Behind the scenes, BHML’s fundraising committee is madly organizing our second annual Storybook Ball, the library’s nascent fundraising gala to benefit free library services in the Boothbay region. Last year’s inaugural gala was themed to "The Great Gatsby" in honor of the library’s centennial anniversary. This year we’re falling down the rabbit hole. Tickets will go on sale in June for Storybook Ball: "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" edition. Mark your calendars for Aug. 2, 2025!

While the Boothbay Harbor library operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, our charge is to operate a free public library. We are enmeshed in, and empowered by, the national ecosystem of public libraries. On March 14, an executive order was issued calling for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is the only federal funding source available to public libraries.

While each state supports, organizes, and funds its network of public libraries differently, and IMLS does not fully fund any one library, its elimination would severely impact a thriving network of libraries that support communities nationwide. In Maine, and for our BHML patrons, IMLS funding enables us to provide free access to the internet, the statewide inter-library loan system, the CloudLibrary ebook catalog, and the Maine Digital Library–to name the most popular services supported in part by IMLS.

The Maine Library Association has issued a statement on the dismantling of IMLS. Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and its Trustees stand with the Maine Library Association in disagreeing with this action. We hope you do, too. Free public libraries are cornerstones of democracy and central civic anchors. We encourage you to support and affirm the democratic importance of all free public libraries by writing to your U.S. Representatives and Senators to reject the defunding Institute of Museum and Library Services, which makes up ~0.003% of the federal budget, and directly serves to make the American dream possible.

Upcoming Library Programs | bbhlibrary.org/events

April 9 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. German Conversation Group

April 9 | 5:30-6:30 p.m. Drop-In Chess Club

April 10 | 4:30-6 p.m. After Hours Open House in celebration of National Library Week, April 6-12

April 10 | 6:30-8 p.m. The Anxious Generation: A Three-Part Deep Dive into the Ideas of the Book

April 26 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Earth Day Fest