In: News

Our bookshelf app has been updated again! Now, you can see what the most popular Adult Books, Kids Books, and DVDs!

In: News

By Kim Brawn, Thompson Free Library

Escapism often gets a bad rap or is too narrowly defined. But it can serve as a great endurance booster. What seemed finite last March has turned into an ultramarathon of sorts with an uncertain finish line. Escapism comes in many forms, is wonderfully subjective and the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft contains multitudes, from pure entertainment to engaging and thoughtful discoveries that will divert and grab your attention, energize your mind, and keep you movin’ right along.

TFL’s Philosophy Circle meets online via Zoom on Friday, Feb. 5 at 3:30 p.m. to discuss Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem, “Renascence” (www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/55993/renascence). Millay, an award-winning lyrical poet and playwright, was born in Rockland and grew up in Camden. Many believe that she is describing the view from Mt. Battie in the poem’s opening lines:

All I could see from where I stood
Was three long mountains and a wood;
I turned and looked another way,
And saw three islands in a bay.

“Renascence,” whose title is synonymous with rebirth, explores immediacy and perspective and has been described as broadly encompassing the relationship of an individual to humanity and nature. Sounds ripe for a thoughtful, philosophical conversation! All are welcome — prior attendance is not required.

TFL’s Reading Group meets on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. via Zoom to talk about “The Night Watchman” by National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich. It’s a fictional tale based on the extraordinary life of Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native American dispossession from rural North Dakota to Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Toohey, in her Christian Science Monitor book review, wrote that “Erdrich’s blend of spirituality, gallows humor, and political resistance is at play … It may be set in the 1950s, but the history it unearths and its themes of taking a stand against injustice are every bit as timely today.” Copies of the book are available at TFL.

TFL’s STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) Guide Alicia Millette has created two new STEAM-themed displays at the library. They contain a collection of books that feature natural science including fossils and bones, 3D printing astronomy, coding with scratch and more.

Free Science Activity Kits (aimed for children 8-12) will be available to take home starting Tuesday, Feb. 16. Alicia has invented four different kits: Lungs (build a model that demonstrates how your lungs work), Hovercraft (learn how to make things move across the floor using just air), Fingerprints (use a balloon and some air to look at their fine details & unique features), and Yeast (learn why we put yeast in bread by experimenting with yeast, sugar, and water). There will be five of each kit. Each contains directions, all materials needed, and is yours to keep.

Kids can also escape into the fascinating world of Owls with Chewonki on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. via Zoom. This renowned school, camp and environmental education organization based in Wiscasset is known for their incredible children’s programs that teach appreciation and stewardship of the natural world. Learn identifying calls and characteristics of these amazing creatures of the night. Space is limited so please contact the library to reserve a spot.

If you can’t make it to the library during our weekday hours (Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), TFL is now open Saturdays (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) with all the usual COVID safety precautions and protocols to keep patrons, staff and visitors as safe as possible.

More good news: we have a Wi-Fi extender that allows you to access TFL’s Wi-Fi from anywhere in the parking lot at any time of day.

Are you obsessed with new books? Then visit the Bookshelves page on our website (https://www.thompsonfreelibrary.org/bookshelves/). Library Director Jon Knepp has updated this cool feature so you can see new arrivals ASAP and browse by category. Click on a cover to check availability and place a hold — all from the comfort of your couch.

A patron told me that she likes to read compelling stories where the characters face tremendous and complicated challenges, with plots that surpass the current tumult. Others prefer the twists and turns of an edge of your seat mystery, binge watching “Downton Abbey” or being carried away by an audiobook’s expressive narration. From our ever-evolving collection, to ongoing and special programs, to kids’ take-home kits, TFL offers an array of imaginative escape routes.

Curbside service is also available during business hours. For more information (including Zoom links to our free virtual public programs), visit our website (https://www.thompsonfreelibrary.org), Facebook page or contact us at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or 207-564-3350. Find us on Instagram @tf_library.

In: News

The January issue of the TFL newsletter is out now! Stay up to date on all the comings and goings at the library. You can find it here: TFL January 2021 Newsletter
 
The rest of our newsletters, going back to 2017, can be found here, on our Newsletters Page.
 
