Thompson Free Library addition serves community

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Cassie Chambers, Cadin Chambers and Diana Voter, all of Dover-Foxcroft, were enthralled Thursday with the story of “Fire Trucks.”

Perched on a hassock in the bright, sunny community room of the Thompson Free Library, the three listened intently as Wendy Voter, Diana’s mother, read from the thin book.

At a table at the far end of the large room, several young mothers chatted while their children made crafts, looking far more comfortable than when the library was so cramped that even the former tiny lobby was cluttered.

After much work by supporters and employees, the library has settled into its newest addition and the public has embraced its use.

“We’re really happy with the expansion because it gives us the space to meet the needs of the community and programming,” Helen Fogler, head librarian, said Thursday.

Started a year ago April and completed in October, the addition and renovation of the basement cost an estimated $840,000, much of it raised from foundations including the Tabitha and Stephen King Foundation, grants, and $300,000 bond the town took out for the project.

Local officials are sure the addition and the expanded use of the library would have met the satisfaction of the late Dr. Elbridge A. Thompson, who had the building constructed in memory of his wife, Lucia Eddy Thompson. He donated the building to the former town of Dover in 1898.

The library, which has seen continued growth over the years, has become a gathering spot for youngsters, students, young mothers, and senior citizens from throughout Piscataquis County.

“It’s not just about books anymore,” Fogler said.

For the children’s summer program, the library will offer tours of a firetruck on June 14 and of an ambulance on June 21; will sponsor a program called the “Edible Pyramid” on July 11, 18, 25 and Aug. 1; will hold story hours at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays and at 4 p.m. Tuesdays, July 10 through Aug. 14; will offer a performance by the Chewonki Foundation on “Owls of Maine” on July 13, and the Milkweed Puppet Theater on July 25.

Art history lessons will be offered for children ages 8 and up every Tuesday and Thursday, July 10 through Aug. 16, and local resident Tom Lyford will offer poetry and storytelling on June 20 and July 19.

The Thompson Free Library is working very hard to meet the expanded needs of the community, which includes a meeting place for young mothers, a place for students to supplement their learning at school and use of the Internet, and for continued education.

It is the latter that draws Jill and Doug Carter of Charleston, who take advantage of the library’s wireless network for their laptops to work on college assignments three or four times a week.

“It’s comfortable,” Jill Carter said of the library’s addition. She added that the facility also has a “pretty good [book] selection.”

For information about programs offered at the library call 564-3350.