Swans Island Library History
Judith Monroe, a
long-time Swans Island summer resident, wrote on October 2, 2000:
I remember that
the first public library was started by Wesley Staples, Jr., son of Wes.Sr.
and Mary Staples of Swans village. He had some volunteer help
in building a small collection, a few of the books are still found in the
current collection. They are marked with the letters I.T.F. which
meant "In the file", to signify that the title was cataloged. I was
one of the volunteers who helped Wesley move books into the library building
which was situated just over the crest of the hill coming from Swans village
toward the Odd Fellows Hall. It was located across from the Lunt's
gift store, but was moved or torn down some years ago.
Wesley then moved the collection
to the site of the old library (where the boat museum is now [in the Lee
house in Atlantic Village, a few steps from the ferry dock]). ...
After Wesley moved to the west coast, Helena Bailey picked up the project
of the library and carried it to the next step, and after that Maili [Bailey]
took over. The [current] library ... was given to the town, also
because of the influence of Wes Staples, Jr.. He approached Mrs.
Geddes, the owner of the schoolhouse and suggested that it would be a wonderful
place for a library, and Mrs. Geddes agreed. She left the place to
the town in her will. The rest is history."
On Oct. 29, 2003, Wes Staples
provided a complementary a “Point of historical note: “
I personally started
and named the "Library" on Swan's in 1970, in a small building owned by
the Methodist Women's group, at the bottom of Lindsey Hill (across from
where the little gift shop was). This was a free summer after
graduating form NYU and it was an idea whose time had come. During
that summer all of the teen and preteen island kids went door-to-door and
collected more books than we could house. Mr. Wiseman made
the sign and Mrs. Wiseman (then a librarian at Harvard University, I think)
gave us catalogue cabinets and cards. We organized, typed and
wrote cards for 3000 or more books, had an opening day party, collected
a few hundred dollars in a jar, and off it went with the help of Maili
Bailey's mom and dad who took a strong interest in it and made it fly after
I left for a job in London. They eventually moved it to the building
which now houses the "Maritime Museum" above the ferry terminal,
near Sandy and Judy's house.
Once, years ago, I was spending
the afternoon with Minna Geddes who lived at the present site of the library.
She was then in her late nineties and felt very alone and disinclined to
bequeath the property to her distant family. I suggested she
leave it to the Town as a future site for the Library or Museum. There was no commitment, not even a response that I remember. That winter
she passed away and had indeed done that. She gave me several
of her paintings over the years which I intend the library to have.
I would love for the library
to be called the Minna Geddes Memorial Library but that's not my call. Our name, the Swan's Island Educational Society is a little broad but covers the several activities under the umbrella. That
doesn't preclude the building itself having a different name.
The Swans Island Library was
housed in the Lee House from the early 1970's until 1997. By the end of
the 1980's, the library's expanding collections were squirreled into every
conceivable corner of this building, including in the bathroom; and space
for programming and other library services was minimal. The need for a
larger building for the library grew inescapable.
In 1990 the Old School in
Atlantic was bequeathed to the Swans Island Educational Society, the library's
parent organization, by Minna Besser Geddes. Residents of Atlantic Village
had been educated in that building until the early 1950's, when Swans Island's
three schools were consolidated into one. The building sat unused until
the 1960's, when it was purchased by the poet Virgil Geddes and his wife
Minna Besser Geddes.
The Old School building in
1990 was a lovely space with wonderful possibilities. Since then, much
work has been put into realizing those possibilities, work and related
resources, most of it by island residents who take much pride in their
library.
For further information,
call (207) 526-4330 or see the Swan's Island web site at http://www.swansisland.org/
This
page is a gift to the Swan's Island Library
by Karin
Borei |
 |
Copyright (C) 1998+
Swans Island Educational Society |
Most recent
update: May 23, 2005
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