Footnotes: April 2025

Keep scrolling for the director's note, three vignettes, save the date, and one cool library resource!

Closed Monday, April 21

A Note from Library Director, Chip Schrader

An executive order was signed targeting funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). We are most fortunate for our strong funding both from the Town of Scarborough and donors. I am pleased to share that Senator Collins is co-sponsoring a bipartisan effort to retain IMLS funding. Senator King and Representative Chellie Pingree are in full support of this effort, as well. If you disagree with cutting IMLS funding, reach out to our Senators and cheer them on!

IMLS is responsible for numerous grant opportunities across the country. They fund Maine’s Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). This annual 1.4-million-dollar fund reduces Minerva and Van Delivery costs and allows schools and libraries to receive free secure internet services through the Maine School and Library Network (MSLN). Our network hardware and tech support come with this service and their reliability is unparalleled.

Our shared Cloud Library collection will be impacted. This collection holds hundreds of titles. Our Digital Library databases are also funded by this grant on an annual basis. The Digital Library brings newspapers, magazines, and peer reviewed academic journal articles for students, investors, genealogists, and a wide range of enthusiasts.

Professional Development opportunities that are offered to every library worker across the state free of charge will cease or be or greatly reduced. Talking Books for the visually impaired will also be deeply impacted.

We will feel pain from this cut.

With that said, this disruption will have a tremendous impact on rural libraries and towns with modest revenues. Free internet and van delivery improves some rural libraries’ budgets by more than 10%.

Fund reallocation will have to occur for some of these resources, and we will struggle to replicate the loss of Cloud Library titles. But with our Annual Fund support and strong municipal support, we will still have plenty to bring to the table. In this time, we lean into gratitude for our local support and hope for our neighbors.

Click the following links to read more about Maine’s Library Services and Technology Act and what it funds.

Senate and House Support

Millions of people across the country visit their libraries every week. What’s the draw? Everything.

The official ALA National Library Week is broken down into specific days. Monday is Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates and library lovers to take action to protect, defend and celebrate the right to read. Libraries and schools across the nation are giving in to banning books. We are proud at SPL to say We Borrow Banned Books.

On Tuesday, ALA celebrates National Library Workers Day. We'll have a place for you to drop us a note if you want to say thank you to our circulation staff, our youth services team, our reference staff, or our behind-the-scenes folks.

Wednesday marks National Library Outreach Day, celebrating the librarians who are meeting patrons where they are, like in our book delivery, classroom visits, and community events.

Thursday is Take Action for Libraries Day. Please, take a moment to let those in our government know that you value library services.

We're celebrating National Library Week with a wide range of library services-- like all of our other weeks! We try to offer diverse programming and library materials so we can meet the needs of everyone on Scarborough. Click here for our full list of events that week!

Interested in the history of National Library Week? Click here!

Elsa Rowe

Community Engagement Manager

Celebrate Earth Week with Our Youth Services Team!

We are excited to announce that our Youth Services Team is preparing for Earth Week, which will be celebrated from April 21st to 26th. During this week, we’ll be hosting a variety of engaging events aimed at raising climate awareness and empowering kids to make a positive impact on our planet.

Why Earth Week Matters

It’s essential to instill a sense of climate responsibility in children at an early age. By encouraging simple, everyday actions, we can all contribute to preserving the environment. This Earth Week, we invite children to participate in our Earth Week Challenge, where they’ll take part in activities like turning off the water while brushing their teeth or recycling. Every participant will earn a special brag tag, and two lucky winners will receive grand prizes!

Special Events

In addition to the Earth Week Challenge, we’re thrilled to present some exciting programs:

"Recycling Fun & Waste Sorting Relay" with ecomaine: A fun and educational relay race that teaches kids about recycling and waste management.
Seed Tape Crafting: Kids can get creative while learning how to plant their own seeds for a greener tomorrow.
"A Seal's Journey" with Maine Marine Mammals: An all-ages program that brings us closer to understanding marine life and its connection to environmental conservation.

Partnering for a Greener Future

We’re also pleased to announce our partnership with Neighborhood Forest, an organization dedicated to giving every child the joy of planting a tree. By providing children with the opportunity to plant and nurture their own trees, Neighborhood Forest hopes to reduce our carbon footprint, beautify our neighborhoods, and foster a deeper love and respect for the planet. This year, over 100 kids have signed up to receive a tree, which they can pick up at the library on Earth Day. If you missed out, mark your calendars for next March as we plan to repeat this program next year!

We hope this initiative will inspire families to have meaningful conversations about the natural world and how we can all take steps to protect it for future generations. Please visit our website for more information.

Deanna McNamara

Youth Services Manager

Return Billed Books, Win Prizes!

We have all been there, the library book, DVD, or CD is sitting in our car, or on the kitchen table waiting to be returned. We have the best intention to return it on time, then life happens. A bill is sent then we feel embarrassed to return it.

First there is nothing to be embarrassed about, we know things happen. We just want the item back-- no questions asked. As always, when the book is returned in good condition, the bill disappears! As a special "Library Week" offer, and to lure you back into the library, return billed items to enter a raffle to win a gift certificate at a local business. Each person can enter once, regardless of the number of billed books.

From April 1-19, 2025, bring your billed materials in good condition to the desk to be checked in, and receive a raffle ticket to enter a drawing for a gift card to a local business. That is all you need to do!

We want to see you back in the library as we appreciate your support and seeing your happy face!

Good luck to all!

Kate Morgan, Circulation Manager

Save the Date!

Adult Events

Youth Events

New Books!

We're Starting a Seed Library!

Want to help us get it started? We are currently collecting vegetable and flower seeds to share with our community and get people planting!

Seeds should be labeled with the plant name, variety, source, and year harvested/purchased.

Donations can be dropped off across from the circulation desk at the community bulletin board. We cannot accept unlabeled seeds, seeds that are more than 2 years old, or plant clippings.

Questions? Reach out to Katie Swayze at kswayze@scarboroughlibrary.org

Donate to the Annual Appeal

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Scarborough Public Library
48 Gorham Rd Scarborough, ME 04074
Phone: 207-883-4723

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