The Friends officially organized in 1970 as the Friends of Scarborough Public Library (FOSL). For 55 years, the Friends organization has supported the Library, through its advocacy and through its commitment to provide supplemental funding in support of the Library's endowment, programming, and collections. Friends organized events are offered free-of-charge to the community and reflect the interests of both adults and children.

In recent years, the Friends contributed to the Electric Vehicle Charging Station, donated a gift to the library for its future expansion, and offered funds for staff development when requested.  Each year we offer monies for the collections along with separate funds for programs including movie licenses to offer the community the opportunity to view feature films at no charge.

We are committed to increasing public awareness of the many benefits the Library offers Scarborough's growing community. The Friends is a 501(c)(3) organization. Memberships and other contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. We invite you to join us in our mission. Explore our website and learn more about the opportunities we offer to serve the Library and the community.

various programs

Take Time to renew your annual membership! 
Current annual membership year is June 1st - May 31st
And we've made it easier than ever for you to submit your membership form and payment:

Option 1 – Electronic Submission: Email your form and provide payment through our secure PayPal or Venmo accounts.  See form for details.

Option 2 – Mail / Drop-Off: Simply return the attached form with cash or check to the library by mail or at the circulation desk. See form for details.

Here are just a few reasons why you should maintain your Friends membership:
  • Donation of funds to purchase books and other materials for the library collection
  • Donation of BookPage, free to patrons
  • Provide funding for the Children's summer program
  • Support guest speakers and other special library events
  • Friends donated passes to museums, parks, and gardens
  • Enjoy member only events
  • Volunteer at events throughout the year
  • And so much more! Renew today!

Book Page Cover May 2025Free to Patrons. Friends Donated BookPage May 2025!

Celebrating a AAPI heritage month with three children's picture books that treasure the ties of family, including Julia Kuo's Home is a Wish. Also find best sellers and new releases from Ron Chernow, Harlan Coben, Emily Henry and more. Plus, the long-awaited return of our cooking column, the secret history of female pilots during World War II and a YA romance between a boy and the spirit possessing his body.

Plus, coming in June: Get excited, because it's time for summer reading and Pride Month! We also chat with Ocean Vuong about his beautiful sophomore novel and hear from Amal El-Mohtar about the audiobook of her solo debut.

 

Friends Booksale BooksOur Next Book Sale

Pop by the Book Shed for a Book Sale to benefit the library and sponsored by the Friends of the Scarborough Library Saturday, June 21, 2025 from 9:00 am to 1:00pm.

 

 

Emerson LectureEmerson Lecure Series -- A Friends Sponsored Program. Trans Poetics as a Form of Resistance: with t. love smith, poet

t love smith (they/them) is a queer poet who investigates how trans poetics currently serves both as resistance against oppressive gender norms and as a tool for empowerment within the Maine trans community. Come learn how trans poets use their words to challenge and disrupt structures of marginalization. Tuesday, July 1, 2025 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM in the Meeting Room. Registration is required. There are 40 seats available. Register here.

Monster Beauties is an intergenerational transgender poetry anthology composed of narratives of poets with Maine affiliations under the current affiliations. The book is the culmination of Graduate Research Opportunity Scholar, t love smith's Trans Poetics Archive project which began in October 2024. Through immense community support, Trans Poetics Archive curates public statewide monthly showcases to highlight trans poets in Maine, reclaiming public space for the centering and celebration of authentic trans narratives. The project investigates how trans poetics currently serves both as resistance against oppressive gender norms and as a tool for empowerment within the Maine trans community. Come learn how trans poets use their words to challenge and disrupt structures of marginalization.   

t love smith (they/them) is a queer poet stewarding unceded Wabanaki land, studying poetry at Stonecoast MFA, reading for the Stonecoast Review, interning at The Telling Room, and creating content at WMPG, reading as the Assistant Poetry Editor of the Stonecoast Review.  As a GRO Scholar, t is curating a series of events for the Trans Poetics Archive which will culminate Spring 2025 with the publication of Monster Beauties:  A Maine Transgender Poetry Anthology.  Their poetry has been published in new words press vol. 3, Island Ink issue 2, Oddball Magazine, the Free Press, as well as presented on local radio podcasts: Transgender Poetics on WMPG and Poems from Here on Maine Public Radio.