Daniel Hoebeke, Orr's Island Library

I spent a couple of days in September on a friend's boat. My goal was to take pictures for the Orr's Island Library's 2025 Harpswell calendar, which will be entitled "Harpswell from the Water." It was during day two when he remarked, "I can't believe we get to live here."

As the old saying goes, a community cannot exist without a school, a fire department and a library. Libraries are a hub of the community, providing an avenue for lifelong learning, personal growth and community engagement.

Ask 10 people what they like to read and you will get 10 very different answers. This creates a challenge for a local library. The Orr's Island Library, for example, "only" has room for nearly 10,000 books.

You walk into a hardware store and ask for a screwdriver. The clerk points to a small array. "Where are your cordless ones?" "We don't have any. The standard ones are plenty good." You'll walk out thinking, "Well, that place was quaint, but they didn't have many options."