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Friends of Liberty Library Newsletter

February 21, 2021

We are grateful to be able to provide these services, especially during this pandemic year. Amazingly, these services were provided despite limited entry inside the library. The MILS (Maine InfoNet Library System for Small Maine Libraries) consortium that we joined in January 2020 made it much easier for people to request materials and renew them online. The timing could not have been better!

Top 10 items borrowed in 2020

Fun Fact: the “ribbon” on the cover of Mill Town is a map of the Androscoggin River.

Book Discussion

Wednesday, March 10, 6:30pm

We will be reading and discussing Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains by Kerri Arsenault. Arsenault grew up in the rural working class town of Mexico, Maine. For over 100 years the community orbited around a paper mill that employs most townspeople, including three generations of Arsenault's own family. Years after she moved away, Arsenault realized the price she paid for that seemingly secure childhood. The mill, while providing livelihoods for nearly everyone, also contributed to the destruction of the environment and the decline of the town's economic, moral, and emotional health in a slow-moving catastrophe, earning the area the nickname "Cancer Valley."

Order from MILS There are more copies available in MaineCat.

Register and the Zoom link will be sent to you on March 9th.

Get Up to Speed!

The Maine Broadband Coalition is promoting a new effort to capture the quality, cost, and geography of current broadband service in Maine. This initiative is called “Get Up To Speed.” Below is a one-minute test inviting Maine businesses and residents to map their own speed. The speed testing initiative is the crucial next step in ensuring the delivery of broadband throughout the state and will help local, regional, and state leaders develop projects and steer investments to the places that need it most. This map, along with other data collected, will help inform where the bond funding, approved by Maine voters in July, can have the most impact. Participants can submit results with complete confidentiality and view their results, as well as the public map displaying all results gathered to date. If you have questions, you can contact me or the Maine Broadband Coalition.

Items of Interest …

Movers & Shakers: Midcoast Women of the Maine Legislature - March 22, 6:30-8:00pm Maine ranks 5th in the nation with 43% of the state legislature comprised of women and many hail from the Midcoast, representing Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties. Join the conversation, moderated by The Honorable Mary Cathcart who served in both the House and the Senate from 1996 to 2004. By the end of the program, we will have a better understanding of the priorities for the 130th legislative session, especially as it addresses the needs of women and families. A Q&A period will follow. Register

MDIFW Moose - Tuesday, February 23, 6:30pm Moose Biologist Lee Kantar will do a live presentation to learn more about Maine's moose. She will discuss their amazing adaptations and take a look at the many ways moose are appreciated - by hikers, wildlife viewers, and hunters. We will talk about some of the troubles they face, including winter tick, how the Department studies moose, and the work being done to keep Maine’s moose population healthy and stable for the future. The session will end with questions and answers. Can't make it to the live talk? The talk will be recorded and available at the link below. TO JOIN LIVE: https://lnks.gd/.../eyJhbGc.../s/1289212281/br/97993238296-l

John Bunker: Grandma’s Apple Orchard: the perfect orchard with only twelve trees, Wednesday, February 24, 7:00pm Palermo Community Library invites you to join John Bunker, recipient of the 2019 Commissioner's Distinguished Service Award for saving Maine's Apple heritage, for: Grandma's Apple Orchard: the perfect orchard with only twelve trees. How did she do it? Join Zoom Meeting https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/87563561570pwd=eGZLVUYyQURjRHN5N2ZFUGh2SmdOQT09 Meeting ID: 875 6356 1570 Passcode: 061741

Documenting Racial Violence: On Finding History We Don’t Want to Remember - Thursday, February 25, 5-6:30pm Karen Sieber, Humanities Specialist at the University of Maine’s McGillicuddy Humanities Center, will speak about her work as a historian tracking down documentation of ugly and often forgotten moments in history, both nationwide and here in Maine, bringing to light the nation’s long history of violence against people of color. Register

“War Pigeons” Book Talk with Author Elizabeth Macalaster - Thursday, February 25 @ 6:00 pm Camden Public Library welcomes author Elizabeth Macalaster of Brunswick, ME for an online presentation discussing her new book War Pigeons: Winged Couriers in the U.S. Military, 1878-1957 (McFarland Books, October 2020). Email jpierce@librarycamden.org to request a Zoom link to attend. Find out more

Susan Conley Presents Landslide, in Conversation with Richard Russo - Thursday, March 4, 7:00pm Susan Conley will discuss her remarkable new novel, Landslide. Richard Russo received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls in 2002. Both authors live in Portland, Maine. This event is hosted over Zoom by Knopf and co-sponsored by Maine libraries, For the link to register, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov by 5 p.m. on March 4.

The Nickel Boys: Historical Context and Contemporary Applications, a Facilitated Dialogue -Thursday, March 11, 6–7:30pm David Patrick and Desiree Vargas of Racial Equity & Justice. Register

Celebrating (PI)E Day ​- March 14, or 3.14 Math enthusiasts and dessert lovers can unite over a delicious slice of pie. Celebrate your love of infinite decimal places with your kids by challenging them to a PI(E) bake-off! Both Geometry Is as Easy as Pie and Geology Is A Piece of Cake by Katie Coppens can be borrowed from the library.

Town of Liberty Annual Meeting - Saturday, June 12, 9:00am Like last year, the plan is to hold it at the Liberty Fire Station.

Maine Vaccination Information - The latest guidance and reliable source.

Talking to folks this week, it seems we are getting weary. Weary of cold. Weary of ice. Weary of the pandemic. For these people, I offer this poem from Barbara Kingsolver’s new book of poetry, How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) .

Library Hours: Monday 4:00-7:00 and Thursday 10:00-4:00

CURBSIDE and by appointment

Check the website and Facebook about closing when inclement weather.

Quite a few NEW BOOKS were added last week. These are also posted at the top of the webpage along with lists of all new items for the past 4 weeks.

If you have trouble requesting or downloading items, it is likely that your membership has expired. Renew now.