Woolwich Library Funding Vote FAQs

1. Why is the town of Woolwich holding a special town meeting to vote on library funding?

At the April town meeting, the library funding article was amended from the floor in a way that raised legal and procedural concerns about the vote. On the advice of town counsel, the Woolwich Select Board has called a special town meeting so voters can vote again on the same library funding article.

The Patten Free Library did not request that a special town meeting be held and did not take part in the decision to call it.. 

2. What are Woolwich residents being asked to vote on?

During the meeting on Jun 24, 2026, Woolwich residents will be asked to vote on two, potentially three, articles:

• The first, to select a moderator for the meeting, which is standard procedure during any town meeting. 
• The second will be to approve the original budget amount for the library, a total of $80,108. This amount roughly equates to $28 per person in Woolwich, or less than 1% of the total Woolwich town budget. 
• The potential third article will only be put to vote if the second fails, and it is to vote to approve of the town purchasing 100 library cards at the current annual cost of $85 per card, for Woolwich residents unable to afford them. 

3. How many Woolwich residents are currently active cardholders of the Patten Free Library?

There are 951 current active cardholders from Woolwich. An active cardholder is anyone who has a new card or has renewed a card within the last 2 years.  Of those, 731 are adults, 46 are young adults, and 174 are children. 

4. Are all RSU 1 (including Woolwich) students automatically issued library cards? 

Library cards are never issued automatically. Only students that live in the member communities of Arrowsic, Bath, Georgetown, West Bath, and Woolwich are eligible to receive library cards at no cost. Students – and any person –  living outside of those member areas can purchase a non-resident card (currently $85 annually).

4. What do Woolwich residents receive from the library as a member community?

As a member community, all Woolwich residents are eligible to receive a library card at no charge and are also able to access library programs like:

• Free access to Maine parks, museums, and cultural venues, including Maine State Parks Pass, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Portland Museum of Art, Maine Maritime Museum, Children’s Museum & Theater of Maine, Railway Village Museum, Farnsworth Art Museum, and Chocolate Church Arts Center via a pass that can be checked out with a library card. 
• Borrowing from our digital collections which include eBooks, audiobooks, magazines, and video. 
• Borrowing from our Library of Things Collection (non-traditional items such as a telescope, DVD player, or lawn game).
• Home Delivery Services for any eligible resident of a member community who can not physically come to the library

Additional information on all other library programs, like the ‘Book-a-Librarian’ and ‘Repair Cafe,’ and more can be found at www.pattenfreelibrary.org. 

6. What happens if Woolwich votes not to fund the library? 

If Woolwich votes to not fund the Library, residents would need to purchase a non-resident library card (currently $85 annually per card) in order to borrow materials from the Library. Additionally, without Woolwich’s funding, the Library’s board would have to decide if programs and/or hours would need to be cut, negatively affecting everyone who uses the library and participates in its variety of programs. 

Also, the current Woolwich residents who utilize the library’s Home Delivery Service would no longer have access to that service and  the town would no longer have representation on the Library’s Board of Trustees. Woolwich residents would also lose access to select programs which are only open to residents of towns in the municipal funding partnership , such as Summer Reading and the Annual Writing Contest 

7. The library has a large endowment (approximately $9 million). Why does it need taxpayer money from the town?

Like most nonprofit organizations, an endowment is designed to provide funding for specific operations and projects for an organization in perpetuity. It is generally considered best practice to draw no more than 5% of the endowment annually – which is what the library follows. This way, the endowment continues to grow over time, providing long-term funding through the interest it gains. 

Also similar to other non-profit endowments, many of the gifts in the Library’s endowment are restricted, meaning the principal amount cannot be spent and must remain invested for the long-term health of the library, and certain amounts of the endowment can only be spent on specific things. 

Because of the careful management of the endowment, the library is able to fund a significant portion of its operations, which helps keep costs to member municipalities lower than they otherwise would be. Like all libraries, we operate as a community service organization and therefore, some of our operations are funded with tax-payer dollars. For the Patten Free Library, approximately 33% of our operating budget is covered by the municipalities of Bath, West Bath, Arrowsic, Georgetown and Woolwich. 

8.  The Library increased its budget ask from the towns this year. What is the reason for this increase?

9. Where can I find financial information about the library?

All of the Library’s financial information is published on our website; : How We Are Funded · Patten Free Library  and our annual report is located at:   https://pattenfreelibrary.org/annual-report/ 

Our financials are reviewed and approved by our Board of Trustees and a third-party CPA firm to ensure accuracy, completeness, and transparency.