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Greetings, friends! Another Annual Meeting has gone by. And as usual, I made a report which summarized Library developments, happenings and thoughts for the past year. Find it here if you are so inclined!

Thank you all for your support,

Mia

“NIGHT OF THE LIVING REZ” AUTHOR MORGAN TALTY  SPEAKS ON MONHEGAN 

The Monhegan Memorial Library is pleased to welcome Morgan Talty in our Fifth Annual Distinguished Writers Series on Monhegan Island. Winner of several prizes including the National Book Critics John Leonard Prize, his debut work “Night of the Living Rez” is a series of connected stories about life on the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation. Talty has been heralded for his “electric and captivating voice,” a part of the “canon of great Native American Literature” (The New York Times).

On August 12th, Talty will deliver a Keynote Address followed by a Book Signing in the Monhegan Community Church (suggested donation $20 or pay what you can). On August 13th, he will hold a Writer’s Talk at 10am in the Monhegan Memorial Library (advance registration required). The Distinguished Writers Series was founded in 2016 and has since hosted Richard Blanco, Paul Doiron, Christina Baker Kline and Lois Lowry. Donations to support the continuation of the Series can be made by visiting www.monheganlibrary.com.

For questions or to sign up for the Writer’s Talk, please contact Mia Boynton: monheganmemoriallibrary@gmail.com, 207-596-0549.

These cat pieces are creations of noted artist Lynne Drexler (1928-1999). Made here on island, they show a different side of the artist. They would be a great enhancement to your painting collection. Or, be your chance to own a piece of Lynne Drexler’s legacy!

The details:

• A Silent Auction will be held from August 1-12. 

• ONLINE only…look on our Facebook page (@ Monhegan Memorial Library) for a link to the bidding or scan the QR code.

• Starting bid: $100 each. 

Another year has flown by! This morning, we convened for our Annual Meeting. Reports were shared summing up our year as a Library. As usual, I wanted to upload mine here for you to read!

Thank you to all who support our Library. We couldn’t do it without you!

STORYTELLING PROGRAM ON MONHEGAN ISLAND 

The Monhegan Memorial Library eagerly announces the return the Distinguished Writers Series with a double program July 29-30th.

On July 29th, storytellers are invited to share their stories of Monhegan at “Monhegan Tales,” an open-mic-style night modeled after programs such as The Moth. Each storyteller will have a 5 minute limit, and advanced sign up is required (visit the Monhegan Memorial Library to do so). “Monhegan Tales” is hosted in collaboration with the Monhegan Museum. 

On July 30th, there will be a talk by John Bear Mitchell, a storyteller, educator and citizen of the Penobscot Nation. He will speak on the importance of storytelling to Native peoples. 

Both programs will take place at the Monhegan Community Church at 7:30pm. John Bear Mitchell’s talk has a suggested donation of $5. 

The Distinguished Writers Series had been put on hold for two years due to COVID. This is the fifth iteration of the series. Donations to support the continuation of the Series can be made by visiting www.monheganlibrary.com.

For questions, contact Mia Boynton at monheganmemoriallibrary@gmail.com or 207-596-0549.

On Wednesday, we had our Annual Meeting, this year again held via ZOOM out of concern for COVID safety. And again, I’d like to share my Annual Report with you! This year was a quiet one for the Library, but what if we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that quiet isn’t always bad. We’ve been able to be open uninterrupted, and are back to serving patrons as normal. We’ve even brought back some events! In such uncertain times, these feel like big gains. So we’re proud and happy with how this year went and is going, and we hope for more of the same as we head into our last month and a half of busy season.

Want to know all about it? Click here to read more!

A big heartfelt THANK YOU for using the Library this year. During times like these, your support is extra appreciated. Stay safe, wear a mask, and read a book!

At long last, presenting the Writing Group Zine 2019! Available at the Library or to download here. All this fabulous work was created in Writing Group last year, back when we could all sit around a table together. I felt nostalgic putting it together. And so grateful as always that these wonderful writers shared their work with me every week. One of the true privileges of my job.

Enjoy the Zine!

HELLO! This blog space has been quiet for quite awhile (not that I was ever a prolific blogger anyway…). We usually post announcements about our summer events and our Distinguished Writers Series. We were planning big things. But none of it happened. A common theme for the summer, and 2020 in general!

We did have our Annual Meeting this past Thursday. We welcomed Felicia Dunson, Lisa Jahn-Clough, and Kelena Reid, who will be our new Secretary. So glad to have them! Carol Burdick will be our new President, with Miki Partridge stepping down but remaining on the board. THANK YOU MIKI! Your leadership has been extraordinary in an extraordinary time.

And we said goodbye to some board members too. I’d like to take a moment to recognize all their hard work. Thank you to Jan Kornbluth, Bob Smith (who will remain ex-officio in an advisory role), and Candis Kerns. They have been on the board since I started as Librarian in 2011! From Raffle ticket selling to events planning and everything in between, these people have truly made the Library the institution it is. I’d like to especially thank Candis, who was the President when I first began this job, right out of college. She has helped and encouraged me so much. I’m going to miss you! But I know you’ll each remain an active part of the Library community.

Upwards and onwards! If you’d like to hear more, please click here to read my full Librarian’s report. Among other things, you’ll find out: how we fared during the pandemic, how to get WiFi, and my plans for anti-racist posts online.

Lastly, I just want to say I’ve been so happy to greet many of our regulars this summer and this month in particular. For those of you who aren’t able to be with us, we miss you. Thank you all for your support!

On Tuesday, August 20th, we held our Annual Meeting here at the Library. We re-appointed Miki Partridge as President, Michael Brassard as Vice President, Don Abbott as Treasurer and Candis Kerns as Secretary. We also welcomed Andrew Dalrymple to the board!

As always, I’d like to share my Librarian’s report with all of you, so you can see (read) everything we’ve been up to! We couldn’t do it without YOUR support!

Just click here to read the Report!