Messages from the Director

On behalf of the Board, staff, and volunteers, I thank you for your outpouring of support for the Library Expansion and our effort to put a bond question on the ballot in November. Your heartfelt messages to the Town Council are important to the effort and we thank you for stepping up to the plate. The Council will have a Public Hearing and final vote on September 7, 7:00PM, to authorize the bond to be posted on the November ballot. Your comments continue to be important.

It is a great pleasure to be out in the community, sharing our plans for the Library Expansion. We have been showing the preliminary floor plans and elevations at the Farmers' Market, the polls, and soon at the Summer Concerts in the Park. I hope you’ll stop by our display when you come to enjoy the Thursday concerts beginning June 30.

Our Annual Fund appeal continues through June 30, and we hope you will consider adding your gift to this essential support of our operations.

We are pleased to announce a matching gift opportunity offered by Piper Shores.  They have increased their annual support and have committed to match $2,000 in gifts received this month to help us meet our goal of $52,000. We have $7,500 remaining to reach our target. Every gift is important, and every gift makes an impact.

Although primarily supported by Scarborough’s municipal budget, the Scarborough Public Library is not a town department. Like many libraries in the Northeast, especially New England, our Library was founded in 1899 as a non-profit corporation. In today’s IRS parlance it is registered as a 501(c)(3) organization, eligible to accept tax-deductible contributions. Each year to supplement our appropriation from the town, and to fully fund our operating costs, the Library raises money from donors through our annual appeal campaign.