Author: Joanna Breen

Best Halloween Parade Reboot Ever

Joanna Breen Featured, General

Wow. Just wow. The Halloween Parade Reboot was spectacular; an example of community-wide collaboration at its finest. Starting in September with a call to Officer Larry Brown and then Jen, BHML Children’s Coordinator, going door to door to the downtown businesses to see who’s “in” for the parade, the event got its bones back after a two year pandemic pause.

With the downtown businesses excited for a reboot, we got even more excited to add in a trunk or treat section.  Our neighbor Bath Savings Bank enthusiastically agreed to turn over some parking spots. We hollered at a few organizations and businesses to if they’d like to participate: the American Legion Post 36 signed on, and First National Bank, Hannaford’s agreed, and Newcastle Reality came and brought Action for Animals into the fold, Sue Burge recruited Big Al, and Alyssa Allen looped in the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service. It was really something to see the chain reaction, very quickly the trunk-or-treat spots we’d planned for were filled!

And since the library closed on Mondays, why not haunt it? Jen and Bethany recruited LEGO and Gaming Clubbers to create dozens of Halloween decorations from bats to tombstones to weird little LEGO creatures. Girls Who Code club produced spooky animations that visitors could peer through a crack watch for a fright. At the library the weeks preceding the parade were messy with paint and cardboard from Halloween maker-space sessions. Harolyn and the volunteers could barely hear at the circulation desk over raucous sounds of the tasked young artists. I previewed a few scary animations by Girls Who Code members and then had to sleep with the light on.

On the morning of the parade, we decorated with props and items loaned from Slick’s Boutique, Bonnie Ginger, and Betsy Dunton, and all the Halloween maker-space decorations the clubbers produced. Abby Dunlap, Barbara Scorcia, and Elaine Ricci came to help us set up. At 2:30 Imij, Gretchen, and Chris Armstead swooped in for action.

For 3:00 we had Beetlejuice roaming the library and a creepy little bunny. Desiree Scorcia and Anna Rogers haunted the stacks as a soulless moaning remote worker and a dead fairy, respectively. The Children’s Room was festive, but sane, and Pam Utley read barely spooky stories to little ones and the fright-adverse. Lisa and Ben with the Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce served cider on the lawn, and finally at 4:00 pm the parade began, led by Jen Betts and Meg Donaldson (or: a penguin and a unicorn).

The Boothbay Region Police Department kept the route safe. Townsend Avenue businesses from Two Salty Dogs down to First Methodist Church passed out a bazillion pieces of pieces of candy to a thousand costumed residents and visitors from neighboring towns. This was the biggest parade yet! A heartfelt thank you to all of those who made it happen, and to all those who came. It was quite a show! We can’t wait until next year.

Sincerely,

The Library

TL;DR
Thank you so much: Library Club Kids (you know who you are), Bath Savings Bank, American Legion, Action for Animals, Newcastle Realty, First National Bank, Hannafords, Big Al, Boothbay Region Chamber of Commerce, Boothbay Region Police Department, Boothbay Region Ambulance Service, Slick’s Boutique, Bonnie Ginger, Elaine Ricci, Abby Dunlap, Barbara & Desiree Scorcia, The Armstead Family, Anna Rogers, Betsy Dunton, Pam Utley, all of the downtown businesses and the paraders that make day!

Got pictures?! Tag us in in them @bbhlibrary on Facebook and Instagram!

Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation Photo Show

Joanna Breen Exhibits, Featured, General

The Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation Research Collection Photo Show

Friday, August 5Maritime Foundation
5:00—7:00 p.m.
in the Great Room

The collection is currently on display in the Great Room.

Boothbay’s rich fishing history is on display in an exhibit of historic and contemporary photographs at Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library. The exhibit is drawn from a research collection of fishing-related photographs from various organizations and community members and hosted in an online database. The Boothbay Regional Maritime Foundation (BRMF) was formed in 2018 to preserve working waterfront but also to educate the public on the region’s important maritime history. As part of this effort, the foundation has collaborated with the Boothbay Region Historical Society (BRHS) and the Penobscot Marine Museum (PMM) to build a research collection of photographs and make them available to the public. Photos from the Historical Society collection have been digitized as well as hundreds of photos and negatives from the Department of Marine Resources, historical photos from BHML and the Boothbay Register and many individuals.

