UMAINE LIBRARIES NEWSLETTER

August 26, 2025

EVENTS

You are invited to Fogler Library’s public events! Stay up-to-date by following our social media accounts listed at the bottom of this email, and check out our website for a complete listing of events.



UMaine Press book editors to appear on “Maine Calling”

Two of the editors of the University of Maine Press’ most recent publication, “Maine Amphibians and Reptiles” (UMaine Press, 2025), Mac Hunter and Phillip deMaynadier, will be the primary guests on “Maine Calling” on Maine Public Radio tomorrow, August 27, at 11 a.m. (rebroadcast at 8 p.m.)

The recording of the show will be available on the Maine Calling website at some point after tomorrow and we will share it on a future Newsletter for your listening pleasure.

Tour the Library

New to campus or want a refresher? Meet with a librarian for a guided tour of Fogler Library. You’ll discover what the space offers and get to know our staff. Tours meet outside Library Classroom 2.

Tuesday, September 2: Noon

Wednesday, September 3: Noon

Thursday, September 4: 1 p.m.

NEWS

Stay updated on events, resources and projects at Fogler Library and across UMaine Libraries. Discover what’s new and exciting in our library community!

Fogler books find new life with the Internet Archive and Better World Books

In spring of 2024, we shared that Fogler’s forty-year-old electronic compact shelving is failing and must be replaced with stable, non-motorized units. Because the new shelving will reduce overall capacity, we must carefully review and withdraw materials with little or no circulation in the Library of Congress classification range Q–Z. In keeping with library best practices and UMaine Libraries’ sustainability policy, these withdrawn books will be given a “second life” through partnerships with the Internet Archive and Better World Books. When the books go to the Internet Archive, they will be digitized and made accessible to library users across the globe. Books sent to Better World Books will be sold, and proceeds will be used to support libraries and literacy initiatives worldwide.

The deaccessioning project also frees up valuable physical space, which will support Fogler by creating room for expanded physical storage for special collections as well as for newer titles in general circulation.

Although our internal preparation began last spring, final arrangements with the Internet Archive took longer than expected, so the physical work is just beginning. From now through February 1, 2026, you may notice books in the stacks with their spines turned inward. This is how we mark items that are under review for either retention in the collection or withdrawal for transfer to the Internet Archive or Better World Books. Please note that any items checked out by faculty last spring, when the project was first announced, have been flagged for retention.

Here’s how you can help:

• Return books to carts, not the shelves. If you use a book, please place it on a designated return cart so library staff can process it correctly.
• Ask for assistance. If you have trouble finding something, our staff will be glad to help.

The Internet Archive will also be hiring local participants to help with packing and transporting books. If you’d like your information submitted for consideration, email library.acq@maine.edu.

We appreciate your patience as we reorganize the stacks and prepare for a more reliable, sustainable shelving system. For any questions or concerns, please contact library.acq@maine.edu.

A recap of John Hutchinson at Norway Public Library

John Hutchinson’s recent presentation at the Norway Public Library was a great success. Several members of the Vienna Maine Historical Society attended and presented him with a special gift, a mug featuring Milton Bradley’s childhood home.

Norway Library’s Alana DePerte also sent John a thoughtful thank-you note, expressing how much the program meant to the community. John captured the evening with a cheerful selfie alongside Ingrid Grenon, President of the Vienna Historical Society.

The event was a warm celebration of history, community, and connection, and a reminder of the important role libraries and historical societies play in preserving our shared heritage.

(Photos: Thank-you note from Norway Library, the mug featuring Milton Bradley’s home, and John with Ingrid Grenon.)

Fresh to the catalog: A 189-year-old error

New to Fogler Library’s rare book holdings is a volume with a 189-year-old error. 

“Lecture on public instruction in Prussia,” published in 1836, is attributed to George Stillman Hillard (1808-1879). The actual author is Sarah Austin (1793-1867), who asked Hillard to read the lecture for her at the American Institute of Instruction’s annual session in 1835. Hillard, a noted orator, did so as a favor to her. Keen eyed catalogers at the American Antiquarian Society caught on to the error and documented their findings. 

“The Institute decided in favor of hearing a communication on ‘The Prussian system of schools…,’ written by Miss Sarah Austin, of New York, to be read… by George S. Hillard. — Proceedings of the American Institute of Instruction…(Boston, 1835).”



 You can view the full library record and notation online here.

New from Special Collections and Projects: Papers of Ava Chadbourne 

The Special Collections and Projects Department in Fogler Library has added new records to the online archival content management tool ArchivesSpace.

Ava Chadbourne was a scholar of the history of education in Maine, serving as a professor at the University of Maine. Born in Mattawamkeag in 1875, she received a BA from the University of Maine in 1915, later obtaining her MA and PhD. from Columbia in 1918 and 1922, respectively. Her work centered on the establishment of public education, as well as the proliferation of private schools, in Maine after statehood. Before working at UMaine, she gained experience as a primary and secondary school educator. Combined with her strong involvement in academic and social societies like Phi Kappa Phi and Delta Delta Delta, she devoted her career to the advancement of education in Maine. She retired as a full professor in 1942, serving as Professor Emerita thereafter. Her book, “A History of Education in Maine,” remains a foundational work in regional education history. In 1954, a freshman women’s dormitory was named Chadbourne Hall in her honor. She authored four books and belonged to Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, and Delta Delta Delta. She died in 1964.

Tom Pinette (pictured in photograph below) has recently completed processing and producing a finding aid for the papers of Ava Chadbourne. The papers contain research materials and manuscripts of Dr. Chadbourne’s research on the history of academies in Maine; materials composed during Dr. Chadbourne’s composition of “The History of Education in Maine (1936), including town histories, individual histories of religious orders, and charters for private educational institutions; and copies of legal documents important to the development of public education in Maine during the 19th and early 20th century; and primary documents related to the naming of Maine towns, detailing their etymology and cultural impact in Maine. There are historical references to Wabanaki place names, student papers on individual Maine place names, and photographs.”

(Photos: Dr. Ava Chadbourne, Tom Pinette.)

FEATURED RESOURCE

Find unique databases and online resources available through the UMaine Catalog to enhance your research, teaching and learning. Explore something new each week!

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UMaine Libraries is composed of Raymond H. Fogler Library, Merrill Library in Machias, Maine InfoNet, and the University of Maine Press.