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

Raney Bench “Imagine What If…” Thursday November 10 @ 6pm

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Registration is required to attend this event.

In-person attendance is limited to 25 with masks required

To reserve a seat at the library, register HERE

To attend via Zoom, register HERE

 

Imagine What If….
…there was still a cannery in Southwest Harbor or Bass Harbor?
…there was a giant tea house and horse center on Eagle Lake?
…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.

The Library will also display “We Change With Them,” a six-image series by Jennifer Steen Booher, exploring shifting ecosystem dynamics resulting from climate change in the Gulf of Maine. It is part of the Landscape of Change project, MDIHS’ joint initiative with Acadia National Park, Schoodic Institute, the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, College of the Atlantic, and A Climate to Thrive, and was published in Chebacco XXIII: Imagining What If… in spring 2022. The images layer cyanotype, drawings, and data to tell the story of climate-related phenomena on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The project title refers to a sixteenth-century English proverb, “Omnia mutantur nos et mutamur in illis” (All things change and we change with them).

Raney Bench is a resident of Southwest Harbor and has worked as a curator for the Abbe Museum, as 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.

2022 Virtual Travel Series

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March 8, 2022 @ 7pm. Traveling as a Family


Growing up on Mount Desert Island is a wonderful experience thanks to our close-knit communities, fascinating history, and a wide array of outdoor activities that change with the seasons. However, growing up here can also isolate children from the rich and diverse world outside of Maine. John and Raney Bench believe that introducing their two boys, Oakley and Emery, to a wider world of cultures, foods, beliefs, and natural environments is an important part of their development, and the family has been fortunate to travel overseas together several times. Starting with their first family vacation to St. John to see how the kids would tolerate long-distance travel and new experiences, the family adventures have taken them to Central and South America, Qatar, Thailand, and the Philippians. Along the way, they have learned how to be flexible, support one another, and be open to new foods, ideas, and cultures. These experiences are lived and re-lived in their daily lives as they share memories, try to recreate favorite recipes, and plan future trips. Traveling with kids presents certain challenges, but also amazing opportunities for play and exploration. Join the Bench family as they share some of their favorite stories and pictures, and answer questions about traveling as a family.

April 19, 2022 @ 7pm India

Martha Andrews Donovan will be sharing photographs and stories from her experiences during a month-long journey to India in 2019. She spent three weeks touring Rajasthan with ten other travelers, with a focus on the forts, palaces, and stepwells in that region. During the last ten days of her journey, Martha traveled to South India and spent a week in Kodaikanal, a bustling hill town located at 7,000 feet elevation on an eastern spur of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu – where her mother and three aunts attended boarding school. Martha looks forward to providing her audience a glimpse at the beauty and whirl of India. 

Click HERE for more information and to register.

Free Downloadable Comics!

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With Comics Plus, our patrons have unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga from 100+ library-friendly publishers — without worrying about holds, wait lists, or monthly limits. The full collection includes popular, award-winning, and underrated gems for every age range and interest. Sample titles include:  Archie; Attack on Titan; Avatar: The Last Airbender; Awkward; Berserk; Big Nate; Blade of the Immortal; Bone; The Boys; Disney Descendants; Djeliya; Dramacon; Fairy Tail; Gender Queer; Geronimo Stilton; The Incal; Lighter Than My Shadow; Locke & Key; Lone Wolf & Cub; Lumberjanes; Manga Classics; March; Métal Hurlant; Nancy Drew; Peach Girl; Quince; Red Sonja; Sentient; Stranger Things; They Called Us Enemy; and Usagi Yojimbo.

Every title is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for offline reading – so no waiting on holds lists, no wasting data! All you need is a valid library card number from the Bass Harbor Memorial Library.

In addition to reading titles from Comics Plus on a computer, you can also access Comics Plus on smartphones and tablets.

