HOULTON, Maine — A $75,000 donation will help Cary Library complete much-needed upgrades.
The library’s Board of Trustees announced Monday that the library had received the funds from Charles P. Starkey of Portland, Ore. His donation conditions a tradition of generosity started by his parents Earle and Eleanor Starkey whose 1992 gift allowed the renovation of the original Cary Library building to make room the children’s library and also helped establish the library’s genealogy room.
The current donation will fund several important improvements in the children’s library, said Librarian Linda Faucher, including the replacement of worn flooring, as well as, the addition of new oak bookcases and more comfortable seating.
“We’re looking at adding a loveseat and a couple more comfortable chairs for parents,” said Faucher. “[And] porcelain tile on the floor.”
The gift will also make a big difference in the library’s genealogy room, enabling the library to replace their current microfilm scanner with a new digital microfilm reader, scanner and printer.
“The one we have now is 11 or 12 years old and it’s no longer repairable,” said Faucher. “So, this replacement comes at a very good time.”
Additionally, the gift will allow all existing issues of the Houlton Pioneer Times to be digitally scanned and stored electronically so they will be preserved and permanently available to the public. Any funds remaining after the completion of these projects will be added to the already-established endowment fund, the Earle J. Starkey Trust Fund, presently administered by H.M. Payson and Co.
Cary Library Board of Trustees added their appreciation.
“The Trustees of Cary Library wish to express their deep appreciation to Charlie Starkey and to the memory of his parents, Earle and Eleanor Starkey, for believing in and investing in the Cary Library,” they said in a statement. “It is through the generosity and vision of library donors such as the Starkey family that Cary Library is able to continue as an important resource to the community while also remaining a comfortable and inviting family environment. This latest donation is particularly timely as a tribute to Houlton in our bicentennial year.”
The library’s Board of Trustees announced Monday that the library had received the funds from Charles P. Starkey of Portland, Ore. His donation conditions a tradition of generosity started by his parents Earle and Eleanor Starkey whose 1992 gift allowed the renovation of the original Cary Library building to make room the children’s library and also helped establish the library’s genealogy room.
The current donation will fund several important improvements in the children’s library, said Librarian Linda Faucher, including the replacement of worn flooring, as well as, the addition of new oak bookcases and more comfortable seating.“We’re looking at adding a loveseat and a couple more comfortable chairs for parents,” said Faucher. “[And] porcelain tile on the floor.”
The gift will also make a big difference in the library’s genealogy room, enabling the library to replace their current microfilm scanner with a new digital microfilm reader, scanner and printer.
“The one we have now is 11 or 12 years old and it’s no longer repairable,” said Faucher. “So, this replacement comes at a very good time.”
Additionally, the gift will allow all existing issues of the Houlton Pioneer Times to be digitally scanned and stored electronically so they will be preserved and permanently available to the public. Any funds remaining after the completion of these projects will be added to the already-established endowment fund, the Earle J. Starkey Trust Fund, presently administered by H.M. Payson and Co.
Cary Library Board of Trustees added their appreciation.
“The Trustees of Cary Library wish to express their deep appreciation to Charlie Starkey and to the memory of his parents, Earle and Eleanor Starkey, for believing in and investing in the Cary Library,” they said in a statement. “It is through the generosity and vision of library donors such as the Starkey family that Cary Library is able to continue as an important resource to the community while also remaining a comfortable and inviting family environment. This latest donation is particularly timely as a tribute to Houlton in our bicentennial year.”
