Programs & Events

Library Birthday Party
Sunday, March 12 at 2pm

This year we will be celebrating the New Gloucester Public Library's 135th birthday! We'll also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Library moving into the present building.

The event will feature keynote speaker Thomas E. Johnson Jr., whose new book, "Common Place: The Public Library, Civil Society and Early American Values," has just been published. It tells the stories behind early libraries in America and also includes vignettes of sixteen public libraries in New England. The final section of the book examines the future of the public library, exploring the relationship between libraries and community wellbeing, opportunity, and levels of social capital, as well as the role of the institution in life-long learning. Johnson hold an MA from Harvard University and served 25 years as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer in countries around the world.

Ms. Emily will also read a children's picture book to kids (and former kids) in attendance. Light refreshments will be served.

How to Participate:

- Did you know that we lend cake pans? Let us know if you'd like to check one out to bake a cake to bring to the party.

- The Friends of the Library are raising funds for a birthday present for the Library. Donate Here

- Bring a memory of the old library building or of the move into the current building to share.

- Most importantly, come to the party!

Local Author Talk: Anne Gass on her novel,
"We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip"
Monday, March 27 at 7pm

In honor of Women's History Month, we are pleased to host a talk by author, independent historian, and Gray resident, Anne B. Gass. She will share remarks and historic slides about her historical novel "We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip," based on a true story.

In 1915 four women leave San Francisco for Washington DC on a desperate and dangerous mission to demand an amendment to the US Constitution enfranchising women. The story unfolds through the eyes of unsung heroes Ingeborg Kindstedt and Maria Kindberg, middle-aged Swedish immigrants who own the car, do all the driving, and fix what goes wrong. They lose their way in a trackless Nevada desert and get stuck in the mud in Kansas, among many other adventures. Can they arrive in DC at the appointed day and time?

Anne B. Gass developed her passion for women’s rights history while writing a book about her amazing activist great-grandmother. The book, "Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage," was published in 2014. In 2015 the research for her next book led Anne on a cross-country journey, retracing the route intrepid suffrage activists had taken a century before to demand voting rights for women from Congress and the President. The result was "We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip," a historical novel, published in 2021.

The Display Dozen!

Join the Library's 2023 Reading Challenge, The Display Dozen. Adults, teens, and children can all participate--and win prizes!

A Stitchin' Time - Fiber Arts Club

Tuesdays 5-7pm

Attention knitters, crocheters, sewers, embroiderers, and other fiber artists! All skill levels welcome--even if you have no skills (yet!). Bring whatever you're currently working on or a project you want to start. You don't have to be there right at the beginning--drop in any time you're available between 5 and 7pm on Tuesdays. You can even use this time to work on something for the Friends of the New Gloucester Public Library's hat, scarf, and mitten drive!

Storytime

Wednesdays and Sundays at 11am

Join Ms. Emily for stories and songs. Ages 0-5.

New Gloucester Library 4H Group

University of Maine Cooperative Extension conducts the state’s most successful out-of-school youth educational program. 4-H is a positive youth development organization that empowers young people to reach their full potential. Thousands of Maine youth participate annually in projects focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); Healthy Lifestyles programs; and Youth Community Action/Engagemet/Leadership.

Extension employees and volunteers are committed to creating positive experiential learning experiences for Maine youth; promoting and helping create positive relationships between youth and adults; creating and supporting positive, inclusive, and safe learning environments; and providing youth with opportunities to experience positive risk-taking challenges and growth.

For more information please call the library at 207-926-4840 or email newgloucesterlibrary@gmail.com

Teens

Teen Volunteer Corps

Teens help with programming, shelving, and a variety of other library tasks while earning volunteer hours. Ages 12-16.