Liberty Library

09/30/2026

Photography Workshop -Photography and Art: Taking Better Photos with Your Phone October 10th, 9:00am to noon(Rain or Shine)

Simon Beckford, a photographer based in Liberty, will be leading this workshop. The first hour, Simon will instruct participants about camera anatomy, lighting, composition, camera settings, and editing. The second hour, you will be sent outside to take photos around Liberty. The third hour, you will return to the library and edit your shots and send your favorite photo by text or email. A “Fall in Liberty” slideshow of photos will be created. Participants will watch and critique the photos as a group. Bring either your iPhone or Android smart phone or tablet and dress for the weather conditions. The workshop is limited to 15 people. Registration is required.

Photography and Art: Taking Better Photos with Your Phone October 10th, 9am to noon (Rain or Shine) Simon Beckford, a photographer based in Liberty, will be leading this workshop. The first hour, Simon will instruct participants about camera anatomy, lighting, composition, camera settings, and editi...

09/28/2026

Before refrigerators existed, Maine kept much of America's food cold, and the business of cutting frozen river water into giant blocks once rivaled the state's timber industry in scale.

Every winter along the Kennebec River, crews would score the frozen surface into massive grids and cut it into blocks weighing hundreds of pounds apiece using long ice saws and horse-drawn plows, a process called ice harvesting. The blocks were hauled by horse teams into enormous wooden ice houses lining the riverbanks, some capable of storing well over 50,000 tons at once, insulated with sawdust to keep the ice frozen through summer. From there it was loaded onto ships bound for Boston, New York, and even as far as the Caribbean and South America, where New England's natural ice cooled everything from household iceboxes to shipments of fresh fish and meat.

At its peak in the late 1800s, the Kennebec ice trade employed thousands of seasonal workers and made towns like Hallowell, Gardiner, and Richmond genuinely important players in a national and international market. It was dangerous, physical work done in brutal cold, and it disappeared almost entirely within a generation once mechanical refrigeration became affordable, leaving the river's ice houses to rot and eventually vanish from towns that had once organized their whole winter economy around them.

It's strange to think an entire industry once depended on Maine winters being cold enough, on schedule, every single year ❄️. Can you think of another industry that vanished that completely once new technology made it obsolete?

09/25/2026

Did you know the Governor has tasked the Maine State Library to build a statewide plan for AI literacy and safety? The initiative grew out of the state's AI Literacy Task Force report published in October 2025.

The initiative starts by learning directly from Maine residents: How are Mainers actually using AI (key themes include healthcare, arts, education, workforce/economy)? What questions, concerns, and opportunities are coming up, and what do people want to know? And how can libraries and other local organizations support people to use it wisely and advance their goals?

The project team is traveling across the state to host a series of community conversations. What is learned will shape the Maine AI Literacy and Safety Framework, which will be published by the end of 2026.

We are hosting one conversation at The Abbott Room in the Belfast Free Library on Tuesday, September 29th from 12-1:30 pm. This is a drop-in conversation, and you are welcome to join for any part of it. Snacks will be provided, and you are welcome to bring your lunch. Please join us!

09/24/2026

Love it or hate it! – Artificial Intelligence is now mainstream so let's learn more about it.

09/21/2026

Learn about and try out some tools that may help you be healthier!

09/20/2026

Hats, Mittens & Lap Robes - We are once again collecting mittens and hats at the library for WaldoCAP Head Start. They need mittens size infant to child age 5. There are two simple 2-needle mitten patterns available on the library website.

We are also collecting lap robes for Triad to be given to older people in Waldo County. They can be knitted, crocheted, quilted, or made of fleece. They need to be 33″-45″ wide and at least 45″ long. They want them before Thanksgiving so please have them to the library by Nov. 18th.

All items should go in the large basket at the library. There is yarn for you to use so please stop in and help yourself. Thank you for your donations!

09/19/2026

It's that time again. The 2026 Neighbor for Neighbor/Heroes 4 Hunger applications is officially available. You can either scan the QR code, click on the link below or pick up a paper application at your town office or local library.
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Gu6z7sPxPc
As always if you have any questions please call us at 207-338-4944 or email [email protected].