 
To sign up for our mailing list and receive our newsletter and other important library-related information, visit this link: TFL Mailing List Sign Up
 

Special thanks to Kim and Tom for all the work they do on the newsletters and thank all of you for reading it!

In: News

“I’m beginning to think ‘hindsight is 2020’ was some kind of message from a future time traveler that we all misunderstood.” –Victoria Guida, Politico reporter, via Twitter.

 

Not surpassingly, that quote became a popular internet meme. 2020 was a year we lost our GPS, maps, compass, and North Star. We may not be sure what 2021 will bring, but the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft is still here with an incredible collection of books, online programs, services, and resources to help you navigate this strange, ever-changing new world.

 

Friday, January 8 at 3:30 p.m. TFL’s Monthly Philosophy Circle starts the new year (online via Zoom) discussing the intersection of poetry and philosophy. In The Irish Times Rachel Wiseman (from Liverpool University’s Philosophy Department), talked about how British philosopher Mary Midgley saw similarities in the two. “Poets and philosophers are both engaged with a struggle to understand human life, meaning, and our place in the cosmos…They are both careful observers of others and themselves, and when they are great poets and philosophers, they are able to see things that are invisible to others and make them visible.” (Prior attendance and readings are not required, just bring an open, curious mind.)

 

The Butterfly’s Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe is this month’s TFL Reading Group selection. They meet online via Zoom on Thursday, January 14 at 6 p.m. The book traces the transformational journey of four very different women as they follow the migrating monarchs across the United States to Mexico. Library Journal says that “Monroe, known for her environmental fiction, skillfully incorporates lore about the monarch butterflies into a rich novel about generations and tradition.” (Pick up a copy at the library.) 

 

The Voices from Home Story Slam on Friday, January 22 at 6 p.m. examines the concept of Hindsight. While the saying Hindsight is 20/20 took on a whole new meaning and relevance last year, the idea of hindsight is one of those bittersweet concepts we can all relate to—what are some of your hindsight experiences? Did you miss a job opportunity that looking back was a blessing in disguise? Do you want to share one of your woulda, coulda, shoulda experiences? A decision you’d make differently knowing what you know now. Or maybe how disappointment changed to relief after the fact. Share your true, 4-8 minute story. Storytellers and listeners welcome!

 

During the month of January TFL is taking part in a nationwide reading challenge #WinterRead2021 #BooksLikeUs with Beanstack and Simon and Schuster. Check out our Facebook page for more information. If you don’t want to use the Beanstack App or website, you can stop by the library to pick up paperwork instead. Complete the challenge and your name goes into a drawing for A Movie Night Goodie Basket! Open to all ages.

 

Alicia Millette, a familiar name and face to many in the area, is joining the staff at TFL. She has worked on increasing the amount of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) opportunities for families in the Dexter and Dover-Foxcroft area for more than a decade. Over 600 students have participated in her programming, including those from SeDoMoCha and Foxcroft Academy, who attended her programs at TFL. She has run Science Clubs and a Teen Science Café. Hands-on activities are her go-to. “They can make even the most complex of science and math concepts easier to understand, and making them fun helps students to better retain the knowledge and apply it in the real world,” Alicia explained.

 

“Alicia, like Alex (Shaffer, our other new hire), is going to be a great fit for the library. Good communication skills and an eagerness to interact with the public, which they both have, are the first prerequisites for the job. Alicia has devoted herself to promoting STEM in the region, created programming and resources in other schools and libraries that I would love to bring here,” said Jon Knepp, TFL’s new director. 

 

Surrounded by so much unpredictability, it’s nice to have a North Star like the library to help us navigate, find our sea legs, and feel some measure of comfort. As Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Douglas Adams wrote, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I ended up where I needed to be.”  

 

May you find many North Stars to guide you in 2021. 


The Thompson Free Library is OPEN to the public with special COVID-19 precautions, Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Curbside service is also available during business hours. For more info (including Zoom links to our free virtual public programs), visit our website (https://www.thompsonfreelibrary.org), Facebook page, or contact us at thompsonfreelibrary@gmail.com or 207/564-3350. WiFi is available 24/7 in the TFL parking lot. Find us on Instagram @tf_library.