Regular In-Person/Virtual Programs

Check our Event Calendar to see what programs we have coming up at the library. This calendar is also on our homepage.

Reading Group: 2nd Thursdays from 6:00-7:00 pm

Do you love to discover new books and authors? Enjoy talking about books with others? TFL’s Reading Group meets the second Thursday of each month at 6 pm. Contact the library to find out what we’re reading next!

Philosophy Circle: 1st Fridays from 3:30-5:00 pm

A discussion group that meets monthly to explore philosophy through the ages and engage in philosophical conversation. All ages are welcome, and no previous experience or knowledge is needed to participate!

101 Series: 2nd Thursdays from 1:30-2:30 pm (April through September)

TFL’s 101 Series presents lively, informative demonstrations from the practical to the creative. Pick up some basic how-to’s, then learn & explore on your own. Or, just satisfy your curiosity & have fun.

One-on-One Technology Help

Stop by the library for one-on-one technology help. We can teach you how to use your phones, laptops, and tablets–and how to navigate websites and social media.

Knitting Group: Every Tuesday from 11:30 am-1:00 pm

 TFL’s Knitting Group is open to all levels of experience, and those looking to learn and find inspiration are welcome! Come with your latest knitting, crochet, lace, or needlework project. 

Free Movie Night: Last Fridays at 6 pm (On Hold Due to COVID)

Join us for our monthly free movie night, held in the library’s downstairs meeting room. Popcorn is provided!

Check out some of our previous virtual and in-person programs on our Youtube channel!

Thompson Free Library

Here you can find recordings of our programs, happenings at the library, and more! Subscribe to stay up to date.

Thompson Free Library
Michael Good, a birding guide and naturalist (who’s not an author) and Sandra Neily, a Northwoods mystery writer (who’s not a birder). Now what could they have in common? Find out while watching their visit on Thursday, October 19 at 6 p.m. Michael, the biologist and Maine guide, and Sandra, the award-winning author of Deadly Turn and Deadly Trespass, team up for what’s sure to be an intriguing program.
Sandra Neily and Michael Good Author Talk
Ed Linz visited the TFL on Thursday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. He returned to tackle the Vietnam War, the topic of his latest book “A Filthy Way to Die”. Ed, an engaging presenter, discussed the origins of the war and memories of it from his Naval Academy classmates who fought on the ground, in the air, at sea, and on the rivers and canals. It was an interactive session seeking comments and thoughts from those in attendance.
Ed Linz Author Talk
Join library director Jon Knepp as he presents his research on the founding of the library and its early years at the Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society meeting Oct. 4, 2023.
The History of the Thompson Free Library
TFL’s favorite author/poet/storyteller Tom Lyford headlines a Bonus 101 on Thursday, September 28 at 1:30 pm at TFL! (He says it’s his last program but we’ve heard that before! 😉) Here’s Tom’s description: THE BOSS OF ME, A Personal Resumé Told Through Stories and Poems is a tongue-in-cheek mini-memoir detailing my supposed work-life from Day 1 (birth) to the present. The focus is on my life-long struggle with this particular two-sides-of-the-coin conundrum: You’re not the boss of me! and Well, alright then, apparently you are the boss of me.
Tom Lyford- The Boss of Me
Many of us who grew up in Maine mill towns look back and wonder how all the smoke and chemicals affected the health of residents. If this topic resonates, join us as author Marie Thérèse Martin (who goes by Terry) stopped by TFL to talk about her memoir And Poison Fell from the Sky. Terry grew up grateful for the paper mill that buoyed the economy of her small Maine town, providing jobs for hundreds of local workers, but years later when she was a nurse and her husband a doctor, they began to believe that the area's sky-high cancer rates were caused by the smoke and chemicals that billowed from the mill’s stacks. They sounded an alarm which began a long and bitter fight “to expose the devil's bargain their hometown had struck with the mill.”
Terry Martin Author Talk- And Poison Fell From the Sky
Blaine Chadwick joined us on Thursday, September 14 for “Drone Photography 101” in the TFL Pavilion. Blaine, who owns 3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Service in Milo, talked about the history of commercial drone use, how he uses his drone to help highlight the area's diversity and beauty, and the role drones play in real estate and land assessment. Blaine has been honing his photography skills for over five decades and made the leap into drones in 2015.
Drone Photography 101 w/ Blaine Chadwick of 3Rivers Unmanned Aerial Services in Milo
Say hello to Henry and Lucy, the stars of Gerard Gawalt’s latest book Fire and Ice: Henry and Lucy Knox and the Settling of Maine. Henry, a bookseller from Boston, who became a general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War married Lucy from a wealthy British loyalist family and the heir to an expansive property in the Eastern District of Massachusetts known as Maine (now Knox County). Gerard, who has written many historical books and is a curator at the Library of Congress, discussed this intriguing true story on Thursday, September 7 at 6 p.m. as part of the James Brown Lecture Series. (In memory of James Brown who, for many years, was the chair of Foxcroft Academy’s English department as well as the president of the Thompson Free Library Association.)
Gerard Gawalt: Fire and Ice: Henry and Lucy Knox and the Settling of Maine
Maine summer resident Gretchen Cherington stopped by TFL on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 6 p.m. to discuss her book “The Butcher, The Embezzler, and The Fall Guy: A Family Memoir of Scandal and Greed in the Meat Industry”. It’s been described as a mesmerizing true story, filled with drama and suspense and told with remarkable emotional insights. Gretchen, the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Richard Eberhart, shares her journey to unravel the mystery of her grandfather’s potential involvement in a huge corporate scandal in the early 1900s.
Gretchen Cherington Author Talk "The Butcher, the Embezzler, and the Fall Guy" Aug. 25, 2023
“Lungfish”, Meghan Gilliss’ debut novel, is described as a brilliant and heartbreaking story about addiction, doubt, marriage, motherhood, and learning to see in the dark. Meghan visited TFL on Aug. 10 to discuss her book which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. She lives in Portland and has worked as a journalist, a bookseller, a librarian, and a hospital worker.
Meghan Gilliss, author of Lungfish, presented by Maine Humanities Council
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