News (Page 6)

By Kim Brawn

There is something daunting about the pressure of a new year. Beyond the cheers and best wishes lurks a resolution-happy culture filled with fresh starts and goals that are more aspirational than achievable. While creating a mental January (and beyond) to do list, I happened upon this C.S. Lewis quote: “You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.” That strikes a more hopeful and kinder tone. As we slide into 2024, the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft is planted in the present but can help you, in big and small ways, shape a better future.

We hit the ground running with Bangor-born author Dee Dauphinee on Thursday, January 4 at 6 p.m. He has written novels, biographies, and essays and lived in Europe and South America. Dee has also been a farmer, a photographer, and a fishing and mountaineering guide. He wrote the best-seller When You Find My Body that tells the story of Geraldine Largay who vanished in July 2013 while hiking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. He describes what caused her to go astray and the massive search and rescue operation that followed.

His latest work, The Sage of Dibbin Creek, is an engrossing account of a fatherless twelve-year-old boy with learning challenges who finds solace in nature and meets a wise and kind man who changes the course of his life. (The program will include a trivia contest to win copies of the book.)

Family Fun Night returns Tuesday, January 9 at 5:30 p.m. with games, crafts, trivia, and snacks. The planning and prepping are all taken care of, you just have to show up. As Ina Garten likes to say, “How easy is that?!”

TFL’s Reading Group convenes on Thursday, January 11 at 6 p.m. to discuss Weather by Jenny Offill. You can get a feel for this intriguing book from Kirkus Reviews: “An ever growing list of worries, from a brother with drug problems to a climate change apocalypse, dances through the lively mind of a university librarian. . . The tension between mundane daily concerns and looming apocalypse, the ‘weather’ of our days both real and metaphorical, is perfectly captured in Offill’s brief, elegant paragraphs, filled with insight and humor.” (Copies available at the library.)

If you build it, they will come. Or, in this case, just say Legos and kids will come running. Lego Build Time returns to TFL on Thursday, January 18 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. This once-monthly program will run through May. (Dates announced monthly.)

Youth services librarian Michelle Fagan is starting a Family Book Club that’s sure to beat the winter doldrums. Families will read a book together at home and then come to the club for pizza and book chat, with an occasional craft or other activity. The first session is Tuesday, January 23 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and will feature a short book, pizza, and a conversation about what the group will read this winter. This club is geared towards 2nd through 5th grade families, but younger and older child households are welcome. (The club will meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month through May. Registration required. Please contact the library.)

Did you know that Maine now has semi-open primaries? With the presidential primary around the corner on March 5, it’s important to know that unenrolled voters can now vote in the primary of their choice. To learn more stop by the library on Tuesday, January 30 at 6 p.m. for a presentation by the Highlands Regional chapter of the League of Women Voters of Maine. They will cover how primaries will work in 2024, what this means for voters, and how you can cast your ballot and they’ll answer any questions about voting. (LWV is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government.)

The new year can be a fresh start, a fresh middle, or a fresh ending. Wherever you are in your own personal narrative, TFL has the programs, collection and services to help you along the way or give you a break when you need one. Chapter one is done, but you can still write that fun, twisty ending that no one saw coming.

Holiday schedule reminders: we will be closed Tuesday, December 26 and Tuesday, January 2.

TFL hours: Tues & Thurs 9-7, Weds & Fri 9-5, & Sat 9-1. Visit our website: thompsonfreelibrary.org, our Facebook page, Instagram @tf_library, or contact us at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or 207/564-3350. All programs are free & open to the public. When possible, we livestream them via Facebook and upload to our YouTube channel.

Alex is heading off on a new adventure, and we are all very happy and excited for him. Unfortunately, that means we are looking to fill his very big shoes at Thompson Free Library!

