Bob Emmons, of South Bristol, records a podcast at Skidompha Library on Thursday, April 20. The retired professor has developed a following for his humorous stories and educational pieces on gardening and insects. (J.W. Oliver photo)
Already a modern library with an online radio station and a YouTube channel, Skidompha Library is expanding its digital offerings with a StoryCorps-style series of original podcasts and live video of library events.
As the library prepares to launch a new website this spring, it plans to consolidate its digital content under the name Skidompha Community Media, and hopes to grow the community’s awareness of and participation in its high-tech initiatives.
Much of those initiatives stem from the establishment of Owl Radio three years ago. The online station features original programs with local hosts, and streams 24 hours a day with no commercials.
Jonathan LeVeen, of New Harbor, a musician with a background as an on-air personality and radio executive, hosts the oldies show “Jon LeVeen’s Time Machine.” Bobby Whear, of Nobleboro, co-host of the Lincoln County Television show “Wuzzup,” hosts “Rock Readings,” a mix of classic rock and personal stories. Other shows include “Blues from the Summer Room” with Mark Addison and “Jazz Beacon” with Kernan Cross.
All original programs from Owl Radio are also available as podcasts, which listeners can find at skidomphaowlradio.podomatic.com.
The library’s collection of podcasts also includes children’s books read by library staffers and notable figures in the community.
U.S. Sen. Angus King recently read “Blueberries for Sal” by Robert McCloskey for the library. Actress Anna Belknap, the Damariscotta native of “CSI: NY” fame, has read several Dr. Seuss books.
“When we were raising our children, they loved to have stories read to them,” library Director Pam Gormley said. “We couldn’t keep reading all night long, and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was a place I could go where someone would read a story and my kids could listen to it?”
Gormley’s children are now adults, but the idea stuck with her. The library’s podcasts of children’s books are now its most popular.
A rendition of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat in the Hat” read by Mal Gormley, Pam Gormley’s husband and the library’s digital expert, ranks as the top recording with some 1,400-1,500 downloads.
“People are doing exactly what I had hoped to be able to do with my kids,” Pam Gormley said. “I have this wonderful image of kids in their pajamas all sitting around with Mom and Dad hearing stories.”
Skidompha soon found there was also an adult audience for spoken-word podcasts.
U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, reads “Blueberries for Sal” for Skidompha Library’s Owl Radio.
Library board member Robert Emmons, of South Bristol, has developed “quite a following” for his podcasts, which contain his original stories. “He calls them semi-humorous,” Pam Gormley said. “I think they’re a riot.”
Emmons was a professor of plant science at the State University of New York and an author of gardening columns for The New York Times and other publications before retiring to South Bristol 11 years ago.
His podcasts include humorous tales, such as an account of his retirement job as the “Saturday postmaster” in South Bristol, and more serious material in his area of expertise, including podcasts on gardening, insects, and lawn care.
The library offers video as well as audio – its YouTube channel allows viewers to catch up on its Chats with Champions series of talks by authors and other prominent members of the community.
As the library launches Skidompha Community Media, it hopes to involve the community more in the creation of original content.
“We’re looking for readers,” Pam Gormley said. Volunteers can come into the library or record at home on a smartphone and send the recording to the library, which will turn it into a podcast.
The library is also looking for community members willing to share personal stories for a new series of podcasts it calls “Skidompha Sketches.”
“Skidompha Sketches” is based on StoryCorps, perhaps best known for the five-minute stories it airs on NPR every Friday.
StoryCorps’ mission is “to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.”
“We’re trying to recreate that on a smaller scale, because we know this community is just loaded with great stories and interesting people who you may not even be aware of,” Mal Gormley said.
“Everybody has a story,” Pam Gormley said. “Come in. Mal will work with you. We have a mic and a recording device. Tell us a five-minute story.”
Skidompha is now in the “final stages” of the relaunch of its website and of Skidompha Community Media.
The new name will also encompass future digital initiatives, such as live video. The library recently received a grant that will allow it to set up Porter Meeting Hall, where it hosts Chats with Champions and other events, to stream live video.
The technology will allow long-distance participation in events at Porter Hall – whether the participation of a speaker across the country, a class at Lincoln Academy, or a group at Schooner Cove.
Skidompha’s original content is only a small part of its embrace of technology.
The library partners with the streaming service Hoopla to give members access to audiobooks, e-books, movies, and television shows. “You never have to leave your house as long as you have a library card,” Pam Gormley said. The library also hosts the Gizmo Garden program, which teaches robotics to kids.
The digital advances at Skidompha are “part of keeping libraries relevant in their communities,” Pam Gormley said. “I think, more and more, we need to be thinking about libraries without walls, and we do that here at Skidompha a few ways.”
To listen to Owl Radio, go to skidompha.org and click on Owl Radio. To watch Skidompha Library’s YouTube channel, go to goo.gl/87pDeM.
