Hello Scarborough Community,

We are the leadership team of the Scarborough Public Library and we want to tell you about the exciting developments our Library is planning.

Today the library is seriously under-sized for a community of 22,135 residents, and more so than any other comparable library in Maine. The present library building dates from 1989. Efforts to expand were narrowly defeated in 2006. Since then, other town priorities have placed us on hold. In 2018 we renewed our planning efforts and since then the Town Council has approved library planning funds totaling $390,000 for architects and planners to work with us. The Council also recognized the expansion plan in the Comprehensive Plan it recently adopted (see p. 161, “Support Initiatives to Expand the Scarborough Public Library”), giving us helpful guidance on steps leading to a bond referendum. The building plans will soon be available for your review and input. We hope that the expansion of the library will soon be on the ballot and we look forward to earning your support.

Today our library is the center of community life. There is no other place like it. It has always been that safe and welcoming place for young and old to gather. But today there is so much more. By embracing technology, we now offer access to virtually any form of education or entertainment material. Where else can you go to browse periodicals, pick up a book or movie you’ve ordered from Maine’s online service or just collect your kids from after-school homework? Where else provides parking lot internet service 24/7 and a plug-in for electric vehicles? Stir crazy? Join our knitting or sketching clubs. Where else is there an IT specialist available on staff to help with those computer questions? Your laptop on the fritz? Use ours. Did we mention, it’s all FREE?

So, what is this expansion plan all about? Today our professional librarians offer an extraordinary array of programs and activities, and they are only restricted by the confines of our present space. Expanding stacks is yesterday’s library. Library visits have risen steadily over the years and thus our “people” space for the ways libraries are used today has become over-crowded. Our plan seeks to respond to new service opportunities and to address years of neglected problems. What are the pressing needs? There is the need for a much larger meeting room for the hundreds of events we sponsor annually, and a need for smaller study, conference, and computer lab space, and space for hands-on work by businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and others. Whether it’s on-line story times for little ones, or book discussions, interesting speakers, meeting groups or zoom programs for adults, the demand our librarians see meets the needs of all ages. Neglected issues range from inadequate staff office space and storage space to deferred maintenance on a 33-year-old building. Our new library expansion is being planned to welcome the Scarborough community for the next 30 years.

Be on the lookout for details of our expansion plan as we need your help to finalize the plans. Meanwhile, we are also actively pursuing a town-wide fundraising program to offset some of the construction costs to be bonded. More on that soon but we are already off to an encouraging start.

Thank you for your continuing support,

Bill Donovan, President, Scarborough Public Library Board of Trustees
Susan Powell, Vice President, Scarborough Public Library Board of Trustees
Nancy Crowell, Scarborough Public Library Director