HIRAM, Maine — There’s not a whole lot to see in this tiny Oxford County town.
Tucked into a crook of land between the Ossipee and Saco rivers, Hiram has no stop lights, gas stations, restaurants or stores — but it does have a library.
For now.
Soldiers Memorial Library, founded in 1915, gets a little more than half its modest $30,000 annual budget from the town. The rest is raised every year via grants and bake sales. But, unlike much of the rest of the state, Hiram’s population shrank over the last decade. That’s got the library’s board of directors worried about the future.
Fewer local patrons could translate into a diminished sense of community and less support for the library’s budget at town meeting time.
“People assume the library will always be here — but it won’t be if people don’t use it,” said Librarian Cait Bushnell.
That’s why this winter, armed with a $97,000 grant from the Maine State Library, Hiram’s library board is transforming its sleepy, 109-year-old book-lending facility into a modern, high-tech coworking space. Board members hope the metamorphosis will reel in local remote workers currently laboring over laptops at home (or traveling to the city) and help make the library a more vibrant community space with a long-term future.
“There’s no need to travel to Portland,” reads an invitational flier making the rounds in town. “We support remote work right here in Hiram.”
Portland is about an hour’s drive from Hiram.
“We got the idea after a big power outage a few years ago,” said library board member Mary Hannaford, “when remote workers started showing up for our Wi-Fi.”
That got library officials thinking.
“Why go to town, to Dunks or Starbucks when you can stay here?” Bushnell said.
Soldiers Memorial Library is all that remains of Hiram’s old-time Main Street neighborhood. A nearby store, Grange hall, sawmill, railroad depot, VFW hall and church have all petered out over the last few decades. The elementary school, which used to operate across the street, moved to the other end of town. Hiram’s municipal offices are there, too.
The handsome library now stands alone, an inviting oasis, with plenty of sunlight, dark wood trim and a classic stone fireplace. But it’s also tiny, with an antiquated electrical hookup and an inefficient heating system. That’s where the grant funds come into play.
The entire pot of money, which totals more than three years of the library’s annual budget, is going towards physical upgrades. First, two energy-efficient heat pumps are going in this week, one on each floor. The units will make the library more comfortable in both summer and winter.
The library is getting a significant electrical upgrade, too, along with six work stations where coworkers can use either their own laptops or the library’s desktop computers.
Along with its quiet, cozy digs, the library will also offer its coworkers free coffee, muffins, a microwave, noise-canceling headphones, a printer and a meeting room — except for Thursday afternoons, when the Knotty Knitters Knitting Group uses it.
In the spring, a post-and-beam outdoor pavilion is going up near the parking lot, giving patrons all-weather outdoor shelter and 24/7 access to the library’s Wi-Fi. Currently the building is only officially open about 20 hours per week.
“But we want this thing to blossom,” said board member Dan Hester. “Maybe we’ll be open longer someday.”
As the work gets underway, the library board, along with Bushnell, its only paid employee, are trying to get the word out about the re-branding. On Saturday, Jan. 27 at 10 a.m., they’re holding an open house and tour of the facility to drum up interest.
“It’s really just another way to build community,” Bushnell said, “and that’s what we’re all about.”
Hannaford said she has high hopes for the change, because there’s a lot at stake.
“It’s the future of the library,” she said. “And maybe the town itself.”
