What's New at BML

We Have a New Phone Number

Our new phone number is 207-222-1190. The old number will still work for a while.

Friends of Baxter Memorial Library Writing Contests

It's that time again! Please have your entries for the 2012 Friends of Baxter Memorial Library Writing Contests turned in no later than 1:00pm on Saturday, March 10, 2012. Though similar, each contest has it's own rules and requirements for entry. These include specific age, format, and submission requirements. Please read them carefully to ensure that your submission is accepted. Official rules are available at the following links:

Adult Writing Contest Rules
High School Writing Contest Rules
Middle School Writing Contest Rules
Elementary School Writing Contest Rules

Good Luck!!!

We're on Twitter, too

First Facebook, then an RSS feed, now Twitter! There's a veritable rainbow of buttons to the right of this screen! Follow us wherever you like; preferably all three to make sure you don't miss a thing. Our Twitter account will be used primarily for announcing upcoming events, emergency closings, and various other goings on. We promise not to tell you what we ate for breakfast.

Welcome, Kindle users!

It's official! Kindle users may now join all the other e-book reading patrons who enjoy our digital collection through the Maine InfoNet Download library. Just click the Download Library tab above and start reading today!

Also, don't forget that the library offers free, personal, 30-minute tutorials on how to use all this wonderful new technology. If you'd like to sign up for one, please call James at 222-1190 or email jrathbun@msln.net to reserve your time today!.

We have an RSS feed

Join us in our ongoing efforts to fully enter the 21st century by subscribing to our RSS feed! To follow the feed, simply click the orange button in the address bar on your browser (this may appear elsewhere, or not at all, depending on your browser settings) or the one on the right of this screen.

For the moment, the feed will contain our monthly newsletters and allow us to transition further into paperless delivery of this publication. We're bound to add more content in the not too distant future, so you may want to subscribe now to be sure you don't miss out on anything later.

Audiobooks, E-books and You

Not entirely comfortable with downloadable audio or e-books? Can't quite get you computer and your e-reader or audio device to play nice? We're here to help!

Beginning Monday, August 1st, and continuing until interest wanes, Public Services Librarian James Rathbun will be taking appointments for 30 minute individual information sessions to teach you how to set everything up. Bring your laptop, your e-reader and/or audio device, the appropriate connecting cables and your enthusiasm. He'll show you how to make them work together.

If you don't have a laptop to bring along, he can still help answer your questions but in a more limited fashion. In order to ensure you get the attention you deserve, advance registration is required. Please call James at 222-1190 or email jrathbun@msln.net to reserve your time today!

January-May 2012 Book Discussions

Did you know we have a book discussion group at Baxter Library? Why not join us next year. There's no obligation to attend every session so don't worry if you need to miss a week or two. The group meets roughly every other Thursday at 10:00am. A schedule of upcoming sessions follows and is also posted on our calendar:

January 5
The Expected One
by Kathleen McGowan

January 19
In the Garden of Beasts
by EriK Larson

February 2
Ethan Allen: His Life and Times
by Willard Sterne Randall

February 16
Don't Sing at the Table
by Adriana Trigiani

March 1
Charles Dickens: A Life
by Claire Tomalin

March 15
The Tiger's Wife
by Téa Obreht

March 29
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë

April 12
Betrayal of Trust
by Susan Hill

April 26
The Eyre Affair
by Jasper Fforde

May 10
Summer Friends
by Holly Chamberlin

Streaming Digital Video Through Our Site

We've added something new and exciting to our website! There is now a tab for Television. By visiting this section of our site you will gain access to a variety of pre-selected shows. The content is provided by Hulu.

Simply choose the show you wish to watch from the dropdown menu and click "Go." From the show's page you can select a particular episode and click "Play." A separate window will open on top of our website and your content will begin streaming. You may have to sit through an ad or two but you'll also be able to view content as wide-ranging as the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Fullmetal Alchemist, or an NFL game of the week, all from the comfort of your computer -- wherever that may be.

More content will be added soon; maybe even movies. For now, we're offering a wide selection of anime, classic cartoons, adult/classic television, and sports. Enjoy!

View Our Newsletter Online

Our newsletter is now available in PDF format online! View current and past issues here:

January 2012
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011

Maine Legal Help Resource

Visit www.helpmelaw.org to find people who may be able to help you with a specific legal problem, information about the laws that affect you, a library of legal resources, contact information for low-cost legal help, and many other valuable legal resources.

