On any given day, you can find Mary Cheney Gould of Brooksville glued to a computer at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library in Blue Hill, her fingers tapping the keys with the same dedication that she shows when she tickles the ivories.

Though still an active musician, Gould, 79, now spends much of her time at the lending library, which she helped found 20 years ago, as a full-time volunteer and the library’s music director.

Her eyes light up with enthusiasm as she boasts of the library’s collection of more than 150,000 pieces of music, which it lends to musicians all over the world. It includes popular songs, folk songs and a collection of Maine-related sheet music, as well as classical pieces of all kinds for voice and for instruments, all of it donated by collectors from Maine and elsewhere.

“Most of our collection is music that has been long out-of-print and not likely to be printed again,” Gould said. “In many cases, we’re saving it from the dump and giving it new life.”

Gould, who works with a group of volunteers, many of whom also are over 70, is familiar with the music and often knows the stories that accompany different pieces. As music director, she has been in charge of sorting, cataloging and storing the individual pieces so they can be used easily.

“We created a shelving system that would work for musicians rather than the librarians,” she said.

That process, over the years, has forced her to learn how to use a computer as the collection has been electronically cataloged and now can be viewed on the library’s Web site.

“How else would I have learned to work on a computer?” she said. “It’s been a wonderful learning experience. I really am challenged by what happens here.”

It’s that challenge that keeps her coming back to the library each day.

“I need the library more than it needs me,” she said.

Gould plans on continuing to meet that challenge as she works with the library’s staff to develop plans to expand the library building, which is an old barn.

“I want to live long enough and be around here long enough to see that through,” she said. “I couldn’t die and go off and not know what happens here.”

Gould came to Maine 30 years ago with plenty of experience as an organist and choral director in Virginia and Ohio.

“Moving to Maine was the best decision I ever made,” she said. “It seemed like everything I had done prior to that was preparation for what I’ve been asked to do since I moved to Maine.”

Within six months of arriving in Brooksville, she started meeting people who wanted to sing. That led to the creation of the Bagaduce Chorale, for which Gould served as the director until last year. She still serves as the group’s accompanist and also conducts a portion of the annual pops concert.

It was the need to find a home for the chorale’s growing music collection that led to the creation of the lending library.

Gould still plays piano and organ, mostly with friends, and she plays croquet – but this is not your grandmother’s croquet.

“This is chess on turf, or like billiards,” she said, surprised to be “charged up” about a sport at her stage of life. “You have to think about the strategy and then make the shot. It makes your head work and it keeps your feet moving. What more do we need at this point?”

The Bangor Daily News is profiling people age 70 and older who choose to remain in the work force. We welcome suggestions for people to profile. Contact us at 990-8138 or e-mail bdnnews@bangordailynews.net.