We are looking for a part-time (25-30 hours per week) Technical Services Librarian. The successful candidate will be cooperative, self-motivated, detail-oriented, and comfortable with technology, very preferably with previous cataloguing experience. If this sounds like you, read the entire job posting at: www.thompsonfreelibrary.org/employment.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and contact information for professional references to Thompson Free Library: thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or 186 East Main St, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426. For more information, please reach out at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or (207)564-3350.

By Kim Brawn

We often don’t recognize reimagining as it happens. We may see it in the rearview mirror. It’s a process that nudges or compels us to recreate something. Pop culture fixtures like Madonna and Star Trek have been redefining themselves for decades. Even libraries are no longer those static institutions we picture in our minds. They’ve had to reimagine their roles to meet the moment. But their heart and soul remain. The Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft may introduce new material but we’ll always play our greatest hits. 

TFL’s Philosophy Circle meets on Friday, November 3 at 3:30 p.m. to discuss “Objective vs. Subjective Truth.” A quick search defines “subjective” as based on or influenced by personal feeling, tastes or opinions while “objective” is not influenced by feeling or personal opinions in considering and representing facts. Well, that clears things up. Undoubtedly, the group will reimagine those terms and have a lively conversation that may cross into the same areas as “if a tree falls in a forest but no one hears it, does it make a noise?” (All are welcome, prior attendance is not necessary.)

On Thursday, November 9, the cusp of Veterans Day, Dennis Lyford from the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society visits TFL at 1:30 p.m. to share his video “The Smalltown Heroes” about Piscataquis County Troops in World War I, with a discussion to follow. Dennis has compiled an impressive array of period photos and information and melded them together with music to help us revisit that pivotal time in history through the eyes of local soldiers. 

November 9 at 6 p.m. TFL’s Reading Group convenes to talk about the award-winning bestseller Circe by Madeline Miller. People Magazine describes the book like this, “Think a novel based on Greek mythology isn’t for you? Just wait. Miller’s spell builds slowly, but by the last page you’ll be in awe. In prose of dreamlike simplicity, she reimagines the myth of Circe, the sun god’s unloved daughter who went on to invent witchcraft and enchant Homer’s Odysseus.” (Copies available at the library.)

As a youth services librarian, Michelle Fagan (who celebrated her 10th anniversary at TFL in October) has to reimagine programs all the time to keep her young patrons engaged. If you haven’t already checked out her weekly Story Time and playgroup (Fridays at 10 a.m.), please stop by. “This is a good time for kids to come listen to stories, sometimes fingerplays and songs. Afterwards, kids and parents can socialize and spend time in a welcoming environment. We have number and letter literacy games, puzzles, coloring and more.  We welcome babies up through elementary age kids,” says Michelle.

The library now has two ROOM phone booths. Not the antique relics we used to call people from, but a compact, reimagined workspace that allows for more privacy and less distraction. These spaces will be great for phone calls, virtual meetings, and focused work. 

TFL’s director Jon Knepp says, “These were purchased thanks to our Remote Workers’ Grant from the Maine State Library. We are continuing to renovate the basement as well and look forward to having that space available. We will be having heat pumps installed downstairs in November to make the basement more comfortable and efficient!”

This month also brings several scheduling changes. The library will be closed Saturday, November 11 for Veterans Day and will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21. We will also be closed Thursday-Saturday (Nov. 23-25) for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 

Books and programs—wildly diverse and comfortably familiar—remain our bread and butter. But to survive and thrive, libraries must provide the most relevant community services and support. Helping people navigate their lives in the 2020s and beyond is a goal worth revisiting and revising. TFL is up to that task—as well as all the fun stuff!

TFL hours: Tues & Thurs 9-7, Weds & Fri 9-5, & Sat 9-1. Visit our website: thompsonfreelibrary.org, our Facebook page, Instagram @tf_library, or contact us at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or 207/564-3350. All programs are free & open to the public. When possible, we livestream them via Facebook and upload to our YouTube channel. 

Our latest newsletter is out now! Click the link below to see it!

