Curtis Memorial Library

Stunning
and
historic
The first Brunswick Library was established back around 1883 when bunch of books were kept in the town hall. But John Curtis decided that the growing town needed a real library and donated a heap of money to get one built.
The nice new library was opened in 1904 and the architect was A.W. Longfellow, the brother of the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The library was a pleasant brick structure that the town eventually outgrew.
So an addition was added in 1973 and then rebuilt into an even larger one in 1999. Today the library is stunning, huge and spacious with community rooms, plenty of research material, fantastic and fun kid’s room and many programs and events. Everything is very well organized and easy to locate and use.
The Curtis Library is one of those rare and wondrous libraries that manages to combine the best of the old and the new. A modern, convenient and historic library that comes about as close to perfect as a library can get.

I may have mentioned that I live in a town without a library. We also don’t have a post office, so something weird was going on when the founders of Durham were putting things together.
I’ve been piecing my library/​research needs together via the Maine State Library and Portland Public Library. Both are outstanding, but Augusta is 45 minutes away, and Portland, 35. Brunswick, on the other hand is 10 miles and 15 minutes away. Plus, I’ve re-​discovered what an amazing town Brunswick is.
When you live in a town w/​out a library, you have to pay for the privilege of having a library card. Granted, it’s less expensive than buying every book you need, but I’ve gotten spoiled with the free-​ness of having a card at MSL.
After spending a couple of sessions in the Curtis Memorial LIbrary’s immaculate, quiet, and well-​stocked reading room, figuring out my next article idea to pitch to some editor, I decided it was time to make CML my weekly research default for working outside of the house, and purchase a library card.
I’m so glad I did.
I love this library, their research staff are helpful and accomodating. The library has a great selection of books in their holdings, and what they don’t have, I can always get through library loan.
I’m also enjoying hanging out in Brunswick, appreciating its college-​town vibe, with the town’s overtones of literary sophistication.
There will still be times I hit the Portland Room at PPL, just to have a conversation with Abraham, but CML is now my library of choice.

Amazing childrens section, with a tiered reading room complete with murals of forest fun, stuffed animals, and building blocks. Multiple rooms of picture books, quite a few computer «learning» centers, and little shopping carts for the kiddos to push around while choosing their piles of books.
Very well done, librarians. Very well done.

When I first stepped into this library, I was surprised at how nice it is. It’s pretty fancy schmancy with all of the technology, books and dvds that a town like Brunswick would need.
As Anna said, there’s tons of community involvement and I remember there being cool paper mache animals that local children had made the summer that I was tutoring here. Totally cool, friendly and welcoming environment. Even if you have access to Bowdoin’s libraries, this place is totally a treat.