Elementary schoolchildren in Bowdoinham will form a book brigade to help the Bowdoinham Public Library set up its new used bookstore, Merryreading Books from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The children will be passing donated books from their current storage location at the FHC Building on Bowdoinham’s waterfront, up Main Street to the new location at Merrymeeting Hall. The owners of Merrymeeting Hall, the Bowdoinham Historical Society, have offered a newly renovated space on the ground floor for the new store.
“Having a retail space to display and sell our donated books will provide a big boost to our fundraising efforts,” said Kate Cutko, Bowdoinham’s library director. “We have always raised a significant portion of our budget through our own fundraising efforts, and the new Merryreading Books will give us an ongoing source of funds.”
The store is expected to open in November.
Like many small, rural libraries in Maine, the Bowdoinham Public Library is much bigger than its physical location where all the books are displayed on shelves. It takes an active role in the community through children’s story hours, Story Walks on local trails, lectures on topics such as community solar power and antisemitism, topical displays of books around such topics as Native American history, and free book offerings during the Farmer’s Market in the summer. Other fundraising activities include an annual plant sale, craft sales of items made from books, a wreath making workshop, and many previous book sales.
This month’s event will be a re-enactment of a 1984 children’s book brigade, which moved 900 books from the library’s Main Street location to its current home in the Coombs Municipal Building. Many current residents recall participating in this event when they were school children.
“We are very grateful to all our friends who have donated books for our book sales and to the Bowdoinham Historical Society for providing our new space,” said Cutko.
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