Island residents remember library; plans to rebuild underway

By Molly Bryan

Communal memory is tactile. As much as I try to imagine it, I cannot know what it must have been like to walk the same shores I walk now 200 years ago when fish were as plentiful as stars. That is one of the reasons that the loss of the Swans Island Library in lighting fire on the morning of July 24is so heart-wrenchingly tragic. Not only were the historic school house and the library's book collection lost, but the town's archived history was lost as well. With time and much needed financial support, the library can be rebuilt and books can be replaced, but the sense of history is lost.

My memories of the Swans Island Library began in the early 70's when I was a child and books were an integral part of our day. At that time, the library was located near the ferry terminal in an old house whose floorboards creaked and whose windows rattled. The smell of old books in their damp, seaside home hung in each room and the children's section was a tiny alcove with one large, bright window.

While Island Fellow Siobhan Ryan was digitizing the collections during her service to Swans, one of the board members held out a library card that I had signed as a very little girl and it sits on my desk as a reminder of a time before I could even write my name properly.

The library moved to the old Atlantic School House in the 90's and took on new life with communal space and updated equipment. The school house, with it's bell cupola and exposed granite foundation still had it's original chalkboard painted on the North wall and the tall windows let in lots of light (and let out lots of heat in the winter). In an effort to downsize, The Educational Society consolidated all of their archival materials into a renovated room upstairs in the library. Photographs, letters, maps, and remembrances were among the priceless items catalogued there. The tactile memories that bring Swans Island's history into the present are gone. Fortunately, however, The Educational Society did digitize some of their collection and it can be viewed online at www.swansisland.org.

While we may not be able to recapture the damp and dusty smell in the stacks, we will have to build and fill new shelves because even in an age of satellite television and Internet access, books still open doors to other worlds. The kind of fantasy and education that books bring to readers can be life changing on a small island. As for the rest, we will have to make new memories.

If you are interested in supporting the effort to ensure a future for the Swans Island Library, you can contribute by sending your tax deductible donation to: the Swans Island Library, P.O. Box 12, Swans Island, ME 04685.

Molly Bryan is a member of the Swan's Island Library Board of Trustees and the library's treasurer.

More than a place for books, library was a community space

By Siobhan Ryan

The Swan's Island Library was more than just a building with books and videos, it was a space for neighbors to meet and greet each other, and talk over events. It could be a "formal" meeting, likely the regular knitting class that Suzette Wheaton has taught for years, or the winter Wednesday morning muffin and tea socials hosted by volunteers but more often, residents were likely to informally meet.

The talks would unfold over a cup of coffee brewed from the new Keuring coffee machine donated by the Seacoast Mission, or some of the chocolate donated by Rev. Ken Dutille through the Food Pantry. The library was a community space.

The library accommodated all groups of people from all walks of life. Islanders worked for decades to ensure the town had a beautiful and and functional library. Two years ago when Healthy Acadia gave the library a mini-grant for a kitchen sink, volunteers were so excited they photographed the first bowl being washed and send it to the Working Waterfront for publication. That was because the sink represented another step in the making of a dynamic, community place. From Friday night movies, to the Tuesday night lecture series, people had a place to convene. Just last week, island resident and poet Gary Rainford read his poetry to group of more than 20 people. He made the audience laugh and cry.

The same emotions are true today, as we watched the all-volunteer Swan's Island Fire Department battle the inferno that quickly consumed the library. Residents were shocked by the massive fire and were saddened to learn that over a century of history had vanished, including the loss of invaluable historic records and photos. The library, which was restored and opened to the public in 1998, was in the Old Atlantic School house, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. At the same time, trying to give everyone a boost, Library Director Candis Joyce joked that the library's "mouse problem" had been solved, as there were no more recesses for the library's rodent to lurk in.

The loss of the Swan's Island Library is a devastating blow to a small community, but efforts to keep the library spirit are already in swing, much because of Joyce's efforts. Selectmen Dexter Lee has given the library use of part of the town office for temporary headquarters for starting a new collection and an emergency account has been established.

Siobhan Ryan worked in the library when she served as an Island Institute fellow on Swan's Island.