7094-R3_ML&P_TownOfBuxton_2018-2019_Web

West Buxton Public Library Established 1925

The West Buxton Public Library traces its beginnings back to 1925 when it was organized in the West Buxton Baptist Church on the hill on River Road by the dam. The Masonic Building, also on River Road in West Buxton, was its second home until 1953, when service to the community went dormant. The library emerged from its five-year dormancy in 1958 under the leadership of Edward M. Elwell. Its third and current home is the former District #12 Schoolhouse (circa 1853) keeping its location in the West Buxton Village area and still on the Saco River at #34. The resurrection of the library resulted from the perception that such a facility was needed by the residents of the village area on both sides of the Saco River: Buxton and Hollis. The library is visited by citizens from Buxton, Hollis, Standish, and Limington, as well as many summer visitors. The library’s operating budget is funded by the appropriations of the Town of Buxton and supplemented with book and bake sales, memorial gifts and many monetary donations and collections. This year we have enjoyed having some student volunteers join us at the library. We really enjoy the energy and enthusiasm they bring with them. Brooke and Julia have been running the story times and it has been great to see them both grow in their confidence throughout the year. Monique and Brigit have also joined us and have been helping out with inventory, sorting donations, overdue books, and shelving. This summer our library worked with the Hollis, Waterboro, and Salmon Falls Libraries on summer reading. Together we applied for and received a grant that enabled us to put on two programs, offer passes to local museums and parks, and purchase craft supplies and books for all four libraries. Waterboro hosted Mr. Drew and his Animals too and we held the planetarium show at the Hollis Elementary School. Here at West Buxton we started off our summer reading program with a visit from the Maine State Stem Librarian. She helped us to build and shoot off rockets. We also had a campfire story hour for teens and an end of the summer reading party. Our library continues to hold story hours twice a month and Minecraft once per month. We always welcome ideas for any programs or events that our patrons would like to see happen. We would like to say thank you to the patrons, volunteers, Buxton Garden Club, Dorcas Society, and Snell’s Family Farm who all donated time, materials, money and expertise. We are also thankful to Sargent Brother’s Handyman services for their hard work with landscaping and snow shoveling. In addition, we are grateful to Peter Mills and his family for helping to keep up with the lawn mowing. It takes the whole community. We appreciate the generous support of the Town of Buxton and the surrounding neighborhood. “The health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.” Carl Sagan Sincerely,

Amy Hughes Library Director

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