About all about our library

Our Library

The Lincolnville Community Library is the heart of the community, connecting neighbors, providing resources and fostering lifelong learning.

One-room Schoolhouse Becomes Modern Library

The new Lincolnville Community Library opened on February 1, 2014, in a renovated one-room schoolhouse built originally in 1849. The opening date was just fifteen months after nearly 200 people gathered to grab a long rope and help pull the shell of the old building, owned by the Lincolnville Historical Society, across Main Street to a formerly vacant lot. The following spring, a large team of skilled volunteers and professional contractors started renovating the schoolhouse, giving it everything from a new roof and clean white clapboards to insulation, refurbished windows, and a beautiful red-birch floor. They also built the addition that houses the librarians’ workroom and a bathroom. Next to the library building, a crew led by women built the two wooden sheds that now house historical exhibits for the Jackie Watts Open-air Museum.

Hundreds of individuals and businesses joined in this community effort to build a new library for Lincolnville, donating money, materials, services and labor. The project was also supported by generous grants from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the Davis Family Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation, the Maine Humanities Council, the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust, and the Waterwheel Foundation. Today we have a full-service public library commissioned by the state of Maine.

Modeling Energy Efficiency

Our goal in renovating the former Lincolnville Center Schoolhouse was to maintain the building's historical integrity while making it as energy efficient as possible. A well-insulated ceiling and double walls, airtight windows, and LED bulbs in light fixtures all helped us to achieve this goal. An energy efficient air-source heat pump keeps the main room warm in winter and cool in summer, while small, electric heaters in the addition supplement that system in the coldest months. Thirty solar panels on the roof generate all the electricity the library needs. The library received a grant from Efficiency Maine to support the installation of the solar panels and the development of educational programs about renewable resource technology. Our solar panel inverter output is uploaded to the Internet and a summary can be viewed here: Solar Panel Production

Board of Directors

Lois Lyman, president
Barbara Gould, Secretary
Jim Sweet, Treasurer
Lynda Lillywhite
Karen Prather
Kathleen Oliver

Staff

Kristina Landi, director