A Place on Water cover

“I feel that it was a positive experience, promoting community relations and literacy!”– Judy Larson, Director,
Winslow Public Library

Kennebec Valley Community READ

Kennebec Valley Community READ

Five community libraries, Belgrade, Fairfield, Oakland, Waterville, and Winslow joined together to promote literacy and unity among these neighboring communities.
2005: A Place on Water by Maine authors Robert Kimber, Wesley McNair, and Bill Roorbach
Synopsis Three Maine writers share their experiences, friendship, and insights into life on a small pond in Central Maine in this book of essays.
Partners Belgrade Public Library, Lawrence Public Library, Fairfield, Oakland Public Library, Waterville Public Library and Winslow Public Library
Activities
  • “Meet the Authors!” night (Belgrade Public Library)
  • “The History of the Bamboo Fly Rod in Maine,” presented by Kathy Scott and David Van Burgel (Lawrence Public Library)
  • “The Beaver & His Pond Friends” by LC Bates Museum (Oakland Public Library)
  • “Lake Smart: Learn about the state-wide initiative to keep our lake waters clean” presented by the Maine Department of EPS (Waterville Public Library)
  • “The Kennebec-Messalonskee Trails: Our Place on Water,” presented by Peter Garrett (Winslow Public Library)
  • Each library held a discussion of the selected book.
Materials/ Promotions Flyers, calendars, bookmarks, stickers of logo on books, posters, and local TV coverage
Book Distribution 300 books were ordered, though in retrospect we could have used more! Each partnering library received 60 copies to give away, and other sites around the towns were also given books to distribute. We also sold books at the event with the authors.
Attendance We had a very good turnout for the meet-the-author night; the other events were attended by a smaller number of people.
Community Impact These five communities came together to read and discuss this book. It put books into the homes of many people in the community and promoted literacy. The best part was that the book was written about a lake in our own area, and was by Maine writers.
Budget/ Funding The READ was completely funded through contributions that totaled about $4,000.
Funders This effort was generously funded by Bangor Savings Bank, the Friends of Belgrade Public Library, Kenneth and Shirley Eskelund, Gardiner Savings Institution – Charitable Foundation, Lake and Country Real Estate, Friends of the Lawrence Public Library, Oakland Make A Wish, Sappi, Taconnet Federal Credit Union, Waterville Public Library, Winslow Public Library Trustees’ Gift Account, and the Winslow Community Federal Credit Union.
Challenges We found at first the challenge was to raise the money. We also had difficulty deciding how many books to order, and found we could have bought more books to give out. Other challenges included planning activities that we thought would attract people, generating publicity, and generally encouraging people to attend the activities.

For More Information
Contact
Judy Larson
Director, Winslow Public Library
207-872-1978
jlarson@winslow.lib.me.us