Maine island libraries loom distinctly large on lists of the state’s top ten in per-capita services to their patrons. A recently-released report on state library statistics for 2002 shows a disproportionate number of island libraries represented in categories of service such as “per capita circulation,” “per capita collection” and “per capita visits.”
Are islanders more literate? Are island librarians more aggressive? What’s their secret?
Ruth Westphal, librarian at the Great Cranberry Library, laughs at her library’s first place standing in the category “Library Visits Per Capita.”
“I don’t even really know what our per capita is,” says Westphal, librarian on Great Cranberry Island since 1999. “We have 40 residents in the winter and somewhere between 250 and 300 in the summer.”
Summer residents definitely swell the numbers, say island librarians. Westphal says library usage soars during summer, starting in mid-June, then dies back drastically in November. Winters, she opens the library only two days a week, but in summer she opens for five days.
“We used to have more usage in winter, but our last two students on the island went off to high school,” said Westphal. But she has hope for the future: “We have three preschoolers here now.” The library was built 26 years ago with a school in it. “The school got too big and we had to move out. The library is now attached to the school,” she said, adding the school is now empty – not closed, but awaiting students.
Her library was also first in the state for “Users of Electronic Resources Per Typical Week Per Capita” – “We had four computers going last summer,” she said. It was fourth for “Total Collection Per Capita,” sixth for “Total Circulation Per Capita” and ninth for “Children’s Program Attendance Per Capita.”
Monhegan Island ranked second in “Total Collection Per Capita,” fifth in “Total Circulation Per Capita” with Islesboro at number 10, second in “Users of Electronic Resources Per Typical Week Per Capita” (Frenchboro ranked third and Long Island eighth) and tenth in “Children’s Program Attendance Per Capita.”
On Islesford, another of the Cranberry Isles, Cindy Thomas has served as librarian for 20 years, the entire time the library has been open year-round. Her library topped the list for “Total Circulation Per Capita,” and ranked sixth in the category “Total Collection Per Capita.”
These librarians are no braggarts. Like Westphal, Thomas took little credit for the library’s success and recognizes the difference between a small library on a remote island and its metropolitan counterpart. “This coming year will be different,” said Thomas. “Two of our big readers graduated. There should be an appreciable drop.”
If she admits playing any part in the library’s success with patrons, it’s choosing books wisely. “We try to stay current, because we’re not really a reference library. Our readers like best-sellers, fiction and non-fiction.” Mysteries are popular, as is the Mitford series about a fictional small town. And the islanders have been known to read a few books about the sea, including a couple written by Isle au Haut resident Linda Greenlaw. Harry Potter was a big hit with island children, as it was with children around the world. “The key to getting kids to read is to find out what they are interested in and find a book to match,” said Thomas. “If they get interested in reading, then you can try them with something they’re not so interested in, and maybe they’ll get interested.”
Kate Quinn, an island native, has served two stints as North Haven’s librarian, the current one seven years long, so far. She says her library’s tenth-place ranking for “Total Collection Per Capita” may be credited to “very strong support, private and public.” Most of the library’s financial support comes from private donations, with the town providing $5,000 annually as well. Like other island librarians, Quinn specifically credits grants from MBNA with helping the library. North Haven has a “pretty large summer population” which swells the island library’s numbers, but also claims “a core of year-round readers.”
Island libraries may attract higher numbers per capita than others because they often serve as community centers. Island groups hold meetings and conduct training sessions at the library. Overall, Maine public libraries rank reasonably high in the nation considering the state’s small population, largely rural nature and lower average income than states that rank behind Maine in supporting their libraries. Maine is first in collections per capita, with five books for every resident, compared to a national average of only 2.8.
Many island librarians were not trained for their current situations. Quinn left North Haven and trained as an X-ray technician. When she returned, she couldn’t pursue her chosen profession because “there was no X-ray machine on the island.” Running an island library is a labor of love, says Cindy Thomas. “I can’t believe they pay me to do it!”