McArthur Library in Biddeford

Posted by Susan Gajewski 
on Nov 18, 2015
 
Our presentation today is from the McArthur Library in Biddeford. CJ introduced Melanie Coombs who is the head of Adult Services at the library. Melanie introduced Jeff and Deanna who will be speaking before her.
  1. Jeff Cabral is the Library Director. He said that McArthur Library is a private non-profit library that relies on private donations, city funding and endowments to operate. They currently have 13 people on their board and they rely heavily on the advocacy of the board and community. The Adult Services department offers many programs, public access computers and wireless internet. There are many challenges with the older building including sound and wiring. They are adding acoustic tiles. He thanked the Rotary for our donation in 1995 for the addition.
  2. Deanna Gouzie is the Children’s Library Director. They offer programs for kids up to the 5th or 6th grade. Some of their programs include:
  3. Story time
  4. Summer reading programs
  5. Book groups
  6. Free summer lunches
  7. Early literacy skills
  8. Kids read & write
  9. Melanie Coombs said the library answers a lot of reference questions about buildings and places in Biddeford. They have over 6000 old photos saved digitally. She thanked Renee DesRoberts for being their professional archivist. The library offers many free services including:
  10. Free Consumer Report access
  11. Free genealogy and family history at www.ancestry.com
  12. Staff reading recommendation services
  13. Pet training instructions
  14. Music
  15. Printing boarding passes
  16. How to start a business
Melanie also writes an article for the Biddeford Saco Courier every week.