BHML: 100 images for 100 years








































































































































































































This year, Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library (BHML) celebrates 100 years of providing library services to area residents and visitors. In no particular order, this article represents a visual history of our beloved pillar – the milestones, the dedications and the faces.
1906 – the town votes to create a free public library and it operated for many years, unincorporated, and in a confined space on the first floor of the Townsend building on Oak Street.
1923 – the town votes to approve a bond to buy the Chapman Reed property, a private Greek Revival home built in the 1840s by William Maxwell Reed, allowing the library to expand and install a World War I Memorial, including the plaque over the fireplace, which is still on display today.
1924 – BHML is incorporated with a 15-member board of trustees.
1966 – the reading room is added.
1969 – the neighboring property, Hyde House, is willed to the library. Today it is home to Friends of the Library Used Bookstore.
1976 – the library is extended along Howard Street. The addition became the children’s room.
1977 – the library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1991 – a dedication of the library’s bronze tablet on the lawn is held, commemorating veterans of all wars and conflicts.
1994 – the library obtains internet access and ushered in the digital age.
2001 – the library joins Maine’s InfoNet and Minerva Consortium, connecting Mainers through a collaboration of academic, public, school, and special libraries.
2014 – the library completes Phase 1 of a two-phase renovation and expansion project, increasing the library’s size, making the first floor Americans with Disabilities Act accessible and creating a second floor with a community room and offices.
2024 – July 11, from 3 to 6 p.m., the library will celebrate its 100-year anniversary!