Industrial Arts...

Mon, 10/03/2016 - 15:33

Eva Murray

‘Volunteers inspect, make decisions about and shelve donated books when they find some spare time. Borrowed books are expected back, but are lent without a stated due date.’ (Photos by Eva Murray)

There is a simple notebook for signing out books on the honor system.

A collection of series books by Maine author Paul Doiron.

Moving the shed.

Clean, new, empty library shelves sit ready for books at the new Matinicus Island Community Library.

Novels by Elisabeth Ogilvie.

There is a simple notebook for signing out books on the honor system.

A collection of series books by Maine author Paul Doiron.

Moving the shed.

Clean, new, empty library shelves sit ready for books at the new Matinicus Island Community Library.

Novels by Elisabeth Ogilvie.

As the treasurer of the Association, I just paid the power bill for the Matinicus Island Library. That felt pretty good.

This past summer, residents and visitors to Matinicus Island have enjoyed the use of a tiny community library. People call it "the Internet shack" or "the book shed" or "the wireless building" and, of course, "the library." When I hear that, I think of great stone lions on either side of the front step, and long marble rooms where every footstep resonates a bit too loudly, and stern old women with eyeglasses dangling from metal chains.

Instead, as you step inside the renovated 8-foot by 20-foot utility shed that is the Matinicus Island Library, you breathe in the sweet scent of recently-sawn lumber. The tiny space is bright and welcoming, colorful with shelves filled with books; a few games and jigsaw puzzles sit on a back shelf, and there is a simple notebook for signing out books on the honor system. Likely you'll pass somebody sitting at the picnic table outdoors, contentedly busy with their tablet or smart phone. Nobody says "shush!"

The community on Matinicus Island has had no "Internet hotspot" before. We currently have no store, and we have no ferry terminal, no restaurant, no public gathering place of any kind where a short-term visitor or a worker can get online and check messages. Cell phone service varies from unreliable to nonexistent on the island, so wireless access has proven valuable and is appreciated. Some might be tempted to remark, "Hmph! Why does somebody vacationing on a remote island need email?" Remember that not everybody who journeys here is on vacation, and that not everybody on vacation seeks a completely "off-grid" experience. This past summer we made a lot of people very happy by offering free Internet at the new island library.

The whole idea sort of evolved over time; please note that our library was not proposed or given to us by any outside philanthropic or commercial entity! Our 13-year-old recycling and solid waste operation had become, over the years, home to a random heap of books originating with a few cast-offs a bit too good for the dump. One of the recycling sheds had grown so full of books that we scarcely had room for the rum bottles and the busted television sets. A volunteer installed more and more shelving over the years, and the "book wall" in the recycling shed began to require maintenance, a sort of librarian's touch. People began to look forward to examining the haphazard collection, and selecting a new murder mystery, as they dropped off their recycling on Saturday morning. It was clear that a group of regular readers lived on Matinicus; why shouldn't we have a little library?

Early in 2015, at a meeting of the Regional School Union 65 Matinicus School Board, the suggestion of starting a library came up again when our one-room school was about to lose its Internet connection. Perhaps we needed to take steps to say to the rest of the world — and to ourselves — that this town, though admittedly smaller than it used to be, is not about to shrink completely from sight. The formation of this new community institution affirms — like the trash program did, and like the new playground did, and like the improvements to the airstrip did — that "we are still here."

We looked up some boilerplate language and formed the Library Association, applied for our State of Maine charitable status, opened a checking account and processed the application for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The $400 fee required for the I.R.S. application came out of "bottle-back money" from the recycling program. We sent out a couple dozen letters describing the project and asking for some start-up contributions for the shed's renovation, and we delivered a load of pine boards to the island in the recycling truck. An island carpenter worked over the winter insulating and building the library's interior, a pleasant space, lined with bookcases.

Big thanks from all of us are due to those whose donations of skill, work, machine time, materials and effort got things started. Special thanks to Judy and David for the shed itself, to Dan for moving the little building to its present location with his backhoe, to Robert for his work with chainsaw and chipper, to Maury for maintenance and site work, to the Matinicus Congregational Church Trustees for permission to use the space, to John for bush-hogging and site work, to Kristy and Laurie for hours spent organizing the collection, to Robin for the fax machine and the picnic table, to George for carpentry, to Paul for site work and wiring, and to Dave for doing a special kind of "heavy lifting" in support of this project that many of us would find more difficult than any physical labor.

Somehow this project got rolling without any sort of official start or ribbon-cutting or opening day. We had hoped to enjoy a grand opening event: perhaps a party, maybe a cookout beside the library, or a celebration at a local artist's studio or at the school or somewhere else. We were all just too busy this summer to organize anything! The library's grand opening celebration may have to be the "First Birthday" celebration next summer instead. Without fanfare or a special date on a calendar, the Matinicus library just gradually went into use.

Inside the building there is a framed photograph hanging in a place of honor. June Kantz Pemberton, a former island teacher and lobster fisherman who passed away in 2012, had expressed a desire to see a small library of some kind on Matinicus. There is another place of honor on the library wall, a spot waiting for a photo we hope to put up soon: "story time" with this island's youngest residents, including preschoolers Leah, Eli and DJ; children of young Matinicus lobstermen.

We aren't ready yet to be a completely "official" library, recognized by the Maine State Library system, as we have no bathroom — and yes, that is a requirement! More importantly, we have no proper catalog where we know exactly what's on the shelf on any given day, so as to participate in interlibrary loan. There is no regular staff and no computerized check-out. Volunteers inspect, make decisions about, and shelve donated books when they find some spare time. Borrowed books are expected back, but are lent without a stated due date. As of now, we pay for our Internet like any other subscriber, and are not yet eligible to be part of the Maine School and Library Network. We are open year-round, and library hours are pretty generous: the door remains unlocked unless there's a short-term reason to lock it (—what might that be? Perhaps a hurricane?) So far, by the looks of the last electricity bill, nobody has been leaving the lights on.

The Matinicus Island Library Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. People often ask if we need books, and that's a tricky question. To be frank, we do not have much physical space, and cannot handle large donations of books (also, getting freight to Matinicus can be expensive). To those who wish to donate books, we suggest choosing a couple of favorites, new or nearly-new volumes that you might recommend to a friend. New children's books are welcome, and we have lots of interest in mystery, fantasy, young adult, Maine authors and topics, and recently-published works of fiction and nonfiction. Tax-deductible financial contributions are welcome to assist with utility bills, maintenance and development including the solar panel/photovoltaic system we plan to install. The library has a Facebook page. Our mailing address is: Matinicus Island Library Association, 74 South Road, Matinicus, ME 04851.

Eva Murray lives on Matinicus

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