To Get Started as An Existing Bass Harbor Memorial Library Patron:

  1. If you don’t know your library barcode number, obtain it by calling us at 207-244-3798, or emailing us your request here: librarian@bassharborlibrary.com.
  2. Go to https://www.maineinfonet.org/comicsplus/ and follow the directions to set up your account.
  3. Read comics on your desktop computer or laptop, or download the LibraryPass app for use on your mobile device:   LibraryPass for Apple or LibraryPass for Android 

2021 Maine Public Library Fund grant

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The Bass Harbor Memorial Library has been chosen as one of eleven recipients of the 2021 Mane Public Library Fund grant for its MDI Open Art Studio, a collaboration with licensed counselor and certified art therapist Dawn Nuding, LCPC, ATR, and professional artist and educator Kathie Pratt. The $3,585 grant will fund a free, art-based, wellness group/community pilot program for middle school students in the MDI area. The Open Studio concept is an evidence-based art therapy practice facilitating learning and insight through self-directed artistic expression. Research has shown that open art studio groups can build resiliency factors, encourage healthy connection and support freedom of creativity particularly during pivotal developmental stages such as adolescents.
“The COVID19 crisis has greatly limited natural outlets, social connections and community-based support for most students.” says Studio director Dawn Nuding. “As this crisis endures, we are seeing a significant decline in the mental health and wellness of school aged children. The MDI Open Art Studio project was developed as a collaboration between Bass Harbor Memorial Library, community mental health practitioners, and educators all of whom have identified an increased need to support the emotional, social and mental wellbeing of children during this unprecedented time. “

The free Open Art Studio sessions last 8 weeks, and meet for 1.5 hours at a time, via Google Meet. The group of 15 participants works alongside trained facilitators making art freely, based on a self-reflective/wellness-based prompt given at the start of each session. Participants are encouraged to request the support of the group when problem solving individual projects and have the opportunity to reflect on what they have made at the end of each session. Participants receive an art kit filled with quality materials to inspire artmaking both in group and beyond.

The Maine Public Library Fund allows Maine citizens to support public library services through a voluntary check-off on Maine income tax form Schedule CP. Since the program launched in 2013, small donations from thousands of people have helped purchase new reading materials and support innovative programs at a time when many libraries have faced tight book budgets.

Women’s History Month 2021 Gallery

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Lindsay Hopkins-Weld

Cold Spring
12″x12″  oil on birch panel
$900

“I find solace in nature and due to Covid, I have been spending more time walking and looking.  I have a BFA from the Museum School in Boston, MA. I am a seasonal resident on MDI and live in Scarborough, ME. ” www.lhweld.com

Linda Rowell-Kelley

Kelley Community Garden
16×16 oil on panel
$260

“Island quarantine meant using the resources available and MDI provided beautiful, luscious places to plein air paint. The community garden was ever changing and offered a bounty of shape and color. A local island artist, working in oil, watercolor and mixed medium. My home base and studio is in Hulls Cove and I am fortunate to be able to safely explore the island for inspiration.” Linda Rowell-Kelley Art on Facebook

Elizabeth Keenan

Loose Leaf Lips
14″X 18″ (framed) Watercolor
NFS

“I’ve been painting A LOT during the pandemic. It is helping me to pass the time. I live in Bass Harbor and have been teaching Drawing, Painting, and Ceramics at MDI high School for over 20 years.”

Vicky Smith

Peggy’s Cows
12″ x 14″ Oil Painting
$175

Outdoor activities are the best way to stay safe . Our Plein Air Group has been a gift. Painting and socializing!

I have come to painting in the second half of my life. Grateful for the inspiration and support of the painting women in PAPA, Plein Air Painting Artists.

Beverly Bono

Winter on Babson Creek
9” x 11” (framed) watercolor
$50

Plein air painting (in the open air) with friends ( masked and socially distant) has made this year bearable. Cold weather made it prohibitive to paint outside in oils so I started painting with watercolors on site, but in my warm car. This painting is one of my 1st “in car” paintings.
Although I’ve been painting all my life, about 10 years ago I began painting “en plein air”. Living in Bar Harbor, near Acadia National Park provides boundless stimulation for my oil paintings. I’m on a wonderfully endless journey trying to capture the beautiful scenery of this island! 

