Tag Archives: Ellsworth American

May 18, 2012 · 12:19 pm

Staff interview: Mary McKillop

Today’s staff interview is with Mary McKillop, circulation librarian and the coordinator for the Ellsworth Public Library’s Caregiver’s group.  Caregiver’s is a support group that meets once a month for caregivers of older people.

What is the most rewarding part of coordinating the Caregiver’s group?

Working with the people in the group; and maybe finding out I have been able to help. I love the way this group has grown and how they help each other. The group helps each other with information, advice, and reassurance. Once a caregiver cried through the whole meeting—everyone listened and offered suggestions. By the end of the meeting, there were hugs all around.

What do you think is the most common reference question?

It’s hard to say, because we get so many different kinds of questions. Often people call and just want to know if we have a certain book or if we can get a copy of it somewhere (which we can through inter-library loan). Other questions can take a lot more time; we may search for information in our collection or online. Also, people from all over the country call looking for information about their ancestors from Maine—though sometimes it takes a while to search things out. Our Genealogy Room is great; we have lots of materials and The Ellsworth American on microfilm back to 1851.

Why is the library important to the community?

I think we are a great entertainment/information center. If you call or come by and ask us a question, we will do our best to get you an answer. It really bugs me if I can’t find what you want to know.

We are also a meeting place. The local chess club (that was meeting at the now-closed Mr. Paperback) is now meeting here on Thursday evenings. We also have numerous activities and programs for all age groups here at the library.

What do you think libraries will be like in the future?

I picture future libraries as becoming more of a central system for getting information or providing entertainment (I haven’t run out of movies yet :) ). Libraries will be providing the equipment and facilities to find information and have librarians to help find the answers. The advent of e-books and so forth mean that people won’t always be coming here for books, rather they will come for other types of technologies or materials. I think some people come here to sit and read quietly, check out the papers, and maybe meet with other people.

What is you favorite book, author, and genre?

I like all kinds of things, fiction and non-fiction. So many good books pass by the circulation desk when you’re working here—I’ll see something I want to know more about and take the book home. I also read some of the newest best sellers. I often have two or three books going: one “picture” read (like a cookbook with lots of pictures), maybe one for information, and one for pleasure.

Patrons and the other librarians also recommend books to me. I’m in the middle of reading the three “Hunger Games” books, recommended to me by the youth department librarians—one more to go.

At one time, I wanted to read all of the books in the Caregivers’ Corner; I only got about halfway through them. Now I just try to keep up with the new “caregiving” books.

At home, I keep a list of books I want to remember and it is getting longer. I do sometimes reread something, almost always non-fiction—the book Stuff (about compulsive hoarding) was one I read a couple of times. Right now, I keep taking home Creating Moments of Joy for the Person with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Every time I go through it, something else strikes me as a good idea for caregivers.

Thank you, Mary!

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May 2, 2012 · 10:57 am

Interview with Charlene Clemons (part 2)

Here is part two of my interview with Charlene Clemons, Assistant Director of the Ellsworth Public Library.  Charlene is our go-to person for any questions relating to genealogy, so I thought I would ask her to share her advice for beginning genealogists.  In case you missed part one of the interview, it can be found here.

Could you recommend a couple of good online resources for people who are interested in researching their family’s history?

Probably the best investment would be Ancestry.com. There are two levels of membership, one for just the United States and one that includes worldwide records. The thing to watch for is the type of record you are finding. More and more records on Ancestry are scans of original certificates and these are great resources. You want to use as many “primary source” documents as you can find. Be careful of using “family trees” or transcriptions of records that people have put on Ancestry or any other site. They are a good jumping off point, but you need to find primary sources for any information you see on a family tree.

Depending on your area of research, there are any number of sites designed to help you, some free and some subscription. “Family Tree” magazine (which we have at the library) offers lists of the best web sites about once a year. I would say go with what you can afford. Try out a pay site by signing up for the shortest time they offer, then you have a chance to unsubscribe if you are not finding the information you need.

What advice would you give to a beginner genealogist who may feel overwhelmed and not know where to start?

1.  Start simply. Do you want to do your own family tree? Start with yourself, write down everything you know, date and place of birth and marriage; places where you lived and went to school; parents’ names, date of birth, marriage and death; grandparents, etc. Make sure to prove every record with the appropriate birth, marriage or death certificate. Interview living family members and even long-time friends and neighbors of family members. Everyone has a different take on events and may just give you the clue you need.

2.  Is it just one family line you want to work on? Perhaps your maternal grandfather’s family? Start with that person and figure out what you know and what you need to know.

3.  Remember to record all your sources, their locations and when you found them. That way if there is any question that you or other researchers have later the source can be found.

4.  Visit a meeting of your local genealogical society, they will be glad to help you. Join an online genealogy discussion group. Read the genealogical how-to books. Talk to other folks researching in the library at the same time you are.

5.  Most of all, be open to what you find. Sometimes information appears in places and from people you would never expect. Make notes and find proof one way or the other.

What is unique about Ellsworth Public Library’s genealogy collection?

A few things. While many collections are created using a bibliography of what every genealogy collection should include this collection was created by a person who had some experience doing genealogy research in libraries and knew how frustrating it could be when a librarian wasn’t interested in helping you find what you needed in the collection or when the collection was spread all over the library either in open or closed stacks. (Especially closed stacks!) Because of that, the collection was set up as a sub-collection so that almost anyone walking in off the street could find their way around it. Often they need help getting started but once they are in the area, they usually find much more than they hoped for.

