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Skidompha Book Shop Is Now Open

The Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop in downtown Damariscotta, which has been closed since March because of the pandemic, is now open Monday through Saturday, 9 to 4.

Safety protocols are in place to help protect customers, donors, and volunteers.

Anyone in the shop over the age of 2 will be required to wear a mask – no exceptions -- and will be expected to maintain social distance of at least 6 feet. The shop can accommodate five customers at a time.

Donated books and other items will be accepted from 8 to 10 a.m.,  Monday through Saturday, at the back door only, with a limit of one box or bag per donor. These restrictions are designed to help protect the volunteers who sort and price donations, and reflect the fact that donations are being managed by a smaller crew than usual.

As always, donors are asked not to leave their donations outside. Even a few hours of exposure can damage books so that they cannot be sold.

According to Rosie Bensen, co-manager of the shop, “Our volunteers have missed the shop and our customers. And I know that some of our regular customers have been looking forward to visiting the shop again. We’re happy to welcome everyone. We’ve given careful consideration to our safety procedures, and we ask that people observe them as we do our best to keep the shop open.”

The book shop is a major fundraiser for Skidompha Public Library. It offers thousands of books as well as puzzles, music CDs, and movies on tape and DVD. All items are donated, all staff members are volunteers, and all proceeds support the library’s collections and programs

It’s located on the river at 17 Back Street Landing.

For more information, phone the shop at 563-7807 or  the library at 563-5513.

Still Temporarily Closed - June 2020

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The Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop remains temporarily closed through June, 2020. We are in discussions about the timing of our reopening, and are hopeful we can reopen sometime in July. We miss engaging with our customers and volunteers, and hope we'll be able to see everyone in the shop again soon. We still are not able to accept your book donations yet (so please do not leave them outside the shop!) but we are working on a plan. We will announce the details and timing of our reopening plan as soon as we have them. Thank you for your emails, messages, and notes inquiring about our status. Have a question or note for us? You can reach us by email.

As you know, 100% of all sales from Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop support Skidompha Library. Since we are an important fundraising component for the library, we ask that in the absence of being able to purchase books from us, that you consider making a financial donation through Skidompha’s website.

Classic Gifts at Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop

Visit our classics section for great deals this week!

Visit our classics section for great deals this week!

Classics are on sale at half-price until Friday afternoon, December 13. It’s a good time to stock up on great winter reading, or on books to give as gifts. On Friday, Science books go on sale.

The shop always welcomes and appreciates donations, but asks that books be left only during open hours. Even a few hours outside can ruin books so that they can’t be sold.

Open Monday through Saturday, 9 to 4
Thursdays until 6
Sundays 10 to 2 through December 29

Police and Books are a Winning Combo!

Chief Warlick greeted Josie and Lucas at Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop with some great books for them to read!

Chief Warlick greeted Josie and Lucas at Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop with some great books for them to read!

Skidompha’s Secondhand Book Shop is unique. We’re a charitable organization, and our mission is to support the mission of the library through fundraising (via the books you buy!) and through charitable acts. Our most recent initiative is a collaboration with the Damariscotta Police Department.

Our police officers are immersed in our community every day; you may see them serving hotdogs at Trunk or Treat, catching up with people on Main Street, or at stopping by Skidompha to say hello to our patrons. Their work is rooted in this community and founded on their strong community relationships.

At Skidompha (and the Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop) we know that books have the power to connect people. When we saw the positive energy our local police officers put into their interactions with our community, we thought we could help! Our Book Shop volunteers worked hard to set aside crates of children’s books for the Damariscotta officers to have with them in their patrol vehicles. Now officers have mini-libraries in their cars, and can distribute these books to children throughout their days as they see fit. We hope that these books build connection and kindness for our hard-working police officers, and comfort children when they might need it most.

We extend our sincere thanks to Chief Warlick (pictured above), who met us at the Secondhand Book Shop last week to pick up the first round of children’s books. As Chief Warlick put it, “[t]his project is another example of collaboration in support of children. We are always looking to make our interactions with children positive; having these books to hand out will help us do that.” Thank you to our local police officers for their effort to get books into the hands of more children and to our Skidompha Secondhand Book Shop for their support.

In community,

Matthew Graff

Executive Director

Skidompha Library