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.

Month: February 2014

Gardening in Gardiner

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Winters in Maine are long, but doesn’t this winter seem as if it will never end?  One hopeful sign is that the sunlight appears to be warmer and the days, just a bit longer.  Is anyone dreaming of spring?
Maybe the Gardiner Public library can help you with your dreams.  We have a great collection of gardening books and some even have instructions about indoor gardening, a great way to get a jump start on your outside living.
A classic title is The Edible Garden by Peggy Hardigree.  Why not set up an indoor herb garden so that your meals may have just a bit more flavor over these winter months.  The Vegetable Gardener’s Container Bible by Edward C. Smith encourages folks to garden smartly; no need to wait until spring to begin some seeds in containers.  All you need is a sunny window!
The Gardiner Public Library has these and many other titles available for you to begin your garden dreams.  Come for a visit and begin planning for warmer weather…it really should be right around the corner!
The Gardiner Public Library is located at 152 Water Street, Gardiner, Maine.  We serve the towns of Gardiner, Litchfield, Pittston, Randolph and West Gardiner.
Anne Davis, Library Director

Valentine’s Day – Did You Know?

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“More than two thousand years ago, a holiday similar to Valentine’s Day was celebrated in Rome. But in those times the Romans did not call it Valentine’s Day.  They called the holiday Lupercalia.  Lupercalia means ‘feasts of Lupercus’”.
“Celebrations of Valentine’s Day spread to other countries.  During the Middle Ages, people in England believed that birds returned from the south to choose their mates around February 14.  So Valentine’s Day seemed like a perfect time to choose a sweetheart.”
“In Italy, young men and women gathered together in flower gardens on Valentine’s Day to listen to music and poetry.  In France, fancy dress balls were popular.  Young Frenchmen were often expected to present their Valentine’s Day dance partners with bouquets of flowers.”
“The very first valentine was written at this time, about four hundred years ago, by a French nobleman named the Duke of Orleans.  He was taken captive during a war and imprisoned in a tower in England.  He missed his wife very much, and wrote her many love letters.  Many of the letters mentioned St. Valentine.”
“As more and more people learned how to read and write, they decided to send this kind of letter to their sweethearts.”
“Valentine’s Day was particularly popular in England while Queen Victoria ruled the land.”
All of these facts are quoted from “Valentine’s Day” by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Susan Estelle Kwas.  This book is available in the children’s room at the Gardiner Public Library.
Charlene Wagner, Children’s Librarian