The library is currently open Monday through Friday from 10:00am-5:30pm and Saturday 9:30am-12:30pm. The Children's Room and Archives are open by appointment. Please call for details: 207-582-3312.

Deborah Gould

Holidays – Any And All You May Celebrate!

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Believe it or not, we are in the midst of the “Holiday” season.

As humans, particularly American humans, we love to celebrate!  There are holidays every – yes, EVERY – day of the year.  From National Short Girl Appreciation Day (December 21, the shortest day of the year), and Cyber Monday and Cider Monday (both the Monday after Thanksgiving) to National Crossword Puzzle Day and National Bacon Day.  Each of these “holidays” are generally celebrated in December, so are part of the “Holiday Season”.

Traditionally, we think of “The Holidays” as one of the big three – Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa.  Again, as Americans, whichever holiday we celebrate, we often give gifts to our loved ones.

Okay, here’s the plug for the library – –

If you didn’t know, we have several items currently available that would make great gifts for those folks you share with.

Well, what do you have, you might ask . . .

Currently, we have both note cards and prints available.  Local artist Kay Morris has given us a beautiful winter view of the front of the library.  The print is ten dollars, and the note cards are ten for fifteen dollars.

Lovely book bags are also available.  These bags have the library logo on the front and are very well made.  The bags are fifteen dollars each.

And . . . Books, we have books!

Four titles are available written by local authors ; Destination Unknown by former State Representative Gay Grant.  The Eastern. Book one, The early years : a novel and  The Eastern. Book two, Later on : a novel by Deborah Gould ;  Maine ingenuity : from waterwheels to M.I.T. by Michael McCaslin.  Each of these titles are seventeen dollars and ninety-five cents.  There are also a nice assortment of used books available, ranging in price from one to five dollars.

Is there anyone on your list that does not live in our service area?  We would love to sell you a Gardiner Public Library non-resident subscription to use as a gift.  Just think, a gift that truly will last an entire year! And for the whole family as well!

We even have pre-wrapped some of the above items, just to remove more of your stress.

So, to each of you, Happy Holidays – Each And Every One You May Celebrate!

Fall Events at the Library!

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We still have a few more events associated with the Voices Of The Kennebec grant. 

Deb Gould will be here on Tuesday, October 11th from 7:00pm – 8:30pm to discuss her historical novel The Eastern, set in Pittston, Maine. 
Gay Grant will be here on Tuesday, October 25th from 7:00pm – 8:30pm to discuss her book Destination Unknown, a biography of a World War II evacuee.
There is still room available in the Writing Workshop with Brian Evans-Jones, to be held on Saturday, October 22nd from 10:00am – 4:00pm.  Call the library – 207.582.3312 – if you have any interest in a day of writing!
The final program associated with Voices Of The Kennebec will be held Tuesday, November 1st from 7:00pm – 8:30pm.  This will be an evening of readings and sharing of literary works inspired by Gardiner, the Kennebec, and our place in Maine history!
On Tuesday, October 25th, from 10:00am – 11:00am, Ms. Jenn and the Nutrition Detectives will be back!  Ms. Jenn does an amazing story time, and this will be a fun filled spooky hour of music and movement!
I’m not sure about you, but I am certainly looking forward to the second annual Real Ghost Stories evening here in the library!  We’ll be listening to the haunting tales on Thursday, October 27th 2016 from 6:30pm – 8:00pm.  Last year we had a Hazzard Reading Room full of people listening to and telling their own haunting memories of the Gardiner, Maine area.  Stories ranged from “The Castle,” to the library, to private homes in Gardiner, to a store in the greater Portland area.  If you are a bit shy about sharing your story publicly, I know Kelly – hauntedgardiner@yahoo.com – would be thrilled for you to share your stories with her.  Kelly will compile what she receives and share throughout the evening, anonymously if you prefer.
If you are searching for something fun and different, join us for the First Annual Discover Gardiner Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, November 5th from 11:00am – 1:00pm.  An event hoping to encourage “Scavengers” to explore and engage with Gardiner’s past and present!  This event is a fundraiser for the library, so gather your team, and meet here at the library for check-in beginning at 10:00am on November 5th! Cost is $10 per individual adult, $5 for each additional team member and children under 12 participate free!  Registration information is available at the Main Desk on the Adult Level of the library!
Ann Russell, Technology Librarian

One hundred years ago, a letter arrived in Gardiner….

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Written from Columbia University, the letter congratulated a Gardiner author on winning the Pulitzer Prize for biography.  The author, who compiled scrapbooks of her family life and day-to-day goings on, dutifully pasted the letter on the next available page in her Family Log and moved right along….

Neither she nor the letter made note of the fact that that she and her sister were the first women to win a Pulitzer.  In fact, as 1917 was the inaugural year of the most celebrated prize for literature, the event made little more than a tiny ripple in Laura E. Richard’s daily life.  No one yet understood just how monumental a moment it was  — nor just how often Gardiner and the Kennebec Valley region would come to celebrate future prizes and commendations for authors who called it home.

 

This week, in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Pulitzer Prize, we are proud to be kicking off a six-event program celebrating our place – in history, in geography, and (especially) in literature.

Join us in celebrating our region through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winners Laura E. Richards, Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Robert P. Tristram Coffin.  Explore how history, family, and community stimulate great works of literature today.

Come hear the stories of how local authors — Pulitzer-Prize winner Barbara Walsh, Maine Literary Award winner Deborah Gould, and historical author, Representative Gay Grant — have come to create compelling works that transport readers through time and place.

See how place and history can enrich creative works.  Explore your own voice in putting words to the page at a full-day writing workshop and/or join us for the finale of our series.
See all the events explained below:

 

We look forward to welcoming you to any or all of the events.  Call us at 582-6890 if you have any questions.

We will also have some wonderful artifacts and photographs on display in the Hazzard Reading Room for the coming weeks — here’s are a few teasers:

L.E.R. compiled over a dozen Family/Home Logs covering half a century of life in Gardiner.  They include personal notes, local newspaper clippings, family photos, items of national relevance (e.g., a letter of congratulations from the Pulitzer Prize Commission, invitations to the White House from President Roosevelt, celebrations of Julia Ward Howe (L.E.R.’s mother)), and historical touchstones including WWI and Women’s Suffrage, among much else.
We will have some on display and others on hand for reference, research, and reverence.

 

 

Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869-1935) grew up and created his first poetical works in Gardiner, Maine.  He self-published his first work, The Torrent & The Night Before, in 1896 (an original is shown here and will be on display).  He went on to earn three Pulitzer Prizes in poetry.