Jean Forbes

Sorrento Dinghies
10.25″ x 12.25″ matted and framed watercolor
$200

“The recent life changing circumstances have given me more focus to fine tune my craft. Sorrento Dinghies is the 2nd in a series of three paintings done to obtain desired harmony in the 3rd (larger) watercolor painting.”

Jean E. Forbes is a Fine Artist with over 50 years painting experience. She retired from teaching art in South Kingstown RI public schools in 2012. Jean lives with her husband Mike in Manset where they make their year round home. www.jeanforbesart.com

Sydney Roberts

Church Chair Woman
46” x 15” x 18”  multimedia
$250

“Although I submitted it last year, it was welcomed this year because it wasn’t “seen” by other than library staff.”

A NEH summer kid from Philadelphia from age 3 weeks, (year-round for 20 + years), graduate of Philadelphia College of Art (Now U Arts) ’66: painting/sculpture/graphics.

Kathie Pratt and Christine Parrish

Sweet Liberty
40″ x 25″  acrylic on foam core
NFS

“This sign is a collaboration by lifelong friends with a desire for social action.  Christine created the concept and Kathie executed it.  The goal was a sign that would be impactful, visible from near and far, and functional.  Christine carried it at the Black Lives Matter March in Augusta last summer.”

Kathie Pratt happily lives and works in Tremont. Art is her favorite thing. Christine Parrish is a writer, journalist, and natural resource conservation specialist who lives in Lincolnville.  Her connection to the island began as a teenager, when she and Kathie departed from their family homes to live a rustic lifestyle on the back side.  Decades later, she stays connected by hiking the hills of Acadia.


Health Quest Challenge

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The Bass Harbor Memorial Library is pleased to continue their collaboration with Healthy Acadia in 2021 by promoting a healthy and wellness through their Health Quest Challenge. This  free public health challenge runs through April 15, 2021 and aims to increase awareness and use of the National Library of Medicine’s free public health resources, which include: up-to-date information about wellness issues, diseases, conditions, peer-reviewed medical research articles, toxic substances and household product databases, clinical trials, and much more. Participants’ will be entered into weekly raffles with the chance to win prizes.

To join the challenge go to: www.healthyacadia.org/hpm-hq

Women’s History Month Art Show-March 2021

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From March 6 through April 30, 2021, the Library will celebrate Women’s History Month with an art show featuring works from artists with a connection to Mount Desert Island. 10 artists will explore the theme of “Life Upended: Unexpected Inspiration.”

The show will also be displayed online for all to peruse HERE

Artists include: Sydney Roberts, Vicky Smith, Elizabeth Keenan, Debra Spressart, Jean Forbes, Linda Rowell-Kelley, Lindsay Hopkins-Weld, Kathie Pratt and Beverly Bono.

 

Hours and Building Procedure

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March 15, 2022 The library is fully open during scheduled hours, without patron number limits. Masks are optional but required in the children’s area when others are present. All of our services are available, from browsing newspapers, books, and magazines, to computer use and interlibrary loan. In-person programming and meetings are now welcome inside the library.

Please be respectful of staff and patron’s decisions around masking and distancing.

The Library at 89 Bernard Rd in Bernard is open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday from 10-5, Thursday from 10-8, and Saturday from 10-2.

We have a wonderful new space and are very excited to welcome you back! Please don’t hesitate to email or call me with any questions at 207-244-3798.

Lisa Murray, Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Book Giveaway

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Come to Bernard for free books! We have handpicked literary treats from picture books to YA novels, for all who stop in at the Library during our open hours, Oct 21-31, 2020. Parents welcome too! Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11-4, and Saturday 10-2