PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library now offers its patrons the great outdoors.
The Friends of Maine State Parks, in cooperation with the Bureau of Parks and Lands, have announced a pilot program to provide vehicle passes for day use at Maine State Parks to 10 community libraries across the state, including the Turner Library.
Other participating libraries are the Belfast Free Library, Bridgton Public Library, Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Dyer Library in Saco, Ellsworth Public Library, Rockland Public Library, Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft, Shaw Public Library in Greenville and the South China Public Library.
Each library now has an annual Maine State Park vehicle pass to be checked out and used by library patrons. The pass allows a vehicle with up to 17 people to access any of the Bureau of Parks and Lands’ 48 state parks and historic sites for the day.
Many libraries throughout Maine currently purchase these passes and loan them out to their patrons, as they do books. The Friends of Maine State Parks have purchased and distributed passes to the libraries to help stimulate park use.
“The Friends of Maine State Parks worked hard to launch this program on Memorial Day to enable library patrons who have a library card to take advantage of the vehicle passes to access Maine State Parks all season,” said Steve Curtis, president of Friends of Maine State Parks.
Curtis expressed appreciation for the enthusiasm and commitment of the 10 libraries. The group intends the program to be a two-year commitment; each library could continue the program on their own if they find it successful, he said.
The Friends of Maine State Parks is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, enhance and help improve the operation, maintenance and attendance at Maine’s 48 state parks and historic sites. The pass project aims to link communities with state parks and enhance awareness of outdoor recreation.
Contact the Turner Library at 764-2571 for more information.
