Skidompha Library Executive Director Matthew Graff (right) hands off books from the Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop to Damariscotta Police Chief Jason Warlick.
Dear readers,
We’re pleased to announce a collaboration between Skidompha’s Secondhand Book Shop and the Damariscotta Police Department.
Damariscotta Police Chief Jason Warlick gives books from Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop to Josie and Lucas Branson.
Some of you may be asking, “Why is the library looking to collaborate with the police?”
It’s simple, really. Our police officers are out and about in our community every day. You may see them at the local schools serving hot dogs to kids at Trunk-or-Treat, talking to folks about the latest goings-on on Main Street, or even in the library, checking in on our patrons. Their work is to keep our community safe, and they do this by building relationships with people.
At Skidompha, we believe that books help people connect with others, and when we saw the hard work our officers were doing to have positive interactions with people throughout our community, we thought we could help. That’s when we went to our friends at the Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop and asked if they would partner with us to set aside crates of books for children for the Damariscotta officers to take with them in their patrol vehicles. They happily agreed, and now our officers have books to distribute to kids throughout their day as they see fit.
We hope that these books help build connection and kindness for our hard-working police officers, and comfort children when they might need it most.
Last week, I met Damariscotta Police Chief Jason Warlick at the Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop to hand over the first supply of books for the officers. He summed the program up well, saying, “I’m impressed by the creative ways that our community comes together. This project is another example of collaboration in support of children. We are always looking to make our interactions with children positive; having these books to hand out will help us do that.”
We at Skidompha are very happy for the opportunity to partner with the local police to get books into the hands of more children, and we thank our friends at the Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop for supporting this initiative.
On an unrelated note, we would like to invite you to join a climate change conversation. Researchers from the University of Maine at Augusta are coming to Skidompha to hold two sessions to learn about how Mainers think about climate change and other major social changes. These workshops will take place this Saturday, Nov. 9 and Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 a.m. to noon. Learn more about participating at skidompha.org!
In community,
Matthew Graff
Executive Director
Skidompha Library
Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop news
Books in the children’s science fiction and fantasy section continue on sale at half price until Friday, Nov. 15.
Shop volunteers love to receive donated books, but they ask that books be left only when the shop is open. Even a few hours outside can damage books so that they can’t be sold.
Open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursdays until 6 p.m.
Closed Sundays
(Skidompha Library has been supporting our community since 1885 in downtown Damariscotta. You can find us online and view our full calendar at skidompha.org.)
