Celebrating 125 Years!

CELEBRATING 125 YEARS AT THE BELFAST FREE LIBRARY

This year, the Belfast Free Library will celebrate 125 years of enlightening and inspiring the people of Belfast and the surrounding area.

In the 1880s, two Belfast residents (Paul Hazeltine and Nathanial Wilson) left bequests to the City of Belfast to establish a city library and for educational endeavors.  Those bequests were combined, and the Belfast Free Library was established by the Maine State Legislature on February 3, 1887.

In 1932, a grand reading room (the Gammans Room) was added on to the original building.  In 2000, a major and transforming expansion of the library was finished.  In 2008, a restoration project on the older section of the library was completed. 

When the library first opened, its book collection was housed in book stacks that were closed to the public.  Now, not only are the book stacks open, but people can even check out eBooks and digital audiobooks directly from their own homes by using computers.  The library has changed immensely in the past 125 years, and it will continue adapting as the world keeps changing. 

In honor of 125 years of library service, a slate of special events sponsored by the library’s Trustees, Friends group, and staff has been arranged for the coming year.

Following is a preliminary schedule of events (all free of charge and at the library)—

 March 4 (Sunday) at 3 p.m.: Kraftig Quartet (3 strings and piano)

 March 12 (Monday) 4-6pm: Justin Hoenke, teen librarian from Portland Public Library will present a program for teens and interested adults on “Technology and the Library.

April 26th (Thursday) 7pm: Readers Theater, "The American Clock" by Arthur Miller. Presented by Senior College Winterim Class, directed by Charlotte Herbold and Juliet Baker.

 May 19 (Saturday) at 7 p.m.: Colby Winds Concert. Colby Winds members are  Nicole Rabata, flute; Michael Albert, oboe and Eric Thomas, clarinet.  All three are faculty at Colby College; the trio has appeared throughout the USA and abroad. The program will include works by Holst, Goodman, Lorenzo and Kummer.

June 26th ( Tuesday) at 6:30 pm: Interactive Mystery Game with mystery Writer Dorothy Cannell.

June 27th (Wednesday) at 6:30 pm: Author/Illustrator Chris Van Dusen will talk about his work. His work will also be on display in the Kramer Gallery for the month of June.

 July 15 (Sunday) at 7 p.m.: Trium (trio of sopranos)

 July 16 (Monday) at 6:30 p.m.: From Closed Stacks to eBooks and Beyond, a discussion on the current state and future of libraries with Maine State Librarian Linda Lord; Director of Colby College Libraries, Clement Guthro; and Director of Maine InfoNet, James Jackson Sanborn.

July 27th (Friday) at 5:30pm- Tango in concert on the plaza.

August 1st (Wednesday) at 6:30pm-The Gawler Family in concert in the Abbott Room.

August 8th (Wednesday) at 6:30 pm - Readers Theater performance of the Williamson Letters.

August 15th (Wednesday) at 6:30pm- Jackson Gilman performs "The Magic of Rudyard Kipling: Just So".