Discover some of the exciting places you can explore with your Bethel Library card!
The Bethel Library has museum passes!
Bethel Library Passes 2025 include access to some of the following places:
Maine Maritime Museum
Fishing, building, trading, exploring, privateering, enjoying; Maine has always been about the sea. All these aspects are well covered in a museum in an old shipyard, next to today’s most important Maine shipyard, Bath Iron Works (Tours available.) Learn more about the museum here: https://www.mainemaritimemuseum.org/
MILL
We tend to think of forests and wilderness, but industry, especially textile mills and shoe factories, was a very important part of Maine. It’s a story about technology, but even more about people; MILL knows that. Learn more about the museum here: https://mainemill.org/
Maine Mineral and Gem Museum
Never a big mining state, Maine has nevertheless produced a range of mineral products and a spectacular variety of semi-precious stones. The story is well told, right here in Bethel. Learn more about the museum here: https://mainemineralmuseum.org/
Tate House
There’s not much left of really old Portland; it kept burning down. But in 1755 a well-to-do British immigrant built a stylish house a few miles away, and ran his business and the British Navy’s (masts) timber business for decades. Learn more about the museum here: https://www.tatehouse.org/
Dreaming of the Library Plant Sale
Looking forward to the Bethel Library Plant Sale from a library trustee prospective
Plant Sale Sign at the Bethel Library
I think many of us are relieved to see green hues and warmer temperatures finally back. For me, the signs of spring I always count on in Bethel are peepers, ice cream being served on the porch again at the Sugar Shack, and the planning of the Library Plant Sale! Now with all three of these occurring, we must be past the gray and cold of winter.
This year, the Library Plant Sale will be Saturday, June 7th, in the yard next to the Library on Broad Street. It is one of my favorite mornings of the year as people begin to gather almost an hour before the sale begins to save their spot and maybe daydream about what they may find. I am always impressed with the hardiness of our Western Maine neighbors and this continues to be the case on Plant Sale Day. Two years ago, my first year helping with the sale, it simply downpoured the whole time. But the line was still out, and the sale was a success! Like our garden plants, our community shows up each spring again and again.
Not only does the sale celebrate the season but of course the proceeds support our non-profit library. Did you know that about 70% of our funding comes from private and business donations? Truly a community enterprise.
Plants can be donated to the sale starting on June 6th, or reach out, and I will happily come dig them up from your garden. Tags to identify the plant and its habits are at the library. I hope you will join us to kick on the summer on June 7th!
By Eliza Hazen, Bethel Library Trustee
The Bethel Library offers a pass to the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum to its patrons
The Bethel Library has partnered with the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum to offer a free pass to the museum. The pass program admits 2 adults and up to 4 children or teens to explore the museum. The MMGM showcases our geological history, displays renowned mineral and rock collections, and provides educational opportunities. Check out their website for more information about the museum: https://mainemineralmuseum.org/
All you need to access the pass program is a patron account in good standing with the Bethel Library! The library pass can be used by one individual or group for each calendar day, so plan ahead and know your preferred dates! Get the pass from the front desk at the Bethel Library. For more information or questions regarding the pass program please contact the Bethel Library at 207-824-2520 or come in during opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from 9-1 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 12-5
Knit Happens at the Bethel Library
An update from our Yarn Hub volunteers!
The Yarn Hub has been knitting along!
This program began last fall when volunteers hosted a successful “Destash” Yarn Sale at Bethel’s HarvestFest. They had enough beautiful yarn left over, generously donated by the community, to create a yarn “store” in the upstairs of the Bethel Library. It’s called a “store” because patrons can purchase yarn for “Pay What You Can” prices.
The Yarn Hub volunteers were excited to collaborate with the Maine Valentine Project by holding some “learn to knit” sessions in the late fall, yielding over a hundred hats and scarves for the homeless.
Creating this space spun into more than just providing a source for yarn in Bethel and filling a bin with wonderful handmade items for donation. It united people for a good cause, fostering community, new friendships, and a heartfelt sense of giving.
The Bethel Library is filled with much more than books!
Top Fiction Books by Circulation at the Bethel Library in 2024
A short summary of the top most checked out fiction titles from the Bethel Library in 2024
Tied for The Third Most Checked Out Title:
Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks
Dreamland is an emotional story that follows a farmer with a passion for music, an aspiring singer, and a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage with her young son. This love story explores the theme of risking everything to pursue a dream and questions whether it is truly possible to leave the past behind.
The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring
Set in Dalton, Maine, in 1990, this novel explores life in small-town America. When a local makes an unthinkable decision, the community is shaken. In the aftermath, personal issues come to light, revealing that no one is quite who they seem.
The Second Most Checked Out Title:
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Elizabeth Zott is a self-assured research chemist in 1960s California whose career takes an unexpected turn when she becomes the star of a popular TV cooking show. Lessons in Chemistry combines humor and keen observations with a vibrant cast of characters while also portraying the unique challenges of early feminism.
The Most Checked Out Title:
Welcome Home, Stranger by Kate Christensen
This novel explores grief, love, and family complexities through the journey of a woman in her fifties who reluctantly returns to Maine after her mother’s death. It raises the question: Can you ever truly go home again? Lively and emotionally resonant, it captures the essence of the human experience.
Staff Picks October 2024
A few books our staff really enjoyed recently!
Caralyn’s Pick: This Other Eden by Paul Harding
An enduring testament to the struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerence and injustice. Great characterization and prose.
Lee’s Pick: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Post-apocalyptic but somehow hopeful; the story shows the power of the human/animal bond and how humans need others.
Nancy’s Pick: Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Unusual plot and beautifully written story that addresses reintroducing wolves to Scotland. Themes of family and relationships. Great for nature lovers and those interested in complex families.
Kelcy’s Pick: Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
This book was sad, creepy, mysterious, and romantic all at once. Told from alternating perspectives of one wife who takes a journey under the sea and the other wife who was left behind. I downloaded the audiobook version on cloudLibrary and couldn’t stop listening!
Recommendations if you like short, cozy, translated books
As the autumn and winter seasons approach the library receives more requests for cozy books. Here are some of our favorite short, cozy, translated reads.
What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyam
This book, translated from the original Japanese, tells the narratives of five interconnected individuals. Each character visits the library at a point in their lives where they are looking for a renewed sense of purpose and direction. This short novel is an insightful and inspiring read. The simple yet elegant prose beautifully captures the essence of the human experience—an ode to the transformative power of literature and the sanctity of libraries.
The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
This enchanting Korean bestseller takes readers on a journey through a department store that specializes in selling dreams, offering a unique perspective through the eyes of a new employee named Penny. As Penny explores the store's various floors, each dedicated to selling different kinds of dreams, we are introduced to the department store’s eccentric employees. The novel's exceptional world-building weaves together a magical and thought-provoking narrative that is sure to captivate the imagination.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
This novel is the story of four individuals and their motivations for wanting to travel back in time temporarily; from wanting to correct a mistake, seek closure, or address a regret. The rules of time travel from the small Tokyo cafe are stringent, deterring many people, including a rule that the time traveler must return to the present before their coffee gets cold. Despite this, these four individuals decide that the journey through time is worth undertaking, even though it will not alter the present. It is a concise and introspective novel that delves into the intricacies of human relationships, while also prompting reflection on regret, closure, and missed opportunities.