Kids and Teens can get free food from the Bath Area Family YMCA’s Veggie Van all summer long! The van will be at PFL every Tuesday and Thursday at 11:45 through August 20. Kids do not need to sign up. If parents are picking up meals for children please register first here.
Looking for something to do this summer? PFL has you covered!
Click on the event to learn more, and visit our Summer Reading page to learn more about the program
Spirit Harmonies: Music and Stories of the Native American Flute with Scott “Smoking Bear” Edwards Wednesday, July 15 at 1pm All Ages
Lindsay and her Puppet Pals Friday, July 17 at 1pm Kids and Families
Nutrition and Cooking Class Wednesdays at 2 through August 5 Teens
*Dungeons and Dragons Wednesdays at 3; July 22 through August 12 Teens
Wild Animals with Sparks’ Ark Saturday, July 25 at 11am Kids and Families
Family Game Night Tuesday, July 28 at 5:30pm Kids and Families
Bowdoin International Music Festival Community Concert Wednesday, July 29 at 2pm
*Dirt Cake with Thayer Treats Tuesday, August 4 at 3:30pm Kids and Families
*Cookie Painting with Thayer Treats Tuesday, August 4 at 5:30pm All Ages (especially adults!)
Repair Café Saturday, August 8 from 10am-12:30pm All Ages
*= Registration required. Click the link for more details.
We have added many new items to our Library of Things this summer, including a VHS/VCR Player, Croquet, a Gardening Kit, Kombucha and Sourdough Starters, and more!
See the complete list here, and visit the Reference Desk to reserve your starter.
On display in the Community Room July 6-August 28
Reception: Friday, July 17 from 5-7pm
Artist’s Statement:
Sometimes I worry that we float through life without every really looking closely at our surroundings, be it the sun making flickering shadows on the wall, the remarkable geometry found in a flower, or the forest with its multitude of unique trees. There is so much beauty to observe in the curve of a petal, a twisted root, or a loved one’s cheekbones. To me those various details and so many more are important parts of the richness of life. It seems almost criminal to miss them through inattention. You never know when you’ll get to see them again, if ever. Art for me is about looking, looking closely to see that richness — found in the fragile and fleeting details, sometimes complex and sometimes quite simple — and then trying to capture them. Perhaps through the resulting drawings, someone else will think later to look closely at the richness in their everyday environment.
Image: Detail from “Hydrangea.”
Artist Biography:
My education and work history has been varied, to say the least. My undergraduate degree was from the University of Michigan in Fine Arts, while my masters was in Historic Preservation from Eastern Michigan University and my doctorate in American Studies from Bowling Green State University. I worked as a bookkeeper during my undergraduate years, but was lucky enough to win assorted fellowships during my later degrees. As a historic-preservation consultant, I worked for the National Park Service in Colorado, as well as assorted small cities in Michigan and several communities in Maine, including Bath. I have taught at Eastern Michigan University, Bowling Green State University and Colby College in the fields of Cultural Geography, Historic Preservation, American Studies, and Art History, and served as a consultant to the Searsport Marine Museum. But I also painted houses for a while. From 2005 to 2020, I worked at Patten Free Library in the Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room. From 2013 until retirement in 2020, I was the Manager of the History Room. During that time, I also researched, wrote, and found the illustrations for the Bath Historical Markers. But I have always tried to find time to draw and learn to see better.
Every summer we take a break from our usual book pairings to explore a classic! 2026’s selection is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a tale of adventure, jealousy, and whales. Kick off this year’s adventure and come back for lectures, discussions, and more. New members are always welcome!
That’s it. Cancel all other plans.
PFL Book Group: Last Wednesdays at 3pm
September 9 at 5:30pm: New England, Manhattan, Rhode Island, Vegan
We will kick off Summer Reading 2026 on Friday, June 26, from 3–5 p.m. with a party! This event is full of free family fun, including a bounce house, free books, and ice cream from Zellie’s. Registration for the Summer Reading program begins on June 22, and can also be done during the Kickoff Party.
Summer Reading is the Library’s longest and most popular annual program, featuring events, performances, activities, and games throughout the summer. Last year, more than 500 community members participated.
“This year’s Summer Reading theme, Plant a Seed, Read, couldn’t be more perfect for the active and engaged library-goers we have in our community,” said Mary Randall. “We hope to cultivate and grow our patrons’ love for literature, libraries, and all they do for their communities. We can’t wait to play!”
The Library has scheduled events and performances for all ages throughout the summer, including a puzzle race, Repair Café, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking classes, and visits from Sparks Ark, Portland Stage, Rewild Maine, and more. Regular Library programs — including storytimes, book groups, foreign language conversations, and the Knitting Circle — will continue throughout the summer.
Readers of all ages can earn prizes through Summer Reading Bingo by attending Library programs, reading books, and completing activities. Participants can also earn prize tickets every time they read.
“We have some really great prizes this year,” says Program and Outreach Manager Hannah Lackoff, “Players who complete reading tickets can enter to win gift cards to local businesses (including Skillin’s Greenhouses, Renys, and Now You’re Cooking), as well as Hearts of Pine Tickets, a chia pet, LEGO flower, art supplies, skincare sets, puzzles, games, and more. In addition, everyone who completes blackout on their bingo sheet will be automatically entered into a drawing for a gift card to Springer’s Jewelers, Bull Moose, or Island Treasure Toys!”
Summer Reading runs June 22 through August 15 and is open to anyone of any age who lives in the Patten Free Library service area, (Arrowsic, Bath, Georgetown, West Bath, and Woolwich), has a Patten Free Library card, or attends an RSU1 school or a school located within the service area.
For more information, including a complete schedule of events and details on how to sign up, visit our website.
Learn more and RegisterWe are thrilled to announce that at Wednesday’s Special Town Meeting Woolwich residents voted to approve funding of the Patten Free Library with a vote of 284 to 158! The meeting had record breaking attendance, and voters waited in long lines to case their ballots. We are deeply grateful to the residents of Woolwich for coming out and showing overwhelming support for your local library.
Your support helps ensure that all Woolwich residents continue to have access to the books, programs, services, and resources you have come to know and love.
We value our long-standing partnership with the Town of Woolwich and look forward to serving Woolwich residents for many years to come. Thank you for your confidence in the library and for investing in this important community resource. ❤
Still have questions? Read our Woolwich Library Funding Vote FAQ or come in and ask us! Information sharing is one of the libraries’ favorite things.
Our Summer Hours start May 23 and run until Labor Day.
Monday: 10-5
Tuesday: 10-7
Wednesday: 10-7
Thursday: 10-5
Friday: 10-5
Saturday: 10-1
The newest issue of Pharos, A Patten Free Library Literary Magazine is now available! This online publication features the winning pieces from this year’s Annual Writing Contest. Access it through the link below and join us in once again congratulating this year’s winners.
The 11th Annual Writing Contest was open to writers of Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry in grades 6-12 and adults. Our judges had an especially difficult time choosing from all the excellent submissions, and would like to congratulate everyone who entered, as would the staff of the Patten Free Library!
It is no small thing to be brave enough to share your words with the world, and you are all winners in our book (and we know books!). Congratulations to everyone who entered!
Read PharosTickets for our Gift Card Raffle are now on sale! We’re raffling off gift cards from a variety of local businesses all throughout June. Support the Library and treat yourself to something fun.
Tickets are on sale through the end of May, and can be purchased at the front desk or at the link below.
Ticket pricing:
• $10 each
• 5 for $40
• 15 for $100
Don’t miss your chance to win—and support the Library at the same time.
Buy Raffle Tickets
