and Cribbage Meet)

Along with this remarkable growth comes increased costs to operate the library. Our goal is to raise operating funds through grants, donations, a variety of events throughout the year, and our Annual Appeal. Please donate today to help guarantee our library will continue to grow and serve the citizens of Whitefield and neighboring towns by using the Donate button at the bottom of this post, or by mailing your donation to Whitefield Library, PO Box 5, Whitefield, ME 04353. Thank you for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Whitefield Library Board of Directors

Thank you for considering donating to the Whitefield Library. Please use the button below to pay via Paypal. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.