Maine State Library

04/07/2026

April is and Digital Maine Library has you covered with Poetry & Short Story Reference Source. This full-text resource contains thousands of classic and contemporary poems, biographies of poets, essays and articles about poetry, deep dives on poetic forms and meters, lesson plans and learning guides, and more to help you learn about, enjoy, and celebrate poetry this month—and all year. It also includes high-quality videos and audio recordings from the Academy of American Poets. Free online to Maine residents anywhere, anytime. https://digitalmainelibrary.org/

04/02/2026

The Maine State Library was pleased to showcase its AmeriCorps VISTA program on April 1 at the in the Hall of Flags at the State Capitol. The event, hosted by Volunteer Maine Executive Director Brittany Gleixner-Hayat of the Maine Commission for Community Service, celebrated the diverse array of excellent AmeriCorps programs across Maine. Among legislators stopping by was Maine State Senator Chip Curry, a staunch VISTA advocate and former AmeriCorps program director himself, shown chatting with Beth about MSL's many resources and the various ways that partnering with VISTA has advanced the Library’s mission.

Representing MSL’s VISTA program were Director of Special Projects Beth Crist (top photo, left), and former Maine library director Nancy McGinnis (top photo, right), the Maine State Library’s first AmeriCorps VISTA, Community Literacy Liaison Librarian now serving in her third volunteer year at MSL. They took the opportunity to spotlight some of the Library’s resources and offerings where contributions by AmeriCorps volunteers in the VISTA program have made a difference, including early and family literacy initiatives, summer reading programs, the Banned Books Week Freedom to Read Tour, and the Digital Maine Library.

AmeriCorps VISTA is the national service program specifically designed to fight poverty. Since 1994, more than 7,400 Maine residents have served approximately 11 million hours as AmeriCorps and VISTA members, improving their communities in many diverse ways. We are pleased and honored to have the opportunity to participate in the program.

Photos: Nancy McGinnis/communicado!

04/01/2026

We're so grateful to Liz Doucett, Director of the Curtis Memorial Library, for her decades of devotion and service to Brunswick and to the Maine library community!

Liz Doucett, director of Curtis Memorial Library, reflects on a career dedicated to serving the community.

04/01/2026

April is ! While National Library Week (April 19–25) is worth celebrating, we’re taking it a step further—because there’s just too much to love about Maine’s libraries to fit into one week.

We’re excited to share that Governor Janet Mills has officially proclaimed April 2026 as Maine Library Month, recognizing the vital role libraries of all types play in strengthening communities across our state.

From supporting lifelong learning and expanding digital access to fostering connection, creativity, and civic engagement, Maine libraries show up for their communities every day. This month is all about celebrating their work, highlighting their impact, and reminding people why libraries matter.

How will you celebrate Maine Library Month? Share your plans, programs, and stories—we’d love to amplify them.

Read the full proclamation at: https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/official_documents/proclamations/2026-03-maine-library-month-april

03/31/2026

March is , and Digital Maine Library has you covered with Explora resources and Consumer Health Complete. In an era when nutrition information is everywhere but may not be accurate, you can count on DML resources to provide authoritative, factual, current guidance. From diets to food labels, supplements, food allergies, healthy cooking, and so much more, DML's resources are trustworthy and timely. Free online to Maine residents anywhere, anytime. https://digitalmainelibrary.org/

03/27/2026

A correction to our earlier post. Though we have paused our curbside lending, reference and research services, and all appointments, we are checking our phone and email messages daily. Our Talking Books and Books By Mail programs are also available! Go to https://www.maine.gov/msl/services_during_move.shtml for all the news about our services while we are moving!

03/26/2026

Tomorrow is the start of moving our staff offices back into the Cultural Building! We're excited to begin, and also ready for it to be over. Starting tomorrow, we're putting our curbside delivery, reference and research, and all appointments on pause. We hope to be back soon!

03/26/2026

More Rockland history, now online!

The Courier-Gazette digital archive continues to grow through a partnership between the Rockland Historical Society, Midcoast Villager, and the Maine State Library.

We’ve just added 10 more years of issues (1961–1970)—expanding access to nearly a century of Rockland’s local news and history, from 1882 through 1970.

Explore over 1,500 newly available issues and discover the people, events, and stories that shaped the community.

🔎 Start browsing:
www.digitalmaine.com/courier_gazette

03/24/2026

March is , an excellent time to highlight and celebrate music education and student creativity and talent. All of the Explora and World Book resources in Digital Maine Library include trustworthy, rich materials for music education, from biographies of musicians to articles and ebooks on music history, instruments, all genres of music, and much more. Video and audio resources abound to provide students with diverse music and performance experiences. Free online to Maine residents anywhere, anytime. https://digitalmainelibrary.org/

03/23/2026

Congratulations to the Liberty Library for being one of 12 libraries selected nationally to participate in the American Library Association's initiative for health literacy!

Liberty Library has been selected for the American Library Association’s Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults initiative, a pilot program that supports libraries' online health literacy programming during a nine-month implementation period. Selected through a highly competitive application process, Liberty Library joins a group of 12 libraries across the country participating in the program. It is the only public library chosen in the New England region. As a community hub, Liberty Library will continue to play an important role in helping the adults in our community connect with reliable healthcare resources and telehealth services. This pilot program will help our staff to create innovative programs and local partnership with the Waldo Broadband Corporation. The library will receive an $8,000 stipend to support costs associated with programs.

03/19/2026

We're coming home! Regular followers of the Maine State Library social media know that we (and our sister agencies, the Maine State Museum and Maine State Archives) have been away from our home in the Cultural Building on the Capitol campus for six years (!) due to a complete overhaul of the HVAC system in the building. The library took up temporary residence just a short walk down State Street, always working steadily toward the goal of returning home. The work on the building is finished enough to allow us to begin bringing our collections back, and soon we'll be bringing our people back!

It's important to note: we'll be closing all of our public services while we make this transition, starting Friday, March 27th. This includes our curbside pick-up, reference and research services, and all appointments. We'll restore those as soon as we can!

When will we be fully open to the public? While we don't have a solid answer for that (and we're the ones most eager to know!) we're aiming for Fall 2026. Thanks to everyone for your patience, and we can't wait to see you again!

03/17/2026

Digital Maine Library can help you celebrate with World Book Online. From timelines to articles and multimedia for all ages, this trustworthy source provides age-appropriate information about women's history in US and around the world. Free online to Maine residents anywhere, anytime. https://digitalmainelibrary.org/