Maritime Foundation 2

The Research Collection is an online archive of stunning photos that will give you a glimpse into the colorful maritime history of the Boothbay region. You will find photos of shrimping, herring and mackerel seining, pogy fishing, lobstering, Fishermen’s Festival, the Boothbay Harbor tuna tournament and more. There are photos of the fishing industries that long ago dominated the inner harbor and outlying areas and include canneries, smoke houses, cold storage facilities, sail makers’ lofts, boat shops, and fertilizer and fish oil factories. These photos document the lives and livelihoods of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents.

A selection of 22 photos will be sold by silent auction at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library exhibit. High resolution photo reprints in 16×20 frames and four 30×40 gator board prints are available. The photo show is sponsored by a grant from the Maine Community Foundation.

This is a community-sourced collection that relies on individuals and organizations from the Boothbay region for photos as well as background information. Photos and artifacts loaned for the project will be returned to their owners or may be donated to the Boothbay Region Historical Society or the Penobscot Marine Museum. Recent donations include 39 photos taken by Alden Stickney, a talented artist, avid photographer and scientist who worked at the Department of Marine Resources. The Stickney photos were donated by sons William Stickney and Christopher Stickney and include some amazing shots of local fishermen and fishing wharves.

BRMF is excited about this opportunity to work with PMM, BRHS and the community to preserve and provide access to photos that are of vital importance to the region’s culture and identity. This is a unique opportunity for people to share their photos while still maintaining ownership of them and for the community to work together to create a digital photo archive reflective of our way of life. This is an ongoing project and your donations or loans are welcome. Your personal memories and reflections are also appreciated and can be added to the photo records.

The Boothbay Region Maritime Foundation is a 501 (c) 3, nonprofit organization formed in 2018. Its mission is to preserve working waterfront and the maritime heritage of the Boothbay Region. Contact them at BRMaritimeFoundation@gmail.com. Click here for more information about their projects and programs. The Penobscot Marine Museum is located in Searsport and their online photo collections can be view online.

3/2 & 3/3: Front Porch Project via Zoom – Cancelled

Joanna Breen General

Due to lack of registrants, this program has been cancelled. 

 

 

ATTN: Community, Teachers, Parents, & Child Caregivers:

Have you found yourself concerned for a child and thought about how you could have gotten involved? Or more importantly, wondered why you didn’t?

Front Porch Project

Wednesday, March 2 & Thursday, March 3
7:00-8:30 p.m.
3 hours over 2 evenings, via zoom.  CEU credits available from UMaine.

The Front Porch Project® training for community members looks at why people do (and don’t) get involved and provides strategies on how you can help by stepping in and supporting families. As the pandemic continues, families continue to face immense stress. It’s important, now more than ever, to know how you can help to support families. By attending this training, you are joining a community of Mainers committed to help prevent future tragedies from occurring to any more of our children. The training is free, available online and available to anyone in the state.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkf-mgrzkpHdA-vjwIinluTKZcRClisrgi

Specifically, this training teaches you to:

  • Increase your awareness of importance of prevention in helping to protect children and support families.
  • Identify and develop comfort with a range of parenting approaches.
  • Identify when and how to get involved in situations involving a child.
  • Think of possible responses, interventions and problem-solving strategies.
  • Identify “roadblocks” to stepping in and find safe ways around them.
  • Increase your comfort level with stepping into those situations.
  • Understand the impact that culture, gender and socioeconomic status can have on parenting and on actions to you might take on behalf of children.
  • Reach out to others in your community to protect children and support families.

The Front Porch Project® of Maine is a community response initiative, funded in part by donations to the Maine Children’s Trust on behalf of Marissa Kennedy, a child tragically lost to child abuse. For more information on how to get involved, please contact your local Prevention Council by clicking here.

Training FAQ

What is the Front Porch Project®?

The Front Porch Project® is a community-based initiative founded on the belief that everyone can and should play a role in preventing child abuse. Everyone can do something! It is supported by research focusing on how adults learn and make decisions to act on behalf of children, and was developed by the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance. The Front Porch Project® of Maine is a community response initiative, funded in part by donations to the Maine Children’s Trust on behalf of Marissa Kennedy, a child tragically lost to child abuse.

How does the Front Porch Project® of Maine Work?
Maine Children’s Trust, a statewide child abuse prevention organization, has partnered with local Prevention Councils to offer the Front Porch Project® training across the state. It is an interactive, fun mix of discussion and activities that encourage learning and community building. The training is offered online and in-person (as safety restrictions allow) over 3-6 hours and can be presented in one to two sessions. It is provided at no charge to participants and held in many community settings.

