Searching for your roots this summer? The South Berwick Public Library now offers the Library Edition of Ancestry, a Web-based tool that allows you to search millions of ancestral records online for FREE!. You can look at military, census, birth and death records, marriage records, past addresses, and immigration information, some going back to the sixteenth century. The program is easy to use, even for beginners. Find out if you have any royalty or scallywags in the branches of your family tree.

The Library is located at 37 Portland St. in South Berwick. It is open Monday and Wednesday from 1 PM to 8 PM, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Friday from 1 PM to 5 PM, and Saturday from 9 AM to 1 PM.

If you have any questions, please call the Library at 207-384-3308.

Friends of the South Berwick Library Annual Meeting
Wednesday, May 21, 7 PM in the Town Hall auditorium
Speaker: William Bushnell, book critic
friendsofsouthberwicklibrary.org/

Speaker, William Bushnell of Harpswell, Maine. Mr. Bushnell has been a professional book reviewer and freelance writer for thirteen years. He is professionally affiliated with the National Book Critics Circle and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, and teaches a class on book reviewing at the University of Southern Maine.

The Annual Meeting of the Friends will begin at 7 pm with a brief business meeting and a report about the May 19th workshop with the Town Council regarding the St. Michael’s church property. At 7:30 pm, Mr. Bushnell will give us his insights on the art of book reviewing, followed by a question and answer session.

Refreshments will be served.

Here’s the skinny on the 4/14/2008 Town Council meeting:

Councilor Comments:
All of the council members spoke of their sadness at the loss of Dennis Smith, who passed away on April 10. They spoke of his selfless dedication to his family and to the town. They described him as a friend, a mentor, a source of inspiration, and an example of how to work with others.

Council Chair Suzanne Roberge made two announcements:
1. She met with Public Works Director Terry Oliver and asked him to reconsider his resignation, which he did so he will continue to be Public Work Director.
1. She resigned from her position as Chair of the Council effective at the end of the meeting. She will continue to serve as a Council Member.

The following actions were taken on the agenda items: (more…)

Meet Mary Margaret Anthoine Ney, who goes by Mamie, the new Director of South Berwick Library. A Kennebunk resident, Mamie comes to us after working for the last year and a half as the Assistant Director of the Kennebunk Library. Mamie’s path to becoming a librarian is not the usual one, and as a result she brings a unique blend of skills and perspectives to the library. She will graduate from the University of Southern Carolina with a Master of Library Information Studies in May. Prior to pursuing her career as a librarian, she was a tax attorney and holds both a law degree and an MBA.

Her enthusiasm for her new job came through as I spoke to her about this article. She has been busy getting out to meet all the merchants downtown, attending meetings of local groups, and getting to know the library. She is pleased with the strong base of programs the library offers and thankful to Annmarie Townsend, Children’s Librarian and Kim Myers, Library Assistant for how helpful they have been in helping her understand South Berwick’s library. Her priorities in her new job are working on getting a new space for the library and adding to the programs that the library offers the community.

Stop in and introduce yourself to Mamie and welcome to her to South Berwick. By the way, she is currently reading The Cleft by Doris Lessing, March by Geraldine Brooks, and The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket.

There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.
— Andrew Carnegie

A group of longtime library devotees gathered at the South Berwick Public Library on Thursday, Feb. 21, to honor and say goodbye to longtime Library Director, Charline Parsons. Ms. Parsons has served as the library director for 20 years.

Among the parting gifts Charline received were an overnight at the Regency Hotel in Portland with spending money and a long list of activities and restaurants where she might enjoy spending it. Many friends, both new and old, sent cards and written anecdotes of Charline’s many years at the library. These were compiled for her into an album.

The Library Advisory Board voted to name a library room in Ms. Parsons’s honor. This plaque reading, ‘The Charline Parsons Room’ will remain in the present building until a new library is ready.

Today South Berwick Town Manager Jeff Grossman gave the236diner.com an update on the progress of the St. Michael’s Parish purchase. The 90 day option to buy is due to expire on April 6, 2008. Mr. Grossman reports that the process is moving forward on time and gave a summary of the progress:

• Appraisal of the property is in process. There have been no further negotiations about price.
• Wetlands Evaluation has been done and the town is awaiting the written report

(more…)

Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist writes about the importance of “third places” for healthy functioning of communities. He describes third places as

“informal public gathering places. The phrase “third places” derives from considering our homes to be the “first” places in our lives, and our work places the “second.”

Americans long enjoyed third places in the form of the inns and ordinaries of colonial society, then as the saloons and general stores springing up with westward expansion. Later came the candy stores, soda fountains, coffee shops, diners, etc. which, along with the local post office, were conveniently located and provided the social anchors of community life.

“Third places” also suggest the stability of the tripod in contrast to the relative instability of the bipod. Life without community has produced, for many, a life style consisting mainly of a home-to-work-and-back-again shuttle.”

 

From Our Vanishing “Third Places” by Ray Oldenburg

As South Berwick explores the feasibility of using the St. Michael’s property as a library or other use we have the opportunity to create a new kind of civic place in our downtown.
(more…)

The town council held a special meeting on January 7, 2008 for voting whether to appropriate $20,000 from the Library Reserve Fund for an option payment for the purchase of the St. Michael’s Parish complex at 29 Young St.

The turnout was high with well over 100 in attendance. Town Councilors first presented their rationale for recommending the vote. Here’s a synopsis:

(more…)