Taking Shape!

As we approach the 50% completion mark, this week has seen some major and very visible advances in our Monument Square renovation project. A key element in the design has been to reenergize the Library’s role on Monument Square and to contribute more to the life of this critical location in heart of the City. For the first time there is some definition in the redesigned facade as portions of glass have been installed in the grid.

Galaxy Glass employees installing glass panels

The hidden activity which has made up the bulk of our effort to this point continues. Ceilings, walls, wiring, plumbing, new boilers, etc, are being attended to and it is a mundane yet a critical part of our effort. But it must be appreciated that the public statement for all to see of a library reinventing itself to face the decades ahead is a moment to celebrate.

Library facade as seen from Snell's Family Farm stand at the Portland Farmer's Market

Let's Talk About It with Maine Humanities Council

The Maine Humanities Council (MHC) is a great partner of Maine’s public libraries. In our case, the Council has hosted pod cast recordings of many PPL programs at the MHC Humanities on Demand site. The Council has also supported the purchase of equipment to enhance the new program space set to open in the April 2010. One on the most widely known MHC programs is the Let’s Talk About It series. It has been held countless times over many years at public libraries all over the state. PPL has hosted discussions on the Middle East, contemporary American Indian writers and women’s stories from cultures around the world.



This fall, we will hold a series of Let’s talk About It book discussions on five Japanese novels entitled “Family and Self: Readings in 20th Century Japanese Fiction. These 20th-century novels show the importance of the place of family in Japan, the importation of certain Western ideas, and the strain modernization placed upon tradition. How do Japanese novelists depict the family, as a nurturing institution or hierarchical unit? How do they chronicle changes over time? Are Japanese families different from families in the West? What happens to people outside the family unit?

Facilitated by Pat Parker, the discussions are held at the Main Library on Monument Square from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. on the following Tuesdays:

The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi -- Sept. 8
The Makioka Sisters by Junichirô Tanizaki -- Sept. 29
The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai -- Oct. 13
A Personal Matter by Kenzaburô Ôe -- Oct. 27
Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto -- Nov. 10

The discussion series is free and open to the public and books are available for loan from the Library. However, space is limited so registration is required. To register or for more information, please contact the Library at 871-1700x725 or reference@portland.lib.me.us.

Pat Parker, the series facilitator, has a Ph.D. from New York University and taught American literature at Salem State College, Salem, Massachusetts for many years. She has also taught American literature and English as a second language in Korea for one year and in Japan for over ten years. She has traveled extensively in Asia. In Japan she became interested in Japanese literature, especially novels by women, and began studying and writing about them. She retired in 2004 and moved to Maine. She lives in Falmouth with her (American) husband who also taught over 20 years in Japan.

Welcome Friends of PPL!

For the past several months we have been investigating and have now created the Friends of Portland Public Library. The roll out has included the creation of a website and beginning the process to hold an annual book sale that we believe will become the signature event of our Friends group in the year’s to come. The first sale will be held next June.

The formation of a Friends group is momentous for all of us associated with Portland Public Library. The financial support is important enough but the constant presence of community ambassadors who believe in the mission of PPL is a great comfort to us.



We have a lot of friends in the region but we are asking folks who believe in the idea of a great public library to become a Friend by formally joining our group. If you want to learn more and maybe join, please visit the website at www.friendsofppl.org.

Richard Russo returns with some "Magic"

Join us Wednesday, August 5th at First Parish Church for a Reading and Book Signing with Richard Russo, author of That Old Cape Magic

We are so pleased to announce that Maine author Richard Russo is working with Portland Public Library again to offer a reading and signing celebrating the release of his new novel, That Old Cape Magic (release date August 4th). The event will take place at First Parish UU Church (425 Congress Street in Portland) at 7pm. It is free and open to the public, although donations are always greatly appreciated.


