To minimize the risk of exposure to coronavirus, we are suspending all homebound and curbside deliveries. In addition, we ask that patrons please hold onto their borrowed items the library re-opens to the public. Please do not use the outside book drop unless absolutely necessary. Due dates have been extended to April 15th, and we are not charging late fees. If you get any overdue e-mails please ignore them. Thank you for your understanding.
The Witherle Staff
A portrait of Noah Brooks keeps watch over the Reading Room. Brooks was a Castine journalist, editor, and writer of a definitive biography on Abraham Lincoln. He donated a substantial part of his personal library to the Castine Town Library (later the Witherle).
The library contains over 13,000 volumes that circulate 20,000 times a year to almost 1,400 registered borrowers.
Youth Services is the bright light at the Witherle. Never a dull moment downstairs in the Family Room.
Castine residents as well as those from surrounding towns are encouraged to get a library card and enjoy all the Witherle has to offer.
Patrons and guest speakers provide top-notch programming including book discussions, policy discussions, lectures on topics of interest, and specific constructs such as the Socratic Seminar.
Patrons enjoy using library materials or their personal devices in the Witherle’s sunny Reading Room. There, a large collection of books and materials spanning the 17th through 20th centuries comprise the Witherle’s Local History Collection.
A Tiffany clock, donated by Noah Brooks, stands watch (and still keeps good time) over the library rotunda.
The Witherle features a deep collection of fiction and non-fiction CD books, many titles on bestseller lists, as well as extensive DVD offerings across many genres.
To address our unprecedented global and immediate need for access to reading and research materials, as of today, March 24, 2020, the Internet Archive will suspend waitlists for the 1.4 million (and growing) books in our lending library by creating a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners. This suspension will run through June 30, 2020, or the end of the US national emergency, whichever is later.
The Bangor Public Library is giving any Maine resident a card. As a BPL cardholder, you will have access to dozens of magazines available on Flipster, some classic e-books and unlimited-users audiobooks on RB Digital. For more information or to get a card call Bangor Public (947-8336). Access is available through May 31.
