Back Issues

Maine Memo

Newsletter of the
Maine Library Association

December 2001
Vol. 24, No. 12

Table of Contents

Noteworthy
Library Programs around Maine
Education/Training/Workshops
Job Opportunities
Resources of the Month
Library Electronic Mailing Lists

Editor, Lyn Smith

The Maine Memo comes out during the first week of each month. Please send me information before the deadline of the 25th of each month. You can e-mail me at lsmith@pittsfield.lib.me.us.


If you have a change of address, please contact:
Joan Kiszely
Maine Municipal Association
60 Community Drive, Augusta, Maine 04330
Tel: 623-8428/1-800-452-8786
Fax: 626-5947


Maine Library Association Home Page
Maine State Library Home Page


Noteworthy

Future of Libraries
Anne Marie Gold's PowerPoint presentation of the Future of Libraries given at the Civic Center in Augusta on Oct. 9, 2001 is now available on the Maine State Library Web Page. Look under Newsworthy.

Broadband Audience Discovers Northeast Historic Film
Sample clips from Northeast Historic Film, Maine's moving image archives, are now just a mouse click away thanks to a new partnership with Road Runner of Maine. Road Runner, a Time Warner company offering high-speed digital cable Internet service to 30,000 households in Cumberland and Aroostook counties, began posting the moving image selections on its Website this fall.
http://www.maine.rr.com/Around_Town/nhf/ or http://www.oldfilm.org
Each month, a new clip will be highlighted on Road Runner’s Around Town page, while previously featured items remain available in an online archives. Internet users need not have high-speed service to view the clips, each of which runs five to ten minutes. A lower-bandwidth option is available for people with dial-up service.
Each clip is accompanied by explanatory text. Viewers may follow a link to the NHF Website for more in-depth information about the film or video from which it is excerpted. They also learn about availability for home and classroom use through Videos of Life in New England or Reference by Mail.
The digitized images, sound and text are prepared for Internet viewing by Marko Schmitt, Dwight Swanson, and Chad Gilley.

Look for more clips in the coming months.
December: Cutting Ice, ca. 1942, a home movie by Everett Johnson about ice harvesting on Long Pond in South Portland.
January: A Portrait of Todd Webb, from a documentary on the Maine-based photographer by Portland filmmaker Huey (James J. Coleman).
February: Anchor of the Soul, African American history in northern New England through the story of a Portland church.
March: The Silent Enemy, 1930, a drama of Ojibwe Indian life, will be featured in the 2002 Northeast Silent Film Festival, North Woods Dramas: The Forgotten Genre.
April: Cherryfield, 1938, a portrait of the town of Cherryfield and its citizens.
May: Maine Marine Worm Industry, 1941 film about the process of digging, washing and packing bait worms for shipping.
June: My Lady o’ the Pines, a 1921 drama starring Mary Astor, produced in Maine by writer Holman Day.
July: 24 Hours, a 1963 docudrama about the role of Portland firefighters in everyday life.
August: Tuna Fishing off Portland Harbor, ca. 1930 scenes of tuna fishing with a harpoon from a small boat.
September: Elizabeth Woodman Wright, Paris, 1929, a home movie depicting summer at a farm in southwestern Maine.

Call for Nominations - NETSL Award
New England Technical Services Librarians (NETSL) is seeking nominations for the second annual NETSL Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services.
The NETSL Award recognizes and honors significant New England-based contributions to the field of library technical services. Such contributions may have been made in New England itself by librarians from throughout the United States, or nationally by librarians residing in New England, through publications, service, or innovations in practice. The NETSL Executive Board members select a recipient based on nominations received, at their February meeting. If none of the nominees in a given year are deemed worthy, the Board reserves the right to suspend the Award for that year.
The next NETSL Award will be presented at the annual NETSL spring conference at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. on April 12, 2002.
Eligibility for nomination is as follows:
-- Nominees may be NETSL/NELA members, but membership in the association is not a requirement.
-- A nomination must be accompanied by a written statement that includes the rationale for nomination and, if a resume of the nominee is not appended, a narrative summary of the nominee's career and achievements. Provision of a resume, if available, is strongly recommended.
-- Nominations may be made by NETSL members, as well as by non-members.
-- Nominations and statement(s) must be postmarked no later than January 10, and must be received by the NETSL Vice-President no later than January 15.
-- Librarians who are current members of the NETSL Executive Board are not eligible for consideration.
-- Nominees shall have made contributions to library technical services in one or more of the following areas:
1. Leadership in professional associations at local, state, regional or national level;
2.Contributions to the development, application or utilization of new or improved formats, methods, techniques and routines;
3. Significant contribution to professional literature;
4. Conduct of studies or research in the technical services.
The award recipient will receive an elegant certificate containing an inscription recognizing his/her special contribution to the field.
Please send nominations and inquiries to: Karl Fattig, NETSL Vice-President/President-Elect, Technical Services Manager / Catalog Librarian, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, Bowdoin College, 3000 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011-8421, kfattig@bowdoin.edu ,(207) 725-3027

