The Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library is thrilled to announce that it has exceeded its annual fund goal for 2019, raising $94,820.39.

We want to thank everyone who contributed to make this possible. Donor support and involvement is what transforms our library from a building with books into a thriving hub of our community—a place where babies and their caregivers hear stories, where kids and teens can read and learn whatever they choose, and where adults can catch up on the news, check out the latest best-seller, join a book club, or get help with a computer or smartphone.

When you support this library, you’re supporting so many things that make the Boothbay Region a better place. You’re supporting an on-site, large-print book club for the residents of St. Andrew’s Village. You’re supporting Earth Day Fest and Books in Boothbay. You’re supporting after school clubs (and snacks!) for 40 kids each week. You’re supporting the librarians who are exhausted after those 40 kids head home. You’re supporting a nearly 200-year-old building and property that is one of the landmarks of downtown Boothbay Harbor. You’re supporting the fastest public internet connection on the peninsula (200 Mbps up and down!), and all the folks who use it for work, job hunting, and creative projects. You’re supporting so much more than I have the space here to document.

We can’t thank you all enough.

Speaking of things you all support, the Let’s Talk About It book club series, sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council, begins meeting again on Saturday, February 1, at 10:30 a.m. This year’s theme is Re-imagining the American Family. We’ll read and discuss a compilation of memoirs by contemporary American writers who imaginatively represent, shape, and challenge our conceptions of the American family. Alison Bechdel, J.D. Vance, Marie Howe, Roz Chast, and John Edgar Wideman share a fundamental interest in the formation of identity–familial, individual, national and global. Together, we will investigate the possibilities and limits of literature to shape identity and to construct (or deconstruct) categories of race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Our first book is J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy.” Copies are available at the front desk.

I’m about half-way through it right now, and it’s wonderful. It’s brought me to tears, made me laugh out loud (you’ll love his grandmother Mamaw, I promise), and given me a deeper understanding of Appalachian America.

Discussions will again this year be facilitated by Larissa Vigue Picard. Light refreshments will be served, and no advance registration is required.

We hope to see you there!

Upcoming events

Storytime: Fridays, 10:30 a.m.

Afterschool clubs: Lego (grades 1 – 2) and MineCraft (grades 3 – 4), Wednesdays 1:30-3 p.m. Session II ends Feb. 26. Session III will resume April 1.

Coding Club: Fridays, 3-4 p.m., grades 5 and 6. Build your own Roblox game in Roblox Studio.