Bass Harbor Memorial Library

Celebrate Our Community with Books!

Bass Harbor Memorial Library
89 Bernard Road, PO Box 99
Bernard, Maine 04612

Voice & Fax (207) 244-3798

Upcoming Lecture

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July 13th
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

While the MDI Biological Laboratory is certainly known by residents and visitors  alike, it’s history, the exact nature of the research, current investigations and future direction are probably less well known. To help celebrate the MDI Biological Laboratory’s 125 th anniversary, Jeri Bowers,nthe MDI Biological Laboratory’s Director of Development and Public Affairs andnDavid Evans, PhD, MDI Biological Laboratory Director Emeritus will share the history of the lab, it’s current status and its plans for the future. The connection between the MDI Biological Laboratory and the father of Acadia National Park, George Dorr, will also be examined.

If you’ve ever wondered about the Lab and its impact on important research this is your chance to learn. Please visit the Library’s web site to learn more.

On Our Walls

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MARY HAYS : VISIONS OF ACADIA

The Bass Harbor Memorial Library will be featuring an exhibit of award-winning hooked rugs throughout the month of July. Bass Harbor resident, Mary Hays, was honored in 2022 as the ‘International Hooked Rug Artist of the Year’ by the North American Hooked Rug Museum. The Bass Harbor Memorial Library will exhibit many of her pieces that were on display at the museum in Nova Scotia.

Inspired by her love of the Acadia Region and the work of her friend, the late Patty Wharton, Mary began hooking in 2013. “I have always loved working with fabric, especially wool, and this is the perfect way for me to express myself and the beauty of the region.” While many of the themes are representations of real places in the Acadia Region, some are fictional.

Beginning with a local hooked rug group, the ‘Hook and Eye’, Mary began exhibiting her work in area shows. A high point for her was the selection of her rug ‘Cobble Bridge’ for Hooked Rug magazines annual ‘Best Of’ edition in 2016. Mary designs each piece and it takes about six months to a year to complete.

“Often, it is the simple combination of sea, waves, clouds and trees that motivate my work. I never tire of this beautiful area.”— Mary Hays

A community Opening Reception for Mary Hays : Visions Of Acadia will be held on Thursday, July 6 from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Bass Harbor Memorial Library.

 

On Our Walls

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On the walls of the library—throughout the month of June—we will be displaying the naturally organic botanical artwork of local artisan, Becky Keefe.
The ability to use natural elements to color textiles has been known since ancient times, and Becky uses that knowledge of dyes from leaves, seeds, and flowers to create beautiful designs on a variety of fabrics. All are welcome to come in and admire these lovely works by of one of our community’s talented artists.
A Community Reception for this exhibit will be held on Thursday, June 8, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. We hope to see you there.

Early Readers

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Starting this Saturday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to noon, the Bass Harbor Memorial Library presents ‘Saturday Summer Story Hour’ with Ms. Amanda.
Ask your parents for a ride to the library, pull up a bean bag, and let your imagination soar as Ms. Amanda—or maybe even surprise guests—read some of the best Old & New Children’s Books from our collection.
‘Saturday Summer Story Hour’ will continue every Saturday from 11 a.m. – noon throughout the Summer season.

On Our Walls

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Tremont School Student Art Show
On Display for the Month of May
Community Reception on May 18, 5-8 pm

Join us for an exhibition of student artwork from the Tremont School. Art from all grade levels will be on display.

In-person or via Zoom

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Imagine What If…?
Presented by Bass Harbor Memorial Library
Thursday, April 27 at 6 PM
In-person or via Zoom
What if there was still a cannery in Southwest Harbor or Bass Harbor? What if there was a giant tea house and horse center on Eagle Lake? What if we don’t take action on climate change?
The Mount Desert Island Historical Society has been exploring these topics and more, connecting history to the island’s physical and cultural landscape today. Join Raney Bench, Executive Director for the Society, to imagine what life might be like on the island if different decisions were made in the past.
Raney Bench is a resident of Southwest Harbor and has worked as a curator for the Abbe Museum, Executive Director for the Seal Cove Auto Museum, and is the current Executive Director for the Mount Desert Island Historical Society. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Native American History, a Master’s in Museum Studies, and has spent her career working in small museums focused on making local history interesting and relevant.
Register Here.

Art Camp!

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We’re full!

Please email librarian@bassharborlibrary.com if you would like to be added to the waitlist.

July 24 – July 28, 9 am – 12 pm 
Fees: Resident $25, Non-resident $125 
Ages 7-11.

All forms and fees due July 21, 2023 to attend camp. Please drop payment off at the Library at 89 Bernard Rd, Bernard OR send a check to: Bass Harbor Memorial Library/Summer Arts & Nature Camp  PO Box 99 Bernard, ME 04612. 
 