October 2023 [pdf]

Contents: Celebrating the Library’s Past, Present, and Future! | Bringing Songwriters ‘Round | Juke Box Heroine | “10/4, Good Buddy!” | Wild Thing…You Make My Heart Sing | Pulling Your Strings | Pop Goes the Artist | Three Times A Charm | Droning On and On | Get a Whiff of This! | Spoiled Meat | A Tale You Can’t Resist | A Book for Ants? | Discovery Process | Counting Crows (and Cows) | Screen Shots |

by Kim Brawn

We project a lot onto October. Thoughts turn to scenes of brilliant foliage, creative costumes that scare and delight, and pumpkin spice-infused everything. Sometimes October plays the unpredictable card, in politics they call it the October surprise (think tall FBI guy turned author), sometimes it’s a very jolting surprise like I had waiting for the bus at the corner of Van Ness and California in San Francisco on October 17, 1989.* Hopefully this October will be full of comfortable fall rituals and surprises of the interesting and exhilarating kind. The Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft has a myriad of ways to spend your autumn days.

Rescheduled from August, Ed Linz returns to TFL on Thursday, October 5 at 6 p.m. to tackle the Vietnam War, the topic of his latest book, “A Filthy Way to Die.” Ed, an engaging presenter, will discuss the origins of the war and memories of it from his Naval Academy classmates who fought on the ground, in the air, at sea, and on the rivers and canals. This will be an interactive session seeking comments and thoughts from those in attendance.

Bias is the topic of discussion for TFL’s Philosophy Circle on Friday, October 6 at 3:30 p.m. Can anything be unbiased? Who gets to determine bias and how is it determined? Our own implicit biases can definitely surprise us. There are many philosophical and psychological angles to approach the subject. (All are welcome, prior attendance not necessary.)

“Family Fun Night” will crank up the spooky vibes on Tuesday, October 10 at 5:30 p.m. with Halloween-themed activities. Enjoy snacks, play games, and have fun! (All are welcome.)

TFL’s Reading Group meets on Thursday, October 12 at 6 p.m. to talk about People of the Book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks. While it received plenty of high-profile praise, an online review by Daniel De Kay caught my eye, “This is a book-lover’s book. Coursing through history with diversions into social upheaval, love affairs, botany and biology, it’s an engrossing voyage across centuries.” (Copies of the book are available at the library.)

Here’s a surprising duo: Michael Good, a birding guide and naturalist (who’s not an author) and Sandra Neily, a Northwoods mystery writer (who’s not a birder). Now what could they have in common? Come find out on Thursday, October 19 at 6 p.m. as Michael, the biologist and Maine guide, and Sandra, the award-winning author of Deadly Turn and Deadly Trespass, team up for  what’s sure to be an intriguing program.

Sometimes I swear we have a poltergeist in the front rooms at the library. A noise will surprise me, I go investigate and find no one there (or so it seems?). But soon, a gaggle of ghosts and goblins will be on full display as kids and teens trick or treat for books on Halloween (Tuesday, October 31) from 4:30-6:30 p.m. (Get a free book whether you wear a costume or not. Original front doors will be open.)

Be sure to check out our upcoming book displays where we celebrate indigenous authors and stories (Indigenous Peoples’ Day is Monday, October 9) and offer up some “wicked” good reads.

Who knows what’s in store as we breeze into October, crunching through a carpet of fallen leaves. Fingers crossed you have lots of warm-apple-cider-sweater-weather moments as you cheer on your favorite teams—with no seismic surprises. But remember to include frequent trips to the library in your rites of fall, we still have a surprise or two up our sleeve.
*6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake struck that day.

TFL hours: Tues & Thurs 9-7, Weds & Fri 9-5, & Sat 9-1. Visit our website: thompsonfreelibrary.org, our Facebook page, Instagram @tf_library, or contact us at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com  or 207/564-3350. All programs are free & open to the public. When possible, we livestream events via Facebook.