Interview with the retiring Tim McFadden

They say change is the only constant in life, and that’s certainly true here at the Library. Friday, April 28, is Executive Director Tim McFadden’s last day! Before he sails off into the glorious waters of a well-earned retirement, I convinced (pestered) him to sit down with me for a quick exit interview.

Des: So Tim, you’re retiring! Do you remember your first day at BHML? What was it like?

Tim: Oh gosh. I remember lots of folks who didn’t know me from a hole in the wall dropping in to say hello. That was the best part of it.

Des: It’s such a nice town

Tim: It is, I came to learn that.

Des: What was the biggest challenge you faced during your years as director?

Tim: The renovation was front and center when I was hired, that was even part of the interview process. I was hired in 2012, the renovation really kicked off in 2013. Then the renovation itself happened from 2013 to 2014. We moved out of the library in the fall of 2013 and moved back in in the late spring of 2014.

Des: That’s all the time you were at the small mall? It seemed longer.

Tim: Nine months.

Des: How hard was it to move an entire library a mile down the road?

Tim: That was a lot of work. It was a lot of work to find a place, we investigated a few possibilities.

Des: How about packing up?

Tim: Ugh, wow. That was a lot of work, too. Basically, my job was to oversee the move; contact moving companies, get prices, look for a place to move the Library to, get prices on that, and settle on where and who was moving.

Noyes moving company out of Portland were the folks who did it, they did a great job. They came in with basically moving shelves on wheels, and we rolled them into the truck and out into the new space.

Des: Oh, so it was kind of painless after all?
Tim: (Chuckles) No, it wasn’t painless, because we had to decide what to take. We could only fit 30 percent of the collection, so all the rest had to be packed up, all the boxes labeled. It was a lot of work, but we had tremendous help from the volunteers. And we also had to move all the computers and get the temporary location wired.

Des: The space you moved into had been a laundromat before that. Was it hard to transform that into a library?

Tim: It had to be cleaned, and we painted it. I do remember Mary’s husband Duane helped move Jim Taliana’s barn (from the Childen’s Room). We brought that with us, and Duane set that up. It was difficult for him because he had shoulder problems, but he got that done, so that was a nice little addition to our temporary space.

Des: The Library has quite a few recurring events -- art shows, literary lunches, band concerts on the lawn. Which of these has been your favorite?

Tim: Probably the literary luncheons. You get to see some very interesting people who have written books, most of them are Maine authors. You get to meet very creative folks from around the state who’ve made a mark in the literary world. For a librarian, it’s always a pleasure to meet writers. And it’s great to hear comments from people who attend the events and really appreciate the authors’ visits.

Des: What book is on your nightstand right now?

Tim: "The Storm of War: A New History of WWII," by Andrew Roberts. It’s really interesting. Also, "The Adventures of Brother Arcadius and Pangur Ban: Eleven Tales." It’s the story of a 16-year-old Irish monk who’s traveling from Ireland to some place in Europe to be an assistant librarian. That’s why I’m reading it, it hit me on a couple of levels.

Des: What’s the one book on our shelves that you think everyone should read?

Tim: The Bible, the revised standard version. I’ve read a bunch of translations, and the revised standard version is a good one. I have to give my top three though, so also "The Brothers Karamazov."

Des: That’s my pick too you know.

Tim: Is it really? Third is "Dr. Zhivago."

Des: I’ve never read that

Tim: Oh, it’s fantastic. Much better than the movie, and the movie was great. They’re both Russian novels, I just realized that.

Des: What are you going to do with all of your free time once you’re retired?

Tim: I’m going to open up a business: Between the Rivers Landscape Design. I have a landscape design degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. I’ve set up a one man studio in my home, and I’ll be advertising. My wife and I also just bought a house in Edgecomb. It’s got almost 22 acres, and I’m going to set up a permaculture forest garden there—plant fruit trees, have chickens.

Des: What does permaculture mean?

Tim: The word permaculture comes from combining “permanent” and “agriculture.” It’s based on mimicking nature’s ways of growth, so it’s a much more adaptable, and much more resilient, way to landscape. So for instance if a climate begins to change, if you plant permaculture correctly it’s much more resilient it can much more hand the changes. It also requires lower inputs in fertilizer, cost, and human time over time. It requires lower inputs, but yields higher outputs.

Tim has requested that we don’t throw him a big retirement party, but he has given us the green light to have a subdued open house on his last day. So on Friday, April 28, from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. we’ll have coffee and snacks. We hope you’ll all stop by to wish Tim well as he begins his next adventure!

Upcoming events

Minecraft Club: Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m. grades K -3 and Fridays, 3-4 p.m., grades 4 and up.

Literary Lunch: Friday, May 12, 11:30 a.m. Peter Panagore, “Heaven is Beautiful.” Call or stop by to register!

Monday Night Book Club: Monday, May 8, 7 p.m. “The North Water” by Ian McGuire. Facilitator Leslie Volpe, 633-0557.

Book Focus Group: Monday, May. 15, 4:30 p.m. “In the Light of Christ.” Facilitator John O’Connell, jwoconnell@gmail.com

For more information and a complete listing, stop by or visit bbhlibrary.org/events