NETSL is a section of the New England Library Association and is affiliated with the ALCTS Council of Regional Groups. For more information on NETSL, visit our website at: http://nelib.cjwebsolutions.com/netsl/indexnew.html

Old Fort Western to Demonstrate Early New England Christmas Observances December 2.
Old Fort Western, the 1754 National Historic Landmark fort, store, and house museum on the Kennebec River in Augusta, Maine, will demonstrate and discuss the observance of Christmas in early New England, Sunday, December 2, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Included will be the making of simple period gifts and decorations.
The program is part of the Fort's "First Sunday" series which continues the first Sunday of every month through April. First Sunday admission is always free. Donations in support of the Fort's preservation and education activities will be accepted. Phone 626-2385 for more information.

Maine Historical Society to launch Maine Memory Network, a statewide digital museum & educational service.
The Maine Memory Network is a statewide digital museum and educational service designed to make rare and often inaccessible materials -- the rich treasury of Maine's historical documents, images, maps, photographs, and stories -- available to the public at large. Based on the many-to-many model of information sharing, the Maine Memory Network is an innovation in internet technology unique in the country.
The Maine Memory Network (MMN) is a project of the Maine Historical Society, the state's most comprehensive repository for the study of Maine history. Though initially conceived as a way to share the Society's own vast wealth, the project quickly expanded to include the potential participation of all collecting/interpreting institutions in Maine -- museums, archives, libraries, historical societies, and more.
With the help of seed funding from the Maine State Legislature and the New Century Community Program, the project has been in development for over a year with the help of Aurora and Quanta Productions, a Portland-based new media development firm (www.auroraquanta.com). The site will be available at www.mainememory.net.
Maine Historical Society has been recently awarded a Technology and Opportunities grant for $375,000 from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, United States Department of Commerce. This will allow the project to embark on a process of partnering with historical and cultural institutions across the state, to select, digitize, upload and catalog historical source documents for inclusion in the Maine Memory Network.

Maine Historical Society presents: Comfort and Joy: Quilts, Toys and Winter Pleasures
December 1, 2001 - February 23, 2001
The new exhibition will focus on Maine quilts and toys, but will feature objects that reveal the surprising number of real pleasures our ancestors enjoyed during the winter months in Maine.
The objects in this lighthearted—even whimsical—exhibition will be drawn largely from the collections of the Maine Historical Society. More than a dozen of the Maine-made quilts will be on display, their colorful array telling interesting stories (one of our exceptional quilts traveled from Maine to Australia to Oregon and back to Maine). Comfort and Joy will provide winter pleasure to visitors of the exhibition.
Toys that will be displayed include dollhouses, a rocking horse, dolls and their accessories, sleds, and skates. Handmade toys include a cloth book, paper dolls, dominos, dollhouse furniture created from green marbleized paper and red brocade, and a built-to-scale, toy-size, flat-bottom boat.
Additional objects have been chosen for the exhibit based on the diaries, letters, and memoirs of nineteenth century Mainers from across the state. Predictably, winter clothing, commentary on the weather, the trappings of horse-drawn travel, the pleasures of the hearth, holiday rituals, and winter ’s culinary delights will all be part of the exhibit. But there will be surprises as well, providing new insights into Maine life over one hundred years ago when the wind blew, the snow fell, ice covered everything, and the thermometer dropped to 40 degrees below zero.
Hours: December: Monday- Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5. January 1- February 23, Monday - Saturday 10-5. Admission: Adults $4, Seniors $3, Children (5-17) $2, Members free. The Maine Historical Society is located in downtown Portland. For further information call 774-1822 or check our website: www.mainehistory.org

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Library Programs around Maine

How often when you attend a library meeting do you ask everyone else, "What are you doing in your library?" Hearing about planned programs and events is a way of keeping in touch and getting ideas for programs of your own. The World Wide Web and this newsletter allow librarians from Kittery to Caribou, from Bethel to Lubec share their pride in the programs they are presenting in their libraries.

Winslow Public Library
Holiday Crafts for Kids will be offered each Saturday before Christmas - December 1, December 8, December 15 and December 22, from 10-11 a.m. The community is invited to join in the holiday fun with easy crafts for kids of all ages.
Twenty teens attended the Library's "Harry Potter Night" on Friday, November 16th. The students enjoyed making their own subs, a discussion on the Harry Potter series, door prize drawings and an enthusiastic round of Harry Potter trivia. Our next teen night is scheduled for January and will focus on Internet know-how and safety.