When Rick worked with us in October 2007 on an event helping to launch Bridge of Sighs, about 500 people came to hear him read from and speak about his new book. If you were one of the lucky audience members, you know what an entertaining and thoughtful speaker he is. If you missed it, please join us this time for an exceptional evening!

More about Richard Russo’s new book from the publisher…



That Old Cape Magic is a novel of deep introspection and every family feeling imaginable, with a middle-aged man confronting his parents and their failed marriage, his own troubled one, his daughter’s new life and, finally, what it was he thought he wanted and what in fact he has. The storytelling is flawless throughout, moments of great comedy and even hilarity alternating with others of rueful understanding and heart-stopping sadness, and its ending is at once surprising, uplifting and unlike anything this Pulitzer Prize winner has ever written.

Following Bridge of Sighs—a national best seller hailed by The Boston Globe as “an astounding achievement” and “a masterpiece”—Richard Russo gives us the story of a marriage, and of all the other ties that bind, from parents and in-laws to children and the promises of youth.

Griffin has been tooling around for nearly a year with his father’s ashes in the trunk, but his mother is very much alive and not shy about calling on his cell phone. She does so as he drives down to Cape Cod, where he and his wife, Joy, will celebrate the marriage of their daughter Laura’s best friend. For Griffin this is akin to driving into the past, since he took his childhood summer vacations here, his parents’ respite from the hated Midwest. And the Cape is where he and Joy honeymooned, in the course of which they drafted the Great Truro Accord, a plan for their lives together that’s now thirty years old and has largely come true. He’d left screenwriting and Los Angeles behind for the sort of New England college his snobby academic parents had always aspired to in vain; they’d moved into an old house full of character; and they’d started a family. Check, check and check.

But be careful what you pray for, especially if you manage to achieve it. By the end of this perfectly lovely weekend, the past has so thoroughly swamped the present that the future suddenly hangs in the balance. And when, a year later, a far more important wedding takes place, their beloved Laura’s, on the coast of Maine, Griffin’s chauffeuring two urns of ashes as he contends once more with Joy and her large, unruly family, and both he and she have brought dates along. How in the world could this have happened?


Want to reserve a copy of That Old Cape Magic from PPL? Click on http://catalog.portland.lib.me.us/search/t?SEARCH=that+old+cape+magic to add your name to the list. You will need your Portland Public Library card number to place a hold.

Library People

There are lots of stereotypes about “library people” that is, those who work in a library. Mystery and assumption about what they actually do, (beyond just sitting around and reading all day :-) ) and what kind of people they are in real life, is revealed pretty quickly as soon as I mention what it is I do for a living.

Over the past few months in response to some recognition from the outside world I got to thinking about our “people”. At Portland Public Library we employ 45.5 FTEs and their stories and accomplishments are rich. We have authors, artists, athletes, activists and musicians and much more among us.














Our recent authors include Gail Kesich Donovan (In Memory of Gorfman T. Frog published by Dutton Children’s Books) and Patti Delois (Bufflehead Sisters published by Berkley Books division of Penguin Books). Patti’s second novel, Penguins in Amsterdam, will be published in August 2010. Our musicians are many including Kurt Baker of punk group The Leftovers (www.theleftovers.com and www.myspace.com/theleftovers), singer songwriter Jason Wilkins and Tom Wilsbach fiddler and Celtic musician who has performed widely in schools and clubs in our area.



This past April saw two of our maintenance and security crew honored through the National Arts Program sponsored by the City of Portland. Mark Upson sculpture entitled Pump Jack won Best in Show, while Wayne Frederick took a first place for his photograph Bare Bulbs.

So next time you think about library people or run into one in conversation, you might be surprised and delighted to learn who they are and what they do. Best of all, they bring those talents, interest and passion to work every day.

Steve's Summer Recommendations for Reading

Each summer most of us have visitors or family who, with regularity, will express their wonderment at all things Maine or pepper you with questions about Maine. I find myself especially in the summer referring to and reading books about Maine. I need short things to sample and pick at during the summer. The tiles below are some of my favorites and all share the character of having brief sections but don’t equate brevity with lack of substance.

