Library

Library web site is http://www.pittsfield.lib.me.us/

The library was built for the needs of the local population in 1903. It is located on the corner of Library and South Main Streets, across the tracks from the museum. It was built with a $15,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and matched with $10,000 raised from the citizens of Pittsfield, and $5,000 from the estate of the late Robert Dodson. The library and monument to the soldiers of the Civil War, which is in front of the library, were dedicated in 1904 and named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the same year the interior of the dome was painted. Granite inscriptions of World War I veterans are mounted on each side of the front entrance doors. The small masonry building and the land on which it sits is owned by the Town.

A distinctive feature of the library is its central dome.  The interior of the dome has a mural painted by Maine humorist Tim Sample, entitled "Reading, the Gateway to Adventure."  The colorful mural was painted in 1983, funded through a grant from the Maine Commission on the Arts and matching contributions from local donors.  The library has two usable floors.  On the main floor are reference materials, the Internet access computer, non-fiction, new books and periodicals.  One wing is set aside as the children's area.  Support areas include a rest room, the libarian's ofice, staff work areas and a photocoper.  The lower level houses all but the newest fiction, a kitchen, another rest room, a meeting room and the Buker Room, which contains Maine historical books.

The library operates as a Town department, with a five member advisory board of trustees. It is staffed by a professional librarian and three library assistants. It is primarily funded by local property taxes. The current collection consists of 22,000 volumes, 75 periodicals and a growing audio and video collection. Open 43 hours/week, the library's annual circulation reaches 32,000.

The Pittsfield Public Library, located in the center of the comunity, provides a center for all ages to gather for conversation, information and entertainment. 

Services include:

*Loans of items for all ages including books, audio books on tape and CD, videos on tape and DVD, music on CD, magazines

*Reference information

*Loans from other libraries, book reserves, book renewals, monthly new book lists, photocopying

*Weekly story times and summmer reading program for children

*Programs for adults

*Access to the Internet and electronic reference tools with high speed unfiltered access from public computers or personal laptop computers through the library's wireless connection

*Use of small meeting rooms

The library has developed a well-designed brochure which explains its history, services, hours, and policies. It also includes the library's clearly written mission statement: