November 14th, 2023
Chip Schrader, the new Director of Scarborough Library, was the guest speaker at the Rotary club meeting on Tuesday.
Chip received his Master of Library Science degree in 2009 and was previously the Director of Goodall Library in Sanford, Maine. Before that he was responsible for Tech Services with Rice Public Library in Kittery. Working in a library is a “labor of love”, Chip remarked. He was drawn to it by chance, but both his mother and great grandmother were English teachers.
He especially loves the Scarborough Library and its amazing staff. "They are busy" Chip commented, as he talked about the numerous programs available for all ages, from pre-school through seniors. Rhythm and Rhyme, an interactive language enrichment program, is geared for babies and toddlers, birth - three. It introduces kids to the wonderful world of literacy through songs, stories, rhymes and movement activities. Preschool Learning and Discovery Time is a language enrichment program for children 3-6 years old that includes stories, songs, movement activities, STEM activities and more.
For seniors, a program running right now is Die Well, geared to helping people talk about what we would like our end-of-life experience, our death, and our disposition to look and be like. In between are book clubs, classes on computer and internet safety, using Venmo, monthly board games night, password management, knitting, sketching, arts and crafts, languages are many more. Soon they will even start a program to loan e-bicycles so people can try them out.
The library is very innovative when it comes to technology. Annually it lends some 20,000 digital items. Still, physical books and items remain popular, with 180,000 items lent annually.