The Berwick Public Library has recently added a staff member, Ann Van Deusen. Ann is an experienced library worker. Having her on the staff is making it possible for the library to increase the number of hours it is open to serve the public.

Boothbay Harbor Library
Sat Dec. 7, 8 - The Polar Express & Other Holiday Tales! The Moxie Youth Players of the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library will present their fourth year of a holiday performance with adaptations of seasonal children's stories including: The Polar Express; Stella the Queen of Snow; The Little Fir Tree, an original dance and d improvisation piece. At the Boothbay Railway Museum, Rt. 27. $5.00 Adults(12 and older), $3.00 -12 and under. Two years and under, free. Tickets on first-come first-served basis. Admission includes train ride and visit with St. Nick. Train Ride Only tickets also available for $3.00. 7:00 PM

Milo Free Public Library
Sculpture by Rick Beckjord (of Sullivan, ME) is on display at the Milo Free Public Library through December 8th. Visit our library during library hours: 2-8 Mon. Wed. Fri. & 2-4 Sat.

Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance
14th Annual Holiday Book Sale and Author Signing will be Saturday, December 1 from 11-2pm at the Morrell Room in the Curtis Memorial Library in Brusnwick. Great opportunity to schmooze with writers informally. Free food, live music too. Also, lots going on in Brunswick that day as it's the Brunswick Arts and Cultural Alliance's Arts Downtown and All Around. Open studios, stuff for sale, music etc.

Friends of Spaulding Memorial Library will hold their annual Cookie Walk - Sunday, December 9, 3-5 pm at Spaulding Memorial Library Rte 144 (across the street from Sebago Elementary School) in Sebago. Great treats for all.

South Portland Public Library will present the following Program Thursday, December 6th, 2001 at 7:00PM "CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS IN UNCERTAIN TIMES". The holidays are a time for celebration, optimism, hope, quiet reflection, and love. How do we keep the spirit of the holiday season during these uncertain times?

William Fogg Library in Eliot presented an introductory lecture on Islam with speaker Moata Hannout onNovember 28th as a follow up on the "Let Freedom Ring" forum. The Eliot Garden Club have graciously offered to decorate the interior of this very beautiful library. Stop by, if you're in the area!

The Farnsworth Library and Art Museum - Rockland FMI Clare Zall at 596-0949
Saturday, December 15th from 5:00-7:00 p.m. C.S. Lambert will sign copies of her book Sea Glass Chronicles in the museum gift shop. Refreshments provided.
Sunday, December 16th at 2:00 p.m. the Mid-coast Children's Theater will perform holiday scenes from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

Waterboro Public Library
Holiday Book & Bake Sale (with quilt raffle) on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Indoors, of course. Santa will be available for photo ops and wish lists from 9:30-12. Lots of books for sale at low, low prices! Some are new, nearly new, or rare, and make great gifts for the holidays.

The York Public Library has just celebrated its grand opening December first. It's a beautiful building--about 19,000 sq. ft. with lots of light and warm woodwork. The addess is 15 Long Sands Rd., York, ME 03909. Directions: South on the turnpike. Take the first exit after the toll booth. At the end of the ramp, turn left and go toward Rte 1. At Rte 1, go right, and drive until the intersection with Rte 1A. Turn left on Rte 1A and head to York Village. In the center of town, turn left at the Monumnet, and take the first right into the library parking lot--it's a large blue-green building with a stone foundation--and clearly very new!!

Genealogy or local history, especially the Bangor area
Check out the latest addition to the Bangor Public Library's web page.
http://www.bpl.lib.me.us/spcoll/default.htm This will lead you to the pages of Local History and Special Collections. We are trying to make this an entry way into the source material here at the Bangor Public Library. Please feel free to send us your comments and critique. Bill Cook Local History / Special Collections

Windham Public Library has received a $500 grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities for the Steinbeck Centennial Project which offered $500 grants to libraries to present a public program(s) on the life and work of John Steinbeck (1902-1968). The project was the iniative of the Merchantile Llibrary of New York and the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University in cooperation with the ALA.
The grant was entitled TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY: REFLECTING ON AMERICA. They hope to present a public program in cooperation with the library's book discussion group. The key component of the project is that in these times John Steinbeck's TRAVELS WITH CHARLEY seems appropriate for discussion. In order to re-connect with his country and people Steinbeck drove accross the United States. His reflections led him to this insight: "From start to finish I found no strangers---these are my people and this is my country." A community-wide discussion of his work in connection with our renewed pride is so timely.

