

KENNEBUNK - The 2014 calendar year was very busy for the Kennebunk Free Library. After about six months of preparation, KFL joined 60 other Maine libraries this June to become part of the Minerva system; a large integrated collection of books, video games, DVDs, audiobooks, CD’s and magazines. Member libraries must pay an annual fee, but the enhancement is well worth the price.

“Patrons have access to over 6 million titles, which is a huge change from the 50,000 we have in house,” said Kennebunk Free Library director Jill LeMay. “If we don’t have it, we’ll get it,” said LeMay of the vast consortium. If an item is not in the Minerva database, it can be retrieved from out of state libraries.

“People can place orders online,” assistant director Janet Cate noted. 

The surplus has made a lot of patrons happy and is a huge bonus for those that don’t have cable and want to watch a television series such as the popular "Game of Thrones." TV series are split apart within each series and if KFL doesn’t have the episodes, they can have them shipped from another Minerva member. The in-house shelves of DVDs also give that added bonus of movie store nostalgia for those who miss the days of Blockbuster and Double Feature.

With the enlarged database, there are also a lot more patron names in the system, which leads to duplicate names, so it’s required for members to have their library cards available for checkout to prevent mistakes such as accessing the wrong person’s account.

To prepare for the change, bar codes had to be changed manually and data was switched over into the newer system, but the library had a lot of help from its volunteers. The extra help also trimmed down KFL’s collection, removing duplicate items as well as books that were in poor condition.

The Kennebunk Free Library offers more than just Minerva. As part of a grant from the State of Maine, the library received six PC’s and four laptops. To borrow a laptop, a patron only needs to provide identification which the library will hold until the item is returned. The laptops are a great way to get work done, perform research or to play an online game. At nearly any time of day, it’s common to see people using the free Wi-Fi on them in the reference or reading rooms by the fireplace, cozying up away from the winter chill.

Through other aid such as the New Century, Huntington Common Charitable Fund and IRIS grants, the library has a microfilm printer/scanner that is used for genealogy research and a DaVinci machine that assists in magnifying font. Volunteers use the microfilm to find the name, age, birth and death, which are then recorded for genealogy use.

The new year looks to be another productive one for the library with many upcoming events, such as a silent art auction and a third annual mini golf event in February as well as Pi(e) day on March 14 to mark 3.14, where volunteers will provide pies of all types including whoopee pies, chicken pot pies as well as apple pies.

For more information on services, volunteering and events, go to kennebunklibrary.org/kennebunk/.
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