I’d also argue that each of these books ought to be in your home but if not, did I mention that you ought to visit your public library?


On Wilderness: Voices from Maine. Edited by: Phyllis Austin, Dean Bennett and Robert Kimber.

Nice compilation of photos, poems, short essays dealing with Maine’s incredible natural world. It is a paperback and nice size to put in your backpack.


The Wildest Country: A Guide to Thoreau’s Maine. J. Parker Huber.

Huber recreates Thoreau’s journeys as described in the Maine Woods. In Huber’s words: “This book is an invitation. It invites you to gain an appreciation of yourself, Maine and Thoreau.”

Contemporary Maine Fiction. Edited by Wesley McNair.

Fourteen short stories by outstanding Maine related authors including Richard Ford, Carolyn Chute, Monica Wood, Stephen King and Richard Russo (just to name a few).


Maine Reader: DownEast Experience – 1614 to present. Edited by Charles and Samuella Shain.

This is a fabulous compilation about our state and should be sampled regularly. Included are a variety of writers from over Maine’s history who have either lived here or visited. Chapters include discovery and exploration, small town life, Maine Woods Maine and the Civil War, Maine artists, etc. You get the idea.

Maine Speaks. An anthology of Maine Literature. The Maine Literature Project.

Along with the Maine Reader just put this on your coffee table and let people sample all summer. Great Maine authors abound in this title covering topics such as nature, work, origins, identity and communities.

Throwing Sand

Today, we held the “groundbreaking” for our renovation. Since the project is a renovation, we didn’t exactly break ground but in fact threw some sand. Morris Fisher, President of the Board of Trustees, Nick Mavodones, City Councilor and Former Mayor, Scott Simons, Project Architect and I, all spoke to the attendees. Below are my comments made this morning on behalf of our staff and in recognition of accepting this gift from all of those who believe in Portland Public Library.

> Throwing Sand - Steve Podgajny, Peter Benard- Ledgewood Construction, Morris Fisher, Scott Simons, Joe Gray-City Manager, Taffy Field-PPL Trustee, Nick Mavodones
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I first want to join Morris in thanking my colleagues for doing their absolute best to handle the many years, and episodes, of disruption – especially over the past year. To have the opportunity to thank people is always a delight regardless of the reason.

Today, on behalf of the Library staff at all of our locations, I want to express our gratitude. The employees of the Portland Public Library are among the most fortunate in public service - the beneficiaries of a true public-private partnership. It is a partnership that provides resources to serve the City significantly beyond what might be possible from solely public or private sources. We refer to this support as our “Margin of Excellence.”

This morning we celebrate this Partnership, because its fruits have given us a Library that, at the end of Phase I&II, will express widespread levels of quality and excellence unattainable through other means and at the top tier for cities of our size.

Without the selfless commitment of the Trustees and volunteers, as well as the support of the citizens, City Council and City Manager of Portland, the federal, state and county governments, and our hundreds of individual, corporate and private foundation donors, we would not be here today.

Next spring we will have the privilege of occupying new spaces to perform our work. When we accept this gift, the staff of Portland Public Library will also embrace two measures of accountability.
First, we will become the custodians of its physical care, a responsibility that will be there for all to literally see how well we are doing.
Second, and even more importantly, but much harder to see on a casual level, will be the fulfillment of our individual and group responsibility, to, day-in and day-out, reach the service potential that this new building presents in our efforts to improve the lives of our users and to strengthen the fabric of our city.

Boiled down to the most basic level: These two imperatives are individual and organizational, ethical and moral obligations that the staff incurs upon accepting this gift. We recognize and embrace your generosity and the expectations extending from it.

I believe we will make you proud as the receivers of this gift and once again, I thank all of you for your faith and trust in us.

Thank you.