★ DERRY COMMUNITY ONLINE ★
📚 Library SectionsLibrary Hours Online Catalog New Arrivals Programs & Events Children's Section Historical Archives Mike's Picks Contact
DERRY PUBLIC LIBRARY
145 Kansas Street Derry, ME 04401 (207) 555-0130
NEW HOURS
Mon–Sat 9AM–6PM (closing early due to curfew)
📸 M. HANLON
HEAD LIBRARIAN since 1985 Michael Hanlon,
Head Librarian since 1985
Card Catalog is being migrated to a computerized system. Some books may be temporarily uncatalogued. Please ask at the reference desk.
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📚 Derry Public Library"A library is a hospital for the mind." — Anonymous, attributed to a wall plaque in our reading room. ❖ Welcome from the Head Librarian
Friends — welcome to the online presence of the Derry Public Library. I am Michael Hanlon, and I have had the privilege of serving as Head Librarian here since 1985. Whether you are a Derry resident, a researcher, or a curious visitor from elsewhere on this strange new World Wide Web, you are welcome in our building and welcome on this page. The library was founded in 1893, originally housed in two rooms above what is now the Derry News building. Our present location on Kansas Street was completed in 1909, and we have steadily expanded our collection ever since. Today we house over fifty-seven thousand volumes, a microfiche archive of the Derry News dating to 1882, and the restricted basement archives of the Derry Historical Society. A note on hours: per the recent curfew, the library is now closing at 6:00 PM effective immediately. We are sorry for the inconvenience. We will return to our regular 8:00 PM closing time as soon as conditions permit. I hope that will be soon. ❖ Library Hours
Note: the basement archives are accessible by appointment only, Tuesday through Thursday between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Please call ahead. ❖ Online Catalog
The library has recently completed digitization of approximately 40% of our card catalog. The remainder is being migrated this winter. To search the online catalog, please use the form below. If a title is not found, it may still be available — please inquire at the reference desk.
Search the Card Catalog:
Catalog last updated: 10/12/1994 — 23,419 of approx. 57,000 volumes indexed. ❖ New Arrivals — October 1994
The following titles have been added to the collection this month:
Salem's Lot by
"A tale of small-town horror set in a town not unlike our own." Fiction, F-KIN.
The Shining by
"Echoes of the Overlook." A re-shelved copy from our Maine Authors collection. Fiction, F-KIN.
Needful Things by
"Set in Castle Rock, Maine — a town some readers will find familiar in its troubles." Fiction, F-KIN.
A History of Secret Societies by
Reissued 1989. Reference, 366.D.
The Haunting of Hill House by
"No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality..." Fiction, F-JAC.
Mythology and Folklore of the Penobscot Nation by
New acquisition. Donated anonymously. Includes a substantial chapter on the figure known as Maturin — a turtle-spirit in indigenous cosmology, said to balance the world against the dark. Folklore, 398.2.A.
The Bridges of Madison County by
Bestseller, light read. Fiction, F-WAL.
The Pelican Brief by
Bestseller, legal thriller. Fiction, F-GRI.
Schindler's List by
Inspiration for the recent film. Non-fiction, 940.53. ❖ Programs & Events
❖ Children's Section
The Children's Reading Room is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Starrett, Children's Librarian from 1955 to 1983. She read aloud to two generations of Derry children. The bronze plaque above the picture-book shelves was installed by the Friends of the Library on what would have been her seventy-fifth birthday. The children's reading room remains open during library hours, although it is currently undergoing partial renovation. We ask parents to remain with children under the age of twelve at all times while in the library, including in the children's section and the adjacent restrooms. This policy is new and is for everyone's safety. Two weeks ago, a child's drawing was found tucked inside a returned copy of Goodnight Moon. The drawing, in crayon on lined notebook paper, shows a large turtle and seven small stars arranged around it. The artist did not sign their name. If this drawing belongs to your child, please come collect it; it is displayed at the reference desk. “See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the earth.” Researcher's note: I recognize the rhyme. So do, I suspect, a small number of others who lived in this town in 1958. — M.H. ❖ Historical Archives
The basement of the Derry Public Library houses the Derry Historical Society Archives. The archives include:
Access is by appointment only. Please contact me directly. The Society's website on this community server is also available: history.html. Researcher's note: the 1929-1930 newspaper microfiche has been temporarily removed for transcription. The 1958 and 1985 print archives have been moved to cabinet 3 in the rear of the basement. The cabinet combination is on file at the reference desk for authorized researchers. — M.H. ❖ Mike's Picks — Staff Recommendations
Each month I select a handful of titles that I think readers may find rewarding. This month's list is more thematic than usual.
Mythology and Folklore of the Penobscot Nation — Dr. Eleanor Aubrey
"Essential reading for understanding the spiritual geography of our region. The chapter on ancient turtle-figures in indigenous New England cosmology — the protector-spirit Maturin and its opposite — is, in this librarian's view, more than mere folklore. Some stories survive because they are remembered. Others survive because they are true."
Patterns of Disaster: A Statistical Survey of Recurring Tragedy in Small American Towns — Dr. J. P. Whitmore
"Whitmore's methodology is sound and his case studies, including a brief section on certain Maine communities, are sobering. Recommended for serious readers."
The Interpretation of Dreams — Sigmund Freud
"Sometimes our dreams are trying to tell us something the waking mind cannot accept. I have read this book three times in the last year."
Dark Score Lake & Other Haunted Waterways of Western Maine — H. Devore
"A regional curiosity. The accounts of Dark Score Lake, just three hours west of Derry, are particularly arresting. The author's interviews with longtime residents echo, in language and in detail, accounts I have heard much closer to home."
The Drowned World — J. G. Ballard
"Old water remembers."
Local Knowledge — Clifford Geertz
"On the limits of what outsiders can ever truly understand about a place. Difficult, worthwhile, and oddly comforting." ❖ Contact
The reference desk is staffed during all library hours. For research inquiries, archival access, donations of books or materials, or to volunteer, please contact:
Michael Hanlon, Head Librarian
If you have read this far, thank you. The library is, and has always been, a place where
one can be alone in good company. Come in. Sit down. Read something. Stay until close.
We will leave the porch light on. see the turtle of enormous girth on his shell he holds the earth
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since October 31, 1993
© 1993-1994 Derry Community Online • Derry, Maine 04401Derry Public Library — A service of the Town of Derry
Page last updated: October 14, 1994 — M. Hanlon, Head Librarian
library@derry.me.us • Site Map • Historical Society • Accessibility
Late fees may be waived at the discretion of the head librarian. Lost books may be replaced.