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Newfield Library is Town’s ‘Real Treasure’

December 26, 2011 - Newfield - The mission of the Newfield Library, officially known as the Village Library and Reading Room, hasn’t changed in the 125 years since its founding – to give the community a place to gather and to provide patrons with the latest reading materials.


The board of trustees, headed by Greg Cuffey, only recently realized that 2011 marked the 125th anniversary of the library and so no special events have yet been held. However, plans are now in the works for a party early next year to commemorate the milestone.


“Even in this digital world, libraries are not obsolete. A library is important because it provides a place for face-to-face socialization and is a place to bring the community together,” Cuffey said.


Since its founding in 1886, the library has grown to house a collection of about 5,000 books, including the latest bestsellers, more than 200 DVDs and 60 books on tape. It also has a separate children’s area and a computer providing free Internet access. It serves about 1,600 patrons and is open 23 hours a week.

Now located at the town office building, the library for much of its history operated from a two-room, one-story building on Elm Street that was originally used by a succession of local lawyers. In fact, some believe U.S. Supreme Court Judge Nathan Clifford once practiced law there.


The library association bought the law office from Luther Straw on May 3, 1890, for $150, according to research Cuffey has done into the library’s early years. He said Henry C. Hixon was the last lawyer to use the building before it was purchased for use as a library.


Cuffey is unsure when the building was actually constructed because in the 1800s, buildings were often moved from one location to another. As best as he can tell, it “landed at the current site sometime in 1850.”


Old timers remember that townspeople used to gather around the woodstove in the library on Saturday nights during the winter. The library then consisted of a room with bookshelves, as well as a separate reading room.


Cuffey doesn’t know why the library moved from the building on Elm Street, which the association still owns, to the town offices on Route 11 in 1989. But he suspects it had something to do with heating issues, as well as space concerns.

The library now occupies half of the town office building and the town pays for utilities as well as contributing $750 annually to help pay for library operations. The library association, however, is an independent, nonprofit group run entirely by volunteers.


Even Cheryl Cause, the librarian, is a volunteer. She’s been overseeing the library for the past three years, and Cuffey credits her with its revitalization. Before Cause came on board, for many years the library had only been open for two hours a week, on Tuesday evenings and one Saturday a month.


“(Cause) has really been doing yeoman’s work for us and her positive attitude and excitement is infectious,” Cuffey said. “She works hard to get the latest bestsellers and also quizzes patrons about their interests and goes out of her way to find what people want.”


In addition, she started a summer reading program and held a reading group last winter. This winter, the library is also instituting a weekly tea, on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. Cuffey said plans are in the works for other activities, such as art exhibits, brunches and wine and book events.


Because it’s a strong interest of his and because he was looking for “any reason to celebrate and give people a reason to rally around,” Cuffey delved into the history of the Newfield Library soon after being elected president of the board earlier this fall.


That’s when he discovered it was the library’s 125th anniversary. “I’ve driven by the former building for years and never knew it used to be the library until I started my research,” he said. “All I knew about the library before was the common folklore.”


He said the board is seeking any old photos of the library and is also trying to find the original sign, which can be seen on a photo from the 1980s, but has since disappeared.


During his research, Cuffey also found out that a local man, Philip G. Brown, left the Newfield Library $2,000 in his will to buy books. He left a larger amount to the Portland Public Library, which is still drawing from its fund to purchase new material. Now Cuffey is trying to find out what happened to Newfield’s bequest.

Although she has no background in running a library, Cause said she couldn’t think of a better second career.


“I just love books,” she said about why she took on the demanding volunteer position. “I absolutely love books and couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

When Cause first moved to Newfield after retiring from a 30-year career as an administrative assistant at IBM, she had no idea the town even had a library.

Since becoming the librarian, Cause has been working on building up the collection of DVDs and books on tape, as well as providing rotating exhibit space for local collectors to show off items of interest.


“The best thing about this library is that it’s a meeting place for the townspeople and I think it’s also a necessity in this poor economy,” she said. “You can come here and watch a movie, read or get online. It’s just a wonderful library that’s providing a great service people can take advantage of.”
Cuffey agreed.


“This library is a real treasure and I want everybody to know about it.”


Kate Irish Collins, The Reporter, December 2011


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