Seeking Publisher '97 South Portland Public Library is searching for copies of Microsoft Publisher '97. Has anyone updated their software collection and have a '97 copy to give away or to sell? Please contact Marian Peterson. 767-4210.

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Education/Training/Workshops

Book repair - Weeding - Public Library Directors' Meeting - Cluster Groups - SPARK

Check the Library District sites for calendars of events, local meetings and training sessions.
The consultant's sites contain a wealth of information and should be referred to regularly.

Northeastern Maine Library District
http://www.bpl.lib.me.us/nmld/
Central Maine Library District http://www.state.me.us/msl/cmld/
Southern Maine Library District http://www.state.me.us/msl/smld/

The Tenth Off-Campus Library Services Conference sponsored by Central Michigan University will be held at the Omni Netherlands Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio April 17-19, 2002.
Over 70 librarians and administrators will be presenting their research, experience, aspirations and good common sense approach to library services for distance education students. This conference is an opportunity to network with your peers, solve your most difficult problems and share your own unique experiences.
For more details please go to our Web site at http://ocls.cmich.edu/conference.htm or e-mail Connie Hildebrand at connie.hildebrand@cmich.edu, phone 989-774-6080.

Association of College and Research Libraries - New England Chapter
January Calendar Of Conferences & Continuing Education
http://www.acrlnec.org/calendar_pages/december.htm

CONTINUING EDUCATION WEBSITES

Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College
http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/courses/index.html

Library Association Conferences
http://www.ala.org/events

Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Continuing Education
http://www.mlin.lib.ma.us/noflash.html

Massachusetts Health Sciences Library Network (MAHSLIN)
http://nnlmner.uchc.edu/mahslin/calendar.html

Nelinet, Inc. Library Conferences and Meetings
http://www.nelinet.net/conf.htm

New England and Environs Preservation Calendar
http://www.mlin.lib.ma.us/mblc/ldev/preservation_calendar.shtml

New England Library Association (NELA)
http://www.nelib.org/

Southern Connecticut State University, Library Science and Information Technology
http://www.southernct.edu/grad/programs/ILS/

University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/lsc/conedu1.htm

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Job Opportunities

Listings of jobs in Maine from the Maine State Library http://www.state.me.us/msl/jobjar.htm

Job Finding Aids from the New England Library Association http://www.nelib.org/jobaids.html

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Resources of the Month

Do you have some print resources or web sites that you've found especially usefulness or unique? Something you found to do an excellent job answering some questions or books that were really good. Send in a few of your favorites. Thanks!

Maine Memory Network
The Maine Historical Society is pleased to announce the launching of the website Maine Memory Network http://www.mainememory.net Funded by a New Century Grant and the Maine State Legislature, this site presents historic source documents from any organization having Maine related objects, diaries, manuscripts, photographs, maps, etc. Libraries that have such items are cordially invited to contact us and learn how to present their objects online. School librarians may contact us to learn how to use this site in the classroom. This is a free service. email: dkaplan@mainehistory.org. or visit us online!

From Gail Garthwait
Just catching up on some of listservs that I subscribe to and thought you might wish to know about these two highlights from last week on the Web Tools Newsletter:
Public Libraries, the Web and the Digital Divide http://webtools.cityu.edu.hk/news/newslett/publiclibraries.htm
The Role of the Web in Primary School Libraries. http://webtools.cityu.edu.hk/news/newslett/primarylibraries.htm

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Library Electronic Mailing Lists

MELIBS-L. This list supports communication among library staff and others concerned with delivering library services in Maine. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe melibs-l [your_firstname] [your_lastname] (example: Thomas Jefferson would send this message: subscribe melibs-l Thomas Jefferson) to this address: listserv@maine.edu.
For general tips, "Netiquette" and specific listserv commands including how to search the MELIBS archives look at the MELIBS-L and MEFIND-L Listserves website http://www.state.me.us/msl/mgmelibs.htm

MEFIND-L is the new Maine interlibrary loan requesting list. It is solely used for Interlibrary Loan. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe mefind-l [your_firstname] [your_lastname] (example: Melville Dewey would send this message: subscribe mefind-l Melville Dewey) to this address: listserv@maine.edu.

NELIB is an unmoderated discussion group which serves as a forum for the distinctive needs of the NELA community. The list can be used to share ideas, to seek advice, post agendas and locate collaborators for projects. http://www.nelib.org/about.html#listserv has information about participating in the listserv.

ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org.
ALAWON archives at: http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. Visit their Web site at http://www.alawash.org.

Library-Oriented Lists & Electronic Serials is a compilation of electronic discussion lists, distribution lists and serials that are of interest to library professionals and staff. Visit the website at http://www.wrlc.org/liblists/. Enough lists to subscribe to and do nothing but read e-mail all day long!


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Thank you for reading the Maine Memo.