Another thing that makes the collection unique is the vast number of unpublished genealogies that folks have donated to us over the years. Some of these are large notebooks or spiral bound books they have had printed, but many others are just a few pages long, such as the three notebooks of “Hancock County Genealogical Society Papers”. Members who do research on someone’s family make a copy and add it to the notebooks. Very often the bits of information there will lead other researchers to new avenues in their own family genealogy. Probably 95% of the family names covered in the collection are listed in the database as a subject making it easy for folks to find a particular family.

Then there are the private collections we have been given either before or after the passing of a genealogist. Because of them we are able to have a vast array of titles that are either no longer available or prohibitively expensive. And those people or their families know the collections are being used and appreciated by other people with the same interest in genealogical research.

We also have the only complete collection of The Ellsworth American available anywhere. This is an invaluable resource for people researching the Ellsworth area between 1855 and the time of the Ellsworth Fire in 1933 when local records were destroyed.

One of the microfilm machines in the genealogy section of the library.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget the people who do their research here and how generous they are with other researchers, usually total strangers who soon become friends as they work together to dig out a piece of information on an ancestor. I have even seen people working in that corner
on something not genealogy related, offer advice to genealogists working there just because they overhear the conversation, and perhaps know a
person, cemetery or work where the needed information might be found.  There is something very special about that corner of the library.

Thank you, Charlene!

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March 29, 2012 · 11:29 am

Interview with Marie Davis

You have worked at the Ellsworth Public Library for a long time (18 years to be more precise)!  I’m sure a lot has changed in that time.  What are some of the most noticeable differences between “then” and “now”?

Some of the noticeable differences between 1994 and 2012 at the Ellsworth Public Library are:

We had one electric typewriter and one small copier.  That’s it.  That was our electronic equipment.

We hand wrote patron’s card numbers on an index sized book card which then was filed in a wooden box, and hand stamped the due date in the back of the book.  Now its all electronic.

Staff consisted of 9 persons (Edmund, Charlene and Nancy are still there) all full time and year round.  Now there are 11 year round persons and 2 extras for the summer months.

The Ellsworth American newspaper  was mostly paper copies and only the very early years on microfilm.. now all years are on film and updated yearly.

There were 2 story times  and third Sat.  Now there are 3 weekly and third Sat, AND book clubs, Lego club, writing club, sleepy club, vacation week programs etc.

There was one adult program per month.  Now adult programs are usually weekly plus 2 knitting groups, genealogy, book club, tightwads, writing group and Civil War biography book group….

What is one of your favorite memories from the library? 

A favorite memory was a request from an out-of-state lady in her 70′s who wrote and asked for any information about her father, a firefighter.  When she was two years old and living in Ellsworth he was killed in a fire that burned the front section of the court house.   A year or two later her mother remarried and her father was never spoken of again.  She had no picture of him.  She wanted to be able to share something specific with her children who were now grown.  Using The Ellsworth American I found the report and details of the fire ,and accident (the bell tower was supported by huge wooden beams that burned out and the bell came down through- he was caught in that somehow) and about him as a man.  There was obituary information about the wife, daughter and other family members. I can’t now remember details but the part that touches my heart was the picture of this tall, handsome fireman in his dress uniform.  I made a copy.  I wrote her a letter telling her to make a cup of tea and sit down before opening the rest of my package.  She wrote back her appreciation telling me that she had burst into tears.  Doing reference research for people is always satisfying but doesn’t usually make either one of us cry.

Why did you decide to become a librarian?

I’m not sure about my original motivation but I’ve always cared about helping people and as a librarian it’s a daily satisfaction.  Many people for one reason or another were never able to pursue all the education they would have liked but having a library in the community they are able to continue personal education at their own pace.  The process of inter-library loan is to borrow books, that Ellsworth Public Library either can’t afford or doesn’t have the space for, from other libraries across the country.  This service makes any pursuit possible.

One lady borrowed EPL Books to learn how to apply tile behind her kitchen counters.  She was so pleased with the results that she then did her bathroom.  Another used EPL and ILL books to have a “green and efficient” new home built.

Have you ever attended a lecture where the speaker says  ” any questions?”  and because you are not familiar with the topic you can’t even ask a question? I think we as librarians can fill that gap.  We can find enough information for persons to cover a topic from different angles until they can find the answers to the questions they can’t even ask at the start.

Not everyday but regularly you can have that good feeling of having benefited someone’s life.  Not many jobs do that for employees.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to new librarians?

Number one piece of advice to new librarians is ” follow the rules”.  Sometimes people don’t like a rule (and are not shy about expressing that) because it doesn’t suit them but the rules benefit the community as a whole and in the long run that individual will respect you.  Number two piece of advice to new librarians is  “love your neighbor”.  Just be ready to help people and you’ll find the regulars will turn and help others, like at the computers or speaking up with information that visitors are asking for. It all contributes to a family feeling at the library.

What will you miss the most about the job?

Miss about the job?  I expect to be homesick.  Four of us have been together for 18 years, 35-40 hours a week.  That’s more than some siblings spend together. All the “newer” staff are every one important to me.  And then there are the regular weekly patrons.  I sure hope all these folks are in the library or grocery store when I am so I get to see them.  The books and information will always be available in different ways it’s the people (even the quirky ones) that I’ll miss.

Thank you, Marie.  We will surely miss you, too.  Congratulations to you and your husband on your retirement!

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