About the Community Read
Libraries in the Midcoast join forces each winter to present the Midcoast Community Read, an area-wide collaborative book group. Patten Free Library, Curtis Memorial Library, Topsham Public Library, Freeport Community Library, Bowdoinham Public Library, Cundy's Harbor Library, Orr's Island Library in Harpswell and the Albert F. Totman Library of Phippsburg encourage their patrons to read the same selected title during Februrary and then come together in March for discussions, presentations and activities related to the book.
For the past seven years the selections of To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Endurance: Shackelton’s Incredible Voyage, Kite Runner and The Secret Life of Lobsters, The Grapes of Wrath and Shadow Divers have been very successful.
The Read for 2009 featured Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Live by Barbara Kingsolver along with companion books Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson and The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons.
How is the Community Read Book Selected?
Representatives from all particpating libraries comprise the committee that selects the books and arranges the scheduled events for discussions, presentations, and activities related to the title. Suggestions for the Read can be submitted by members of the community through Committee members or at any participating library. Library patrons and library staff also make suggestions.
Over the course of 3 or 4 meetings and hours of reading in between, the committee narrows and prioritizes choices before the final selection is made.
Midcoast Community Read Committee
Curtis Memorial Library, Freeport Community Library, Patten Free Library, and Topsham Public Library sponsor the Midcoast Community Read. Representatives from all participating libraries comprise the committee including library staff and Friends of the Libraries. Meetings commence in the fall to select a title for the winter Read and arrange events for discussion as well as related activities to be held in March.
Criteria for selecting the Community Read book
1. Is user friendly—affordable, manageable in length, pleasant looking
2. Has broad-based appeal to readers of different ages, backgrounds, and reading levels
3. Addresses themes, issues, and topics that encourage and sustain spirited discussion
4. Lends itself to programs and activities
5. Has a young adult and children’s book on the same or similar topic
6. Makes an author talk or presentation by a distinguished speaker possible
7. Has a movie, documentary, or play based on the book or a related subject
Website
The Community Read website is maintained by Curtis Memorial Library, please contact Pamela Bobker if you have questions.
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