Maine's North Bridgton Public Library Closing at End of Year

North Bridgton Public Library

Rural Maine libraries on borrowed time as towns seek ways to save tax dollars. (Portland Press Herald, 9/28/2014)

Going out of business.

But free books, volunteers and fundraisers, which have kept many rural libraries in Maine from going out of business, were not enough to save the century-old North Bridgton Public Library. This summer, the library board voted to cease operations effective Dec. 31 because it cannot afford to stay open. It joins libraries in Buxton, North Monmouth and Otis that have closed in recent years.

“It’s very sad,” said Susan Cole, treasurer of the North Bridgton Public Library. “Our library is done.”

Across Maine, rural libraries are barely getting by. Taxpayers are unwilling or unable to pay the bills, and the state’s smallest libraries are struggling to find their niche among changing technologies and lifestyles, which provide instant access to information and drive patrons to larger libraries that offer more services and conveniences.

North Bridgton is located 3.7 miles north of Bridgton and 1.8 south of Harrison.

Library Hours of Operation

Other Maine public libraries that have closed recently.

• Buxton
• North Monmouth
• Otis

As of 2011, Maine had 214 public libraries.
 

 

 Source:  Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2011

(published June 2014)