About that medal...
First Lady Laura
Bush Recognizes Skidompha
Among Top Ten Museums
and Libraries
at White House
Ceremony
 |
|
Left to right:
Mrs. Laura Bush, Director Pamela
Gormley, community member Jody L.
Armstrong, and IMLS Director Anne
Radice. Click image for a larger
version.
|
Every year,
lobster lovers flock to the picturesque town of
Damariscotta, Maine, and the beautiful
Pemaquid Peninsula—a vacation destination whose
population fluctuates between 9,000 people in
the winter and 14,000 people in the summer. The
103-year-old Skidompha Library meets the
challenge of engaging year-round residents and
seasonal visitors alike with its varied
programming and 30,000 titles in a new,
state-of-the-art building.
For elementary to
high school students, there is the Books in
Motion (BIM) initiative. BIM is a community
reading program designed to address the sobering
data that shows children often stop reading
about the time they reach middle school. Each
month, a different book is read, and local
businesses pay for a copy of the book to be
given to the first 40 BIM participants. At the
end of the month, the movie based on the chosen
book is screened, free of charge, for members of
the Damariscotta community. Following the movie,
a discussion involving people of all ages is
held to compare the book to the film.
With a large
population of citizens over age 65, the
Skidompha Library realized that special
programming and initiatives were needed to serve
the retired community of Damariscotta. A classic
film series was initiated by library volunteers
and runs every Monday night, drawing crowds of
senior citizens and younger patrons alike. The
library also offers large-print and audio books,
which are available to all patrons, including
seniors and anyone with sight impairments.
The library helps
connect readers to materials, but it is also a
place for those who are not proficient readers
to meet and learn to read. Literacy Circle is an
adult literacy class offered in collaboration
with the Tri-County Literacy Volunteers. The
volunteers meet with the learners and utilize
different teaching aids, such as Scrabble tiles,
to help further their reading skills. To respect
learners’ privacy, the program is held at the
library after hours.
To remain
continually connected to readers and supplement
its finances, the Skidompha Library also runs
the Second Hand Book Shop. Operated out of a
19th-century carriage house a block from the
library, and staffed by 40 volunteers, the
bookshop sells donated books at discounted
prices. In fact, it is not uncommon for a
customer to purchase a book from the shop and
then donate it back to the shop for another
person’s enjoyment. The Second Hand Book Shop
brings in approximately $50,000 annually, which
helps to support myriad programs offered by the
Skidompha Library each year.
The Skidompha
Library may serve a relatively small population
in Maine, but through its innovative and
thoughtful programming, it has made a name for
itself as one of the best public libraries in
the state.
“The Skidompha
Library is an outstanding library that serves
not only as a center of learning, but as a
gathering place for residents in the
Damariscotta region,” said U.S. Senator Susan M.
Collins (R-ME). “I commend the librarians,
administrators, volunteers, and patrons of the
library for their hard work to make the
Skidompha Library worthy of this prestigious
honor.”
“With its rich
history and invaluable service to the
communities of Damariscotta, Newcastle,
Nobleboro and the greater Pemaquid Peninsula,
the Skidompha Library greatly deserves this
distinguished award,” U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe
(R-ME) said. “For over 100 years, this ‘Library
with the Curious Name' has encouraged literary
appreciation for generations of Mainers and
continues to provide superior educational
programs and inspire community involvement for
readers of all ages. I am thrilled that this
unique and historic Maine library has received
such a prestigious national distinction and am
enthusiastic for the next one hundred years of
inspired reading at Skidompha Library.”
“Skidompha
Library’s contributions to this community are as
creative, diverse, scholarly and fun-loving as
its history. For over a century, the people who
gave this institution its name, its books, its
buildings and its ideals have enriched our
lives, and brought this community together. It
is no wonder that Skidompha has been awarded
this prestigious award,” stated U.S.
Representative Tom Allen (D-ME-01).
Community
member Jody Lynn Armstrong
Hometown
Library Provides Port in a Storm for Library
Student
Right before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005,
Jody Lynn Armstrong, her husband, and their
three cats evacuated Gulfport, Mississippi for
Damariscotta, Maine, Armstrong’s hometown. They
found abundant support at the town’s Skidompha
Library, where they were able to maintain e-mail
contact with employers, schools, family, and
friends, and fax urgent information to insurance
companies. Library staff continued to offer
moral support to Armstrong, who found an
apartment across the street from the library
after her husband, a Navy lieutenant, returned
to the Gulf Coast. Armstrong, who had withdrawn
from library science school due to the
hurricane, began working as a volunteer in the
children’s section.
Eventually, she
was hired to fill in for the youth services
librarian while pursuing her degree online. The
library staff supported her classroom work by
giving her the opportunity to order, catalog,
and weed out books; run the children’s
department; and delve into genealogical work.
“I couldn’t have
continued to pursue my college degree without
support from the library,” said Armstrong,
adding that she received her Bachelor’s of
Science in Library and Information Science in
May. “It was a mutually giving and receiving
relationship. It reinforced my love for
libraries and my decision to pursue libraries as
a career.” |
SKIDOMPHA
Public
Library