The Front Porch Project® offers a comprehensive look at why people do (and don’t) get involved when they are concerned about a child. This training is not a “one size fits all” approach; we don’t tell you what to do in any given situation. Instead, we help you to think through situations you have encountered and decide on a response that feels right for you. We provide an opportunity for you to share ideas with other people in your community and practice strategies for stepping in to help. You will leave with real-world examples and concrete steps to take when something “just doesn’t seem right” with a child in your neighborhood, place of worship, or public place.

Specifically, the training includes the following content:

  • Welcome, Introduction and Overview
  • Abuse and Perception: Setting the context around what the data shows about the public perception of abuse
  • Influence and Impact: Informs participants about factors that influence intervention and the complex issues facing families
  • Social Influence: Highlights the role of social media on social norms and the importance of community protective factors
  • Deciding to Help: Examines factors that influence whether a person intervenes, including cultural and societal factors
  • What You Can Do: Discuss specific actions someone can do to help

Three surveys are provided: a pre, post, and follow-up survey 6 months afterward. In order to thank you for your participation and for becoming a child abuse prevention advocate, Maine Children’s Trust will collect your contact information so that we can mail you a completion certificate and a Pinwheels for Prevention lapel pin.

 

Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library 

4 Oak Street, Boothbay Harbor, ME

207-633-3112 | bhmlnext100.org

 

BHML is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Programs are are made possible by donors like you.

The Next 100: Library users (and non-users!) share your thoughts!

Joanna Breen General

BHML trustees, staff, and volunteers are getting ready to prepare Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library for its next 100 years!

Yes, we know, the world is changing faster than we can publish this post; how can we plan for the next 100 years?!

Well, there’s one thing we know: our mission to create a welcoming space in which to explore ideas, foster community, and nurture individual growth through open access to the tools to learn, dream, connect, and do will never change…but it will always adapt!

Let us know how you use this free public space today, and how you might dream of using it in the future.

Thank you for your time!

7/24: Author Talk with Matt Cost

Joanna Breen Featured, General

Author Talk with Matt Cost

Saturday, July 24 at 2:00pm on the library lawn

Meet Matt Cost (a 2021 Maine Humanities Council Read ME author) and hear about his latest book Wolfe Trap, as well as his Mainely Power series, featured for statewide summer reading!

Wolfe Trap is Cost’s debut novel in a new series surrounding a PI, Clay Wolfe, in the fictional coastal town of Port Essex, Maine. Instead of a large white shark threatening the populace, it is heroin being smuggled through lobster traps that is endangering the town.

What evil lurks in Port Essex, Maine?

Clay Wolfe is a former Boston homicide detective who has left the police department to return home to Maine to care for his elderly grandfather and open a private detective agency. Haunted by being orphaned at an early age, and jaded by the corruption of the big city, Clay is happy to hit pause and investigate minor crimes.

“I want you to find the person who sold the drugs that killed my grandbaby.”

When he is hired to find out who sold the drugs that killed a six-month-old baby girl, he has no idea of the evil that he is going to uncover in the underbelly of his hometown.

Wolfe Trap is a thrilling ride set in a small Maine town with rich characters and shocking plot twists that will keep the reader rapt until the final pages.

About the author:  Matt Cost a.k.a. Matthew Langdon Cost

Over the years, Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable.

During those years, since age eight actually, the true passion has been writing. I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (Encircle Publications, March, 2020) was his first traditionally published novel.

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.

6/29-8/14: Summer Reading 2021

Joanna Breen General

Summer Reading 2021:  June 29 – August 14!

Between now and August 14, all BHML patrons are encouraged to take part in our Summer Reading programs. There are lots of prizes to win and even more fun to be had by all!

Summer Reading Passport

Photo by JOSEPH CHARPENTIER/Boothbay Register

Hey kids! Head to the library and ask a librarian to issue you a Summer Reading Passport.

You’ll get your picture taken and we’ll mark your passport with an official issue stamp.

Throughout the summer, time your reading, visit the library and complete reading challenges to earn treats and prize tickets.

When you reach passport checkpoints during your reading journey, come back to the library to get prize tickets and enter them to win amazing prizes like bikes, book bags filled with fun things, a pizza and movie party at the library, or the chance to be librarian for the day!

