GUILFORD – Several local libraries hope to have their readers on the same page as they participate in a communitywide reading program.

Linda Packard, librarian at Piscataquis Community High School and Guilford Memorial Library, applied for and received a $2,000 grant from the Piscataquis County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation to offer Penquis Reads 2005.

The program will allow local libraries to purchase multiple sets of “Arundel” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kenneth Roberts to be read and then discussed in group sessions throughout the region.

Those participating besides the two libraries in Guilford are the Monson Public Library, Sangerville Public Library, Abbot Memorial Library in Dexter, Dexter Regional High School Library, Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft and Shaw Public Library in Greenville.

Packard said she was pleased that the effort, patterned after a successful program in Bangor, was funded. “It shows that the Piscataquis County Fund has faith in the area libraries to carry this off,” she said Tuesday.

“Arundel” was selected for the program because it is set in Maine during the Revolutionary War and the book offers a wealth of content for both lively discussion and thoughtful programming, Packard said.

The books are now available at each of the participating libraries. Each library has a stipend for programming and outside speakers. Bookmarks, stickers and posters also will be printed using the book cover art by N.C. Wyeth as a background, according to Packard.

Patrons will be able to pick and choose which programs and discussions they want to attend at various libraries. All patrons will be welcome at any library. There will be a master calendar available in paper form and at www.guilfordlibrary.net.

As part of the program, the Advanced Placement English teacher at PCHS has added the reading of “Arundel” as a class requirement. The students will plan the programming at Guilford and Guilford public libraries.

“The whole idea of a shared book will come together as folks see their neighbors at the grocery store or post office with a lapel sticker that identifies them as a participant in Penquis Reads 2005,” Packard said. Discussions about the book also can take place on an informal basis as folks go about their daily errands and continue later at a planned event.

Already scheduled for the program are a re-enactment by Fort Western, Augusta, and a presentation by Stephen Clark, author and expert on the Arnold Trail through Maine to Quebec, Packard said.

More information is available by calling any of the libraries participating in the program.