Library Facts

Turning the Page...A New Chapter
for the William Fogg Library

The library has grown extensively in recent years. In 1999, realizing that we were unable to fulfill all of the community’s needs, we added the Kent Children’s Wing. With the new wing, we have been able to expand not only our children’s services and collections, but also adult services and collections.

Children’s Programs & Events

In 1999, we had no story hour; today, we have three, including special story times for toddlers, pre-schoolers and Just for Kids, which goes up to Grade 3. We also offer a winter reading program during school vacation week, as well as a summer program, and special workshops. The first two weeks of every month, flocks of children gather around our craft tables, creating wonderful hands-on projects. We host a number of special events through the year, including Kindermusic, Earth Day Festivities, historical programs, and enrichment offerings. Step into this lively, colorful room and on any given day, you’ll see children immersed not only in the world of books, but also puppetry, puzzles, activities, crafts, and all forms of learning.

Children’s Collections

At one point, we were under the minimum state standards in children’s books -- we now exceed them, with a collection of 9,000 volumes. We have an expanded and updated biography collection in response to the large number of biography projects done in schools. We’ve created a new category of books (JE FIC) to better accommodate second and third graders who are between chapter books and juvenile fiction. Our collection continues to be filled with diverse choices, including popular fiction, award-winning books, non-fiction, and other books requested by our patrons.

Adult Programs

A wide-range of adult programs are offered on a regular basis, and have included topics as varied as jewelry making, felting , photography, gardening, and quilting. We’ve hosted book signings by local authors, a five-part film series, and historical presentations on local people of note, such as Sarah Farmer. We participate in the Adult Ed Literacy Program, offer free tax preparation, and deliver books to those who cannot go to the library. We also collaborate with the Rice Library in Kittery on the cooperative history book program, and partner with the Maine Humanities Council on New Books, New Readers.

Adult Collections

Our adult collection has increased to include 11,000 books, encompassing a wide range of topics and genres. We have also tripled our offering of large-print books, and expanded our audio book and video collection. Through inter-library loan, we can find any book you want to read at any time.

Outreach

We publish a quarterly newsletter that highlights all of the activities, programs and new books at the library. Similar information is available on our web site. We also distribute a special newsletter to elementary and middle schools. We participate in a number of community and school programs, including Family Literacy Night at Eliot Elementary School, and the One Book, One Community Reading Program with other MSAD 35 schools and libraries. We visit Eliot’s daycares once a month, bringing books and reading to the children. We provide presentations to teachers about our services, give tours to elementary school students, offer bulletin board space to be used for children’s artwork. Each month, we work with our schools, our community and local organizations to foster enrichment, education and enjoyment.

Special Services

Although our primary services revolve around books, we focus on anything that enhances learning. Therefore, we offer computers for public use, providing access to the vast resources of the Internet to those who might not otherwise be “connected.” We catalogue old pictures for the Maine Memory Network so priceless images are not lost, celebrate our own and the community’s historic heroes through special presentations, and have restored the Fogg Homestead, ancestral home of our benefactor and namesake. The Fogg Homestead, heavily damaged by fire in 2000, now offers a chance to share our history through special tours. The new ell, named the Worster Wing after another benefactor, is a place for meetings and houses Dr. Fogg’s extensive book collection, as well as other memorabilia.

A New Chapter

As our services have expanded, so has the library budget. We are now open 32 hours per week -- more hours than ever before, and the number of patrons has increased by 60 percent. Our circulation has increased by 328 percent. Our services and programs require more staff, and we now have one full time director and five part-time employees, plus a part-time custodian. The budget for our fiscal year July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007 was $214,419. Of that, $125,500 will be provided by the town. Each year, we must raise an enormous amount of money just to maintain services and programs, never mind grow.

In this, our one-hundredth year, we start a new chapter -- with a campaign to increase our endowment. The endowment is vital if are to ensure quality services for the generations to come. Our mission has always been to be the town’s cultural center. Our services provide a passport to enrichment, enjoyment and education.