Like other libraries around the country, Presque Isle’s Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library is a lot more than a library these days. It’s an evolving community space serving multiple needs of the public, almost all for free.
The library sees some of the most visitors in all of downtown Presque Isle, drawing families with young kids, teenagers, adults and senior citizens for a community of information: Internet access, books, movies, magazines, historical archives and several permanent and changing art exhibits.
“We have for many years emphasized the library side of our place in the community, and we’re now trying to emphasize the cultural center side,” said librarian Sonja Eyler.
Originally called the Presque Isle Free Library when it opened in 1908 with a Carnegie grant, its name was changed in 1957 after a large donation by the Turners that enabled a much-needed expansion. Recent expansions in 2013 and 2014, also made possible with donations, added the Robert and Hope Akeley Memorial Wing, which hosts expanded library space, a teen zone, and the Akeley Gallery.
“The tenet of what we do is provide information, whether it’s digital, a printed source or a human-to-human contact,” Eyler said. “To apply for a job you have to have access to the Internet and high speed Internet. Many of our citizens aren’t able to do that.”
With everything from presentations on the subject of dementia to job application assistance, the library offers a much greater variety of information services and events than it did even a few decades ago.
“We’re glad to be part of that solution,” Eyler said. “Everybody that comes in here casts a vote for what we will be in the future.”
On the ground floor of the library, Clifton Boudman has been nurturing the library’s cultural offerings and outreach as an artist in residence. He organizes the rotating Akeley Gallery, other exhibits and the relatively new book shop in the entrance.
The current Akeley exhibit, North vs South: Landscapes from Maine and Florida by William Duncan of Madawaska Lake, is wrapping up Friday. Those images of rural landscapes here and in the Sunshine State start with an iPhone photo that is turned into a grid and resized before being painted.
The next exhibit, starting Monday, is called “Ephemeral,” land-based panel sculptures by the Edmundston, New Brunswick-based artist Eveline Gallant-Fournier.
Later this fall, Boudman is also set to show a historical exhibit of photos of the Fort Road (on what is now State Street) from the early 1900s. That road was the main thoroughfare to Fort Fairfield at the time, though it was so steep ascending the hill in Presque Isle that it was often impassable.
With a steady stream of library visitors, particularly during winter, Boudman, a former University of Maine Presque Isle art professor, sees an opportunity to share some of his varying art, cultural and historical interests.
The library overall, he said, is a much appreciated community space for a diverse rural population.
“A combination of isolation and community spirit is what we connect with.”
