McArthur Public Library, Biddeford, Maine

McArthur Public Library

270 Main Street

Biddeford, York Co., Maine

https://www.mcarthurlibrary.org/

I always enjoy old libraries and even the ones with new additions to the original building. The McArthur Library is the only library I've visited where the original library was in a church. Another thing I like is when I see an archives room, or a local history room or section in the building.

We were in Biddeford, Maine on a quiet September day to visit their library, and were quite surprised to see a full-time security guard seated near the librarian. I had a chat with him and discovered that there had been enough theft in the library to warrant his position.

Biddeford is a coastal town 15 miles from Portland. I often drive through it on the highway but have never gone into the downtown area. The city brings back a memory of when my girlfriend and I took a bus from Lowell to Biddeford and then transferred to another bus to take us to a town near Lewiston, where she lived. I think I remember this because we traveled during a large snowstorm in December (abt. 1967) and saw Christmas decorations along the way. 

To research for genealogy resources, click on their website, then go to Research, then History and Genealogy. You will be taken to the Archives & Special Collections (there are several options to choose from.) 

Photo of old entrance and staircase to the first floor.

First floor of the Pavilion Congregational Church photo, circa 1860. This room is now the children's room. Below is the a photo of the balcony, looking down at the old front door.

Some of the library is housed in the old church, shown below. A new addition was completed in 1996.

New Local History area, above and below.

Biddeford and Maine books.

New area with a display of historical artifacts.

Map of Biddeford and Saco.

The new area for books, reading and study areas.

Looking down Main Street, the view is a few feet from the library.

Mentioned below: "Robert McArthur bought the Pavilion Congregational Church at 270 Main Street and in October of 1902, it became the library's permanent home."

Libby Memorial Library, Old Orchard Beach, Maine

The Ferris wheel caught my eye when we walked into the library in Old Orchard Beach. These photos were taken during Labor Day week, and the tourist season was winding down. I haven't been to the town since the 60s, and it was a nice surprise to see how clean and exciting the town was. While I visited the library, my husband walked along the seven-mile beach. I loved the design of the library and the fact that there was an jam-packed archives room.

Libby Memorial Public Library

27 Staples Street

Old Orchard Beach, York Co., ME 04064

Phone: 207-934-4351

www.ooblibrary.org

Sides of the library.

Sign about the library and the town.

Reference Desk.

Children's room above and attached reading room below.

Additional reading rooms.

Archive Room, with photos below. The reference librarian unlocked the door for me and allowed me to take photos. Unfortunately, I don't have any relatives or ancestors from this area.

The ocean resort is very popular with French Canadians, and several of the people we met spoke broken Englis. I can't recommend any restaurants because we didn't eat there, nor did we stay long since we had another library stop further south. We would love to go back and play tourist.

Poster in the lady's room. I saw the 9/24 date for a genealogy seminar.

Town of Old Orchard Beach, the library and the Atlantic Ocean.

New Ipswich Library, New Ipswich, New Hampshire

New Ipswich Library

6 Main Street

 New Ipswich, NH 03071

Phone Number: (603) 878-4644
 https://newipswichlibrary.wordpress.com/

The visit to this tiny library in southern New Hampshire was not planned, but it was on the street near to our destination, the Barrett House, which we toured. This week, I heard that the town received 3 feet of snow, the most of any New England towns during the December 1-3 snowfall, and that news prompted me to share my June 2019 photos. This is my 75th library report.

As I entered the library, all I saw were books and unique windows. The website offered this information, "The book collection at the New Ipswich Library is made up primarily of children’s titles and adult fiction and non-fiction. There is some reference material that focuses on historical work for topics relevant to New Ipswich." I did not see any genealogy books, but there could have been and I should have asked. In looking over these photos, I don't see any computers, nor do I know if they had wi-fi.

Librarian above.

My husband and I were the only patrons, and I remember a long discussion with the above librarian about the windows, they were just replaced or needed to be. In preparing this post, I came across a newspaper article about her. She retired three months after we were there.

"Longtime librarian retiring

After more than 35 years of storytimes and book recommendations, New Ipswich librarian Anne Soini is stepping down.

Residents can say their goodbyes and give well-wishes to Soini with a retirement party Monday at 6 p.m. at the New Ipswich Library.

Soini has served as the library director for decades and has become the “face” of the institution, Library Trustee President Debbie Phillips said Tuesday.

“She’s left some big shoes to fill,” Phillips said." From: https://www.ledgertranscript.com/Retirement-party-for-long-time-New-Ipswich-librarian-Monday-28814882

Children's room.

Side view of the library. We were there on a perfect June day and had just toured the Barrett House, shown below. The library and house are on the same road.

Across the from the library is the New Ipswich Historical Society. It was closed, but I am including some information about it.

New Ipswich Historical Society

23 Main St New Ipswich, NH 03017
http://www.newipswichhistoricalsociety.org/

Below is the first web page for the historical society. The Cemetery Database may be seen at, http://www.newipswichhistoricalsociety.org/images/PDFs/nihs-cemetery-data.pdf

I also found a useful book about the history of the town.

The history of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914,

with genealogical records of the principal families;

comp. and written by Charles Henry Chandler with the assistance of Sarah Fiske Lee.

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009598344