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Pass

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay (www.mainegardens.org) is the latest organization to participate in our free pass program. Two passes (good for one person each and valued at $10) are available for a three day loan period. This pass works a bit differently than our other passes in that the organization does not accept photocopies so the two physical passes we have are all that's available. They must be returned promptly so that others may enjoy them.

We are happy to take reservations for these passes as they become available but reservations may not be made more than 24 hours in advance. For more information, please call 222-1190.

Picturing America

Picturing America is the newest initiative of the We the People program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Launched in 2002, We the People seeks to strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of America’s history and founding principles by bringing some of our nation’s most significant images into classrooms (and libraries) nationwide.

This program offers a way to understand the history of America — its diverse people and places, its travails and triumphs — through some of our greatest artistic masterpieces. Baxter Memorial Library has been provided with a wide variety of prints, two of which are now framed and hanging near the Maine Collection upstairs. We will periodically change this display.

Many thanks go to the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library for providing the picture frames.

The Grocery Cart at BML

The Gorham Ecumenical Food Pantry was formed in 1996 when Gorham area churches banded together to provide assistance to the community. The grocery cart that sits in the lobby of Baxter Memorial Library is also part of that cause and donations of non-perishable items are welcome.

Downloadable Audio Books Now Available

Baxter Memorial Library is pleased to offer downloadable audio books and e-books through the Maine InfoNet Download Library! Simply click the image above to visit http://download.maineinfonet.org and get started today.

A PDF version of the instructional brochure is available by clicking here and the official FAQ is located at http://download.maineinfonet.org/help.htm.

This service is made possible by the generous sponsorship of the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library.

Maine Answers Tough Times

Whether it is called a recession or a depression, all of us are now facing an economic downturn that can be simply described as tough times. How we respond and what we need to make it through these tough times will differ from person to person; family to family.

With that in mind, the Maine State Library has created a list of links and resources to help us all get through these hard times; whatever form they may take. For more information, please visit Maine Answers Tough Times.

What is Your Library Worth?

Have you ever stopped to consider the dollar value of the services you enjoy at Baxter? We did. Based on our last fiscal year's circulation figures entered into the Library Use Value Calculator, Baxter Memorial Library delivered $2,862,908 in services to our patrons on a budget of $442,645. Which is to say that for every $1.00 in funding the library received it returned nearly $6.50 in value.

Why not try out the Library Use Value Calculator yourself. It will help you put a price on the materials, programs, passes and functions of the library that you use most. You may be surprised just how much that little library card is really worth!

Portland Public Library Cards

Did you know that all residents of Cumberland and York counties are eligible for a free Portland Public Library card and, with the 14-digit number it provides, access to their amazing online resources? It's true. Many of the most valuable resources Portland Public Library has to offer can be accessed for free without ever leaving your home. All you need is a library card.

With that in mind, you will now be able to obtain a free Portland Public Library card at the circulation desk here at Baxter Memorial Library.

Highlights of what PPL has to offer include:

- Genealogy information from HeritageQuest and Ancestry Plus
- Learn-a-Language audiobooks from the Pimsleur Language series
- Thousands of audiobooks you can download to your MP3 player
- Auto Repair manuals
- Learn-a-Test programs you can use from home
- Business Research from Mergent and other references
- Kids' e-books from Tumblebooks Library

For more information, please ask the helpful staff at the front desk or call 222-1190.

Literary Map of Maine

The Portland Press Herald / Sunday Telegram has posted their Literary Map of Maine online. It can be viewed by clicking here.

We have a mailing list!

Curious about Library closings and other special bulletins? Wondering what our Friends group is up to? Want to stay fully abreast of all that we offer in upcoming programs and events but not interested in checking our online calendar of events? Why not subscribe to our mailing list? We'll send all the news you need to know directly to your email!

The Baxter Memorial Library and the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library have just added a free, subscription-based email service for news and other announcements. Simply follow this link: BML Email Subscription. It will take you to the Town of Gorham's website, where you can subscribe (or unsubscribe) to any of a number of lists the Town offers, including ours!

Recent Acquisitions

New Adult Fiction

New Non-Fiction

New DVDs

New Books on CD

New YA Fiction

Movies

View a complete list of our DVD Holdings

View a complete list of our VHS Holdings