The South Berwick Public Library

05/31/2026

Maybe you've heard that the South Berwick Library now has Playaways for adults, kids and teens! But what IS a Playaway? It’s ready-to-go audio— they are self-contained, screen-free devices. Just plug in wired headphones or one of our car adapters (ask for it when you checkout) and you are ready to go!

It’s like the good ole’ days with books on CD…only no CD player required and there are no scratched discs to worry about!

One thing we really love about Playaways is that they are distraction free listening. Listen while you clean, go for a walk, drive or just sit and relax. Kids can draw or play with Legos or playdough while they listen. And there is zero temptation to scroll or get distracted by incoming emails, texts and notifications!

If you try one of our Playaways, let us know what you think so we can decide whether to buy more. If you know any kiddos who go to the Great Works School- ask them about Playaways. They are a big hit over there!

05/30/2026

Tuskegee Days are coming soon! It's a great time for our community to learn, read and celebrate South Berwick's Sister City relationship. Join Common Ground at one of their upcoming events and stop by the library to grab some reading material.

05/29/2026

Check out these new Young Adult books and juvenile graphic novels ready to be covered by our amazing volunteers! 📚😁

05/28/2026

The 80's forever!

05/28/2026

We believe books and information should be accessible to everyone. This isn't the most fun post, but we think our community should have transparency on this issue. Sometimes our patrons wonder why our CloudLibrary collection isn't as robust as they would like it to be. It isn't as extensive as we want it to be either!

The prices that major publishers set for e-books and audio books are limiting the public's access to books and information.

The cost of physical media for libraries has always been discounted because publishers have recognized the economic and social value of libraries in the book world. But that model has been reversed for e-book and audio books.

As the full statement (link below) points out, "While consumers pay $13 in perpetuity for an e-book on average, libraries typically spend $55 – or more –for one 2-year license." This means that if you purchase an e-book and pay $13 for it, you can access it forever (or as long as it's available on that platform and you have the tech to get it). For a public library, we have to pay $55 per copy every 2 years to make the same book available. And if we switch providers, our patrons lose access to everything we have purchased.

The other model is pay per use, which CloudLibrary also offers. Sometimes this works better for a library's budget, but then libraries are paying over and over for the same popular materials. Right now, South Berwick buys e-content in conjunction with other libraries in Maine. The Friends of the Library also contribute about $2,000 a year to supplement this collection with pay per use access to additional titles.

This statement reports that some libraries are now spend 50% of their materials budgets on downloadable media. In South Berwick, it's not nearly that much. Including the money contributed by the Friends of the Library, last year we spent closer to 10% of our book budget on e-books and audio books.

We join the Association for Rural and Small Libraries and the Public Library Association in their hope that publishers will work with libraries to create a more equitable pricing structure so books are available to everyone in our communities!

Read the full statement: https://shorturl.at/l8SSj

05/27/2026

We want to offer our sincere gratitude to everyone who came to shop at the Friends of the Library's recent Book Sale. Whether you shopped that first weekend or came later to fill a bag for $1 (or did both), you helped contribute to South Berwick's most successful book sale ever! The Friends of the Library raised over $3,000 for the library.

This money will support children's story times and special events, adult lectures and workshops, our summer reading program, our soon to be expanded teen programming, our CloudLibrary collection and much more!

Thanks to the many, many volunteers who made this all possible and to all our patrons who donated books! It take the whole community for this book sale to happen! We are grateful for all of you!

05/26/2026

We hope to see you tonight or on June 2nd!

Join the Conversation Tonight at the Library! 💬📚

As the The South Berwick Public Library continues its strategic planning process, tonight is the first Community Conversation, and we’d love to hear from you! ❤️

This is a great opportunity for residents to come together, share ideas, ask questions, and talk about what matters most as we think about the future of the library and how it can continue to serve our community for years to come. 🤝

📌 In-Person Community Conversation

🗓 Tuesday, May 26, 2026 (Tonight)
⏰ 7:00 PM
📍 South Berwick Public Library, 27 Young Street
☕ Light refreshments will be served

Can’t make it tonight? There’s still another opportunity to participate:

💻 Virtual Community Conversation (Zoom)
🗓 Tuesday, June 2, 2026
⏰ 7:00 PM

To register for the virtual session, please visit the link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tvdKx65JSXKYT5qmYJqkDA

Whether you attend in person, join virtually, or complete the community survey, your voice helps shape the library’s future. We hope to see you there! ✨📖

05/26/2026

Our adult LGBTQIA+ book club The Q***r Collective meets on the last Wednesday of each month! This Wednesday, we'll be chatting about our latest read, "Gwen and Art are Not in Love" by Lex Croucher. All are welcome!

05/24/2026

We're seeing there is potential rain in the forecast today... but don't worry if your Sunday gets rained out, your books and tea are always there for you! And if it's sunny after all... well that's a great day to read outside. Happy Reading, South Berwick!