Bass Harbor Memorial Library

08/30/2026

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean—
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

🌞 ❤

08/30/2026

08/24/2026

Lobsterman Danny Closson is a Bernard community member, husband to Ashley, our library Board member, and father of two children. This accident has taken away his only source of income.

In a community where nothing related to a fishing vessel comes cheap, the cost of recovering from a loss like this is overwhelming. These funds will help Danny and his family get through this difficult time, begin replacing essential gear, and take the first steps toward getting back on the water.

Please help if you can. Any donation, no matter the size, will make a difference. Every share of this fundraiser will mean so much to Danny and his family as they face the road ahead.

🦞❤🦞

Joseph is raising funds for his friend Danny Closson, one of the kindest-hearte… Joseph Meek needs your support for Help Danny Closson Recover After Boat Loss

08/17/2026

This past Saturday and Sunday, August 15th and 16th, we held our annual BOOK FAIR & BAKE SALE. The weather cooperated with two remarkably beautiful days; people came happy and ready to bring books and CDs home to those empty spaces that needed filling, and to fill other empty spaces with locally baked goods. Every year we are genuinely touched and astonished by the support and donations we receive from this Community, our loyal patrons, and new visiting friends of the library. This year’s BOOK FAIR & BAKE SALE was no exception, and a great success!

Our staff and volunteers are the backbone of the library— and we could not operate without them. To our volunteers who sorted donations into boxes months before the fair, to Perly and Rosie who hauled boxes of books from the attic (saving the backs of us more fragile folk), to those who helped set up tables and books of books inside the library and under the tent outside, and of course, the tireless work of Amanda, Ashley, and Carey, and our Board volunteers and staff, who we cannot thank enough!

Thank you to all of our Friends of the Library who took the time to bake and donate homemade goods that seem to get better every year. Thank you to our local businesses, artists, and craftspeople who offered their generous gifts of art, services, and overwhelming support that made this year’s raffle another part of this weekend’s success. Please visit and support those who help support our great Community Library; they are...

Bittersweet Shop, Cindy Lampher & Harbor Artisans - Southwest Harbor, Ellsworth Pats Pizza, Fletcher's Auto, Hansen's Outpost, Bass Harbor, ME, Thurston's Lobster Pound, Florett, Carroll Drug Store Inc., J.K. Putnam Photography, Seal Cove Pottery & Gallery, Artist Kathie Pratt, Tremont Maine Historical Society & Country Store Museum, Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM, Acadia Fat Tire E-Bike (www.acadiafattireebike.com), Maine State Sea Kayak (www.mainestatekayak.com), Tom Cat Tide, Brianna Ransom / Sea Baskets, Dragonfly's Cottage, salt shop, Angela Balacco (www.angelabalacco.com), Town Hill Market, The Travelin Lobster, Lobstermen Braydan and Dan Closson, and Quietside Snacks. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ❤

And, finally, thank you to all of the supporters who came to the BOOK FAIR & BAKE SALE. Because of you, the library can continue to provide access to books, media, and information; promote a love of reading; and offer programs that celebrate the resources of our local and global community.

And now that this weekend has passed, it is time for us to set the library back in order and start planning for next year’s BOOK FAIR & BAKE SALE. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely, your friends at the Bass Harbor Memorial Library.

Peace.

Rainbow © J.K. Putnam Photography, 2025.

08/12/2026

"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." — Margaret Fuller

08/10/2026

'𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧' 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗙𝗔𝗜𝗥!

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗔𝗬, 𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟱 & 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝟭𝟲
𝟵 𝗔𝗠 - 𝟰 𝗣𝗠

𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬:
Art / Music, Biography, Cook Books, Fiction & Mystery, Garden, History (US, Civil War, Military, World, Ancient), Literature & Classics, Poetry, Psychology, Self Help, Health, How-To (Crafts, Knitting, Sewing, Home, Decorating, etc.), Reference, Religion & Philosophy, Science Fiction, Science & Nature, Sociology, Sports, Business & Finance, Coffee Table, Foreign Language, Humor, Large Print, Weird & Unusual, Pop Culture, Specialty Categories, and more!

𝗔 𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡'𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗦, 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗟𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚:
Beginning Readers, Biography, Picture Books, Board Books, Chapter Books, Classics, Crafts & Hobbies, Disney, Educational Materials, Foreign Languages, Geography, Graphic Novels, History, Holidays, Humor, Vintage, Young Adults and more!

𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦, 𝗣𝗨𝗭𝗭𝗟𝗘𝗦, & 𝗗𝗩𝗗𝘀

𝗪𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗙𝗟𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗭𝗘𝗦!

COFFEE, REFRESHMENTS, & BAKED GOODS available.

𝗣𝗔𝗬 𝗕𝗬 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡!!!

🌈 📖 ❤

“Books, books, they're good for your heart. The more you read, the more you smart.” — Albert Einstein

08/09/2026

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples | UNESCO