Summer time and the living’s easy, or so claims the inimitable Janice Joplin. Summer has finally arrived! In the midst of the hustle-and-bustle that has become our sleepy, little community, we find a kind of play-minded quality to our days. It’s time to get outside and enjoy all that life can be (and is) here in Old Orchard Beach.

Here at Libby Library, we can help you with that. Last month’s article featured the half-a-dozen different programs and resources that we offer our community, free of charge, but, in the words of the infomercial icon, Ron Popeil, “ … wait! There’s more!” In addition to all of the books, CDs, and DVDs, Wi-Fi, computers, and e-readers, the library also has sporting equipment to lend. We are conveniently situated right next door to Memorial Park, where there are basketball, tennis, and Pétanque courts. Stop in and check out a basketball or a Pétanque set for a couple of hours, and enjoy the abundance of summer sunshine.

Of course, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and sometimes, that summer sun we wish so hard for mid-February can be less than warm and inviting, and a bit more brutal. Did you know that the library is air conditioned? We also have a water-bubbler where you can fill up your reusable water bottle.

While you’re here, check out our ocean-themed I-Spy display, near the circulation desk, and ask about our summer reading programs, which by the way, aren’t just for kids! This year’s summer reading theme is Ocean Adventure. Heather, our new Juvenile Services librarian, has a sea of activities planned, including virtual field trips, online story times, and the ever popular summer reading event itself. This year, for every book our kids devour, they will be given a “Read Bead.” I hear there are some glow-in-the-dark beads. Our kick-off event for the summer reading program is June 17, and I’m told there will be a visit from the lovely mermaid, MerKara.

We didn’t want the “big kids” to feel left out this year. Kim, our new Adult circulation librarian, has created Ocean Adventure Bingo. Participants will be given a key chain and a Bingo card with a selection of different genres/themes. Read a book that is in that genre and earn a square and a cool little charm to go on the key chain. I’m definitely going to get my reading glasses tightened up this summer. There’s a sweet little seahorse charm that I have my eye on.

Kim has also created our very own version of Wordle, which is available on the library’s Facebook page. Each week there will be a new five letter word to figure out. There’s a theme. Can you guess it?

We’re very excited to invite our portrait sessions back to the library. Sponsored by Saco Bay Artists, this is a chance for future Picassos and seasoned brush wielders to enjoy a low-key group painting session. A Live Model will be provided! Artists should plan to bring their own supplies. The first session is in the Library’s Community Room, on June 9 (with a maximum of 10 people). Subsequent sessions will take place on the second Thursday of each month until October, and participants will meet on the front lawn of the library, July, August and September so we can have NO LIMIT to the number of attendees! Please also bring your own chair for those sessions. Rain dates will be the next (3rd) Thursday of the month. October brings us back inside the Library, with a limit of 10.

Reminder!! Applications for Maine’s Community Food box are available in the lobby here at the library. The program provides one box of food per month for every resident over 60 years old. There is no income requirement. Stop by and grab your application.

Good food, good fun, and good friends. That’s what you’ll find at the Libby Library. And as our favorite aardvark, Arthur Read, always says, “Having fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card!”

As a kid, Wendy Brown’s favorite avocation was reading, and so it was natural that she would earn a BA in English, and almost fate that she would become a librarian. When she’s not curled up with a good book, she enjoys getting out in Maine’s great outdoors, walking Old Orchard Beach’s maze of hiking trails, or kayaking the Scarborough Marsh with her husband.