Photo credit: Sally Fay

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, an annual national campaign sponsored by the American Library Association to promote the advantages of being a library card holder. Here in Gorham, we can experience those advantages firsthand at the town’s two public libraries, Baxter Memorial Library and North Gorham Public Library. The two facilities offer a range of resources, programs and services that foster connection, learning and creativity for children and adults alike.

In recognition of the importance of these and Maine’s other 255 public libraries, the Maine Library Association and Maine State Library have launched a statewide Library Passport Contest, which runs from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

“Each library in the state is special and unique in its own way, and MLA and MSL would love for Mainers to experience as many libraries as possible before the end of the year,” explains Jon Knepp, vice president of the Maine Library Association and director of the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft. Contestants are challenged to visit at least one library in each of Maine’s 16 counties and collect either stamps or signatures on their library passport to verify their visit.

Participants can obtain a passport via download at mainelibraries.org/passport or by visiting a local participating library, including Baxter Memorial, and asking for one. Entries can be submitted by mail to the Maine Library Association, P.O. Box 1993, Portland, ME 04104 or by sending a photo of the completed passport via email to vicepresident@mainelibraries.org.

Completed entries will be eligible for gift cards and prize packages from contest sponsors, including L.L.Bean, Briar Patch Books, Shaw’s, Hannaford and The Maine Whoopie Pie Festival. Winners will be determined by random drawing at the beginning of January and prizes will be mailed out soon afterwards.

Libraries have the power to expand our horizons and open doors to new worlds. Start your Maine library appreciation tour by getting your passport validated at Gorham’s own Baxter Memorial Library—or if you’re not up for a road trip, visit either town library and sign up for a library card!