 

Tremont Resilience Listening Session

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The Tremont Resilience Listening Session will take place next Wednesday, March 29th from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Bass Harbor Memorial Library. This will be the first of a series of events designed to collect community input on the creation of a Community Resilience Plan for the town of Tremont. Tremont’s Community Resilience Plan will serve as a roadmap for protecting the community from hazards such as sea level rise and ocean acidification while planning for a vibrant future for the town. The development of the plan is funded through the State of Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership. Community input will fundamentally shape the goals and priorities of the plan and ensure that the strategies included will be effective for Tremont.

This is a great opportunity for residents to voice their goals and concerns for the future of their community. All are welcome, and it is not necessary to stay for the entire event in order to participate. Residents are invited to bring their families and enjoy free food while they share feedback on their vision for a more resilient future for the town.

We hope you’ll join us at this Resilience Listening Session and share this exciting opportunity with friends, families, and neighbors here in Tremont!

Panel Discussion

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Women’s History Month : Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate the voices of these notable women. The women here are changing our world for the better with their storytelling prowess. From them, we can learn many lessons about storytelling.

Come listen and talk to these women from our community that are working to make contributions to society in countless ways, including through the power of storytelling. 

Please join us on Thursday, March 23rd at 6 PM at the Bass Harbor Memorial Library, 89 Bernard Road, Bass Harbor. Our panelists will include:

Sara Trunzo is a songwriter, curator, and community organizer (Veggies For All, Waldo County Bounty) who delivers songs with, what Adobe and Teardrops describe as, “a sense of empathy that few songwriters can attain.” Lonesome Highway says her latest EP, Cabin Fever Dream, is “loaded with truly touching lyrics and provide[s] a glimpse of an unquestionably talented artist.” Her 2019 LP Dirigo Attitude reached #22 on the Folk Alliance International chart and featured Darrell Scott and Mary Gauthier. The lead single “Food and Medicine” reached #3 on the Folk Alliance International chart, won 1st prize at the 2018 Maine Songwriters Association contest, and was a runner-up in the 2023 International Acoustic Music Awards. Sara is the host of ‘Country & Northeastern’ on WERU Community Radio. FMI: www.saratrunzo.com and socials @saratrunzomusic.

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Kristen Britain grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, where she started her first novel – an undersea fantasy featuring herself and her friends – at the age of nine. She published her first book, a cartoon collection called, Horses and Horsepeople, at the age of thirteen. In 1987 she completed a degree in film production, with a minor in writing, at Ithaca College. After graduation, travel beckoned and she began a career as a ranger with the National Park Service, enabling her to work in a variety of natural and historical settings, from 300 feet below the surface of the Earth to 13,000 feet above sea level on the Continental Divide; and from the textile mills of the American Industrial Revolution to the homes of Americans who changed the course of history. Her first published epic fantasy novel, Green Rider, the story of a runaway school girl who finds herself in deep peril when she agrees to bear a message for a dying Green Rider (king’s messenger), was released in 1998.

She lives in the woods of Maine with two cats, and a West Highland White Terrier (who cosplays as a Hillander Terrier).

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Sarah Hinckley is a two-time Islander reporter who grew up in western Maine and first made her way to Mount Desert Island for a summer job 30 years ago. While working as a journalist in Maine and Vermont, she reported on town and capital politics, education policy, and news, as well as everyday happenings like seeping lobsters in THC and Christmas bird counts. Capturing the stories of now and highlighting the characters who make them history is a great responsibility, which Hinckley doesn’t take lightly. Currently, she is working as the director of a nursery school, capturing her own story of raising two small children.

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Weslea Sidon is a poet and musician who lives in Seal Cove, Maine, on Mt. Desert Island, with her husband, cats, and big plans to finish the garden and the kitchen.

Her poems have appeared in several anthologies and literary magazines, including, most recently, Paumonok, Poems and Pictures of Long Island, and Still on the Island, as well as Two With Water, Wolf Moon, and Off the Coast Food Issue: Tounge & Taste. A column, “Permanently From Away,” appeared regularly in Face Magazine for two years, and reviews, mostly music, have appeared in the Mt. Desert Islander, Bar Harbor Times, Off the Coast, and High-Performance Magazine. Her favorite prose work was for the late, lamented Squash.

Weslea teaches guitar privately and has taught poetry and creative writing to children aged 10–16 at the Summer Festival of the Arts since 1989. She was awarded the Martin Dibner Fellowship in Poetry in 2002.

On Our Walls

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Image: “Soundings,” a mixed media collage on paper by Kathie Pratt, Dawn Nuding, and Michele Marks

The Bass Harbor Memorial Library joins with other island libraries to celebrate Women’s History Month, March 2023. This year’s theme, “Women Who Tell Our Stories,” will bring together island artists to honor women storytellers. The exhibition will feature artworks in a range of mediums from watercolor to hooked rugs, knit banners, screenprints, and more. The library will host a reception for the exhibit on Thursday, March 9th from 5-7 PM. The show will be up for the months of March and April, and can be viewed during regular library hours.