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LIBRARY
Mechanic Falls Public Library Our mission is “Providing Lifelong Enjoyment of Learning, Exploring and Reading”.
The Mechanic Falls Public Library is located in the Town Office on the third floor. The library has been in this location for 11 years .
Mechanic Falls Public Library was established by vote at the Annual Town Meeting in 1898. The report for 1899 shows 1,075 books owned by the library, with a library board of three people. The first librarian was Bernidene Jewett Butler. The library was located on Elm Street, eventually moving to the brick building that is now the Little Brick Pub. A quote in the Librarian’s Report from 1900 is “ Ours is the responsibility of shaping the course of reading, molding the taste and it may be shaping the destiny of the boys and girls in this town.” The card catalogue in the hall outside of the library was donated to the library in 1901 by the Ignoramus Club. It is no longer in use, as all the books and DVDs in the library are all in the computer catalogue, but it is a great memory of the past.
No fee library cards are issued to all residents of Mechanic Falls, age 5 and up. Proof of address is the only requirement. We are still in the process of joining the reciprocal borrowing program within the Maine State Library system. I will share more details of the program when it becomes available.
The library participated in the “Oceans of Possibility” program this past summer, and will be doing “All Together Now” this summer. I will have the Maine Student Book Awards for the middle and high school students again this year, along with the North Star Young Adult books.
Mechanic Falls Public Library participates in the Bibliotheca Cloud Library through the Maine State Library. As a card holder, audio and electronic books can be borrowed from there at no charge.
Because our library content is limited, quite a few of our patrons participate in the inter-library loan system. This is a free service to all card holders, as long as the book is available within the state of Maine. The average wait for a book is one week.
There is a weekly story time for preschoolers every Monday (other than holidays) from 10 am to 11 am. The librarian reads age-appropriate books and does a seasonal craft.
A monthly adult reading group meets at the library the second Thursday of the month at 5:30. Books are provided to interested patrons and loaned the month before the discussion.
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