Come back for Summer Reading Wrap-Up on Saturday, August 14 at 1:00pm on the library lawn.

Prize raffles will be drawn on this day and we’ll have special activities to celebrate a summer filled with reading!

Share photos of your reading journey.

Take pictures while completing passport challenges and use #BHMLSummerReading to document your journey. Tag us on Facebook and Instagram @bbhlibrary.

Adult Summer Reading Bingo

Hey adults! We have a special reading challenge for you. Grab a Reading Bingo card at the front desk of the library or ask for one at our walk-up window. Don’t worry…there will be prizes for you, too!

 

Have questions? Call the library at 207-633-3112 or email Jen at youth@bhmlnext100.org (Kids’ Summer Reading Passport) or Bethany at tech@bhmlnext100.org (Adult Reading Bingo).

Winter Reading Challenge

Joanna Breen Contests, General

Reading makes you cool. We mean warm!

START: 12/1/20
FINALE: 3/20/21

Read your way through the winter and earn chances to win prizes!

Online Beanstack Challenge
Kids and your grown-ups: sign up to accomplish Reading Challenges, earn Activity Badges, and Write Reviews, to earn tickets for raffle prizes. Register at https://bbhlibrary.beanstack.org/.

We’ll be cheering you on all winter with High-5 Prize Drawings on January 5, February 5, and March 5. With tickets you earn, you’ll have a chance to enter to win a Kindle Fire, plus a mug and a tin of cocoa goodness to keep you warm while you read on.

On March 20, we’ll announce two grand prize winners. Prize hint: Do you know just how comfy a bean bag chair is?

Need help getting started with Beanstack? Contact Bethany at 207-633-3112 or via email at tech@bhmlnext100.org.

Paper Challenge

Grown-ups and paper-lovers we’ve got a Winter Reading Challenge for you, too! Try out new book genres, and experience new authors using our guided challenge checklist. For each category read, you’ll earn a raffle ticket you can use towards High 5 prizes, or the grand prize.

High 5 drawings will be for gift cards from local businesses. Grand prize? A 6-month subscription to the Great Courses Online! Slightly ironic, yes…we’ll walk you through how to access it if you win and consider yourself “technologically challenged.”

Starting December 1, ask for a Paper Challenge when you pick up Curbside or Windowside.

BHML Back to Curbside/Windowside Only

Joanna Breen General

‘Tis the season for precaution!

We’re going back to Curbside & Windowside Service Only through the Holidays.

Starting Thursday, November 19, enjoy the old great Curbside Service, minus the appointments. Or, try the new Windowside Service.

  1. Place your holds online using your account at minerva.maine.edu, or call us at 207-633-3112.
  2. We’ll notify you by phone or email (depending on your preference) when the items are ready to be picked up. 
  3. We’ll hold the items for you for up to a week…Simply call us when you’re in the parking lot and we’ll bring out your items; or drop by during expanded Windowside Hours (Tuesday through Saturday 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM) to walk up and get your holds. 
  4. Need to print? Call ahead and we’ll arrange to print your documents.

Why are we doing this?! Because we love you! We love each other! And we want to be proactive and see the other side of this pandemic as soon as possible.

Keep an eye on BHML for upcoming online programs, including a prize-laden Winter Reading Challenge!  BHML is here for you, and we’ll make it through this together!  

For a refresher on how to place holds online, and for handy-dandy digital browsing links, revisit this post:  Curbside Catalog Quick Links.

In the New Year,  we will review our plan based on the recommendations of Maine health officials.  We wish you safety and health this season.  See you outside!

 

11/17: Author Talk: Harold Holzer via Facebook

Joanna Breen Featured, General

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.randomhouse.com%2Fcover%2F9781524745264%3Falt%3Dno_cover_penguin.jpg&f=1&nofb=1November 17 at 8pm ET | 5pm PT on Facebook Live.

PBS Books will host a virtual conversation with renowned author Harold Holzer discussing his latest book The Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle between the White House and the Media from the Founding Fathers to Fake News.

[Request the Book]

No matter your political affiliation, you’ll be intrigued to learn that the tension between the president and the press is as old as America’s republic.

In his new book, acclaimed scholar Harold Holzer explores the rise of the American presidency and the media that shaped it. From Washington to Trump, he chronicles the disputes and distrust between these core institutions that define our country, highlighting that the fabric of the nation is in fact built upon their confrontation.