It's August and we're savoring the Maine summer days! There's still time to participate in our Summer Reading Challenges, for both kids and adults (our program runs through August 30th). We'll be throwing a party to celebrate all the reading we've done, and hand out some exciting prizes! Our fascinating museum exhibit celebrating America's 250th Anniversary is also on display until September 5th. And of course, August brings the Annual Book Sale Fundraiser - read on for all the details!
P.S. Our Executive Director Sophie Smith has a corner of the website where she shares updates and behind-the-scenes information! Click here to hear the latest DLSM news, straight from the top.
Annual Book Sale Fundraiser
It's almost here! The 2026 Annual Book Sale Fundraiser will take place from August 22nd – 29th during regular library hours. Always a popular community event, the Annual Book Sale features a wide array of used hardcover and paperback fiction and non-fiction, children's books, videogames, audiobooks, and DVDs. From the perfect beach read to a beloved picture book, you never know what treasures you might find!
We rely on a number of wonderful volunteers to make the Annual Book Sale Fundraiser happen. If you are interested in helping to sort and organize donations in the two weeks before the sale, or to volunteer as a cashier during the sale, please contact Brooke Palmer at bpalmer@dyersaco.org.
Annual Book Sale Preview Night
For those who've GOT to have first crack at our big Annual Used Book Sale - or those who want a fun, bookish night out with friends! - our Book Sale Preview Night tickets are now on sale. Join us on Friday, August 21st from 6-8PM for drinks, snacks, and socializing, and have the first chance to shop the sale!
Our Summer Reading Challenge runs through August 30th.
There's still time to participate, whether you choose the Read & Bead challenge, adopt a Reading Buddy stuffie, or earn raffle tickets for our teen prize baskets! Stop by the Youth Services Room to sign up.
Adults can still complete a game board from the Circulation Desk for the chance to win one of three themed prize totes! We have also added Read ME Statewide Summer Reading selections to our collection. You can read more about these selections here.
Please visit the Summer Reading page of our website for more information!
Join us on Friday, August 28th from 1:30-3:30 PM for a big Summer Reading Finale bash! Come celebrate all your reading successes throughout the Summer and look back at all the fun we've had!
Current Museum Exhibit
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The American Revolution gave birth to a new nation and set of ideals that have been memorialized and reimagined ever since. Remembering the Revolution will feature stories of those involved in the conflict, such as Benjamin Simpson, a local mason who participated in the Boston Tea Party and later served in the Continental Army, and Captain Jabez Lane of Buxton who fought in campaigns from Boston to New York. The exhibition will also examine some of the objects and events that later generations used to remember and redefine the Revolution.
Remembering the Revolution runs from June 26th - September 5th.
A Gallery Tour will be offered at noon on August 14th.
Adult Craft Session
Drop in to the library on Saturday, August 8th from 10AM - 12PM for a relaxing adult craft with Kat! Make a lovely pressed flower bookmark to take home with your newest read. No registration necessary.
On Tuesday, August 11th at 5:30PM we invite you to meet Berwick author Amy Laplante and hear the inspiration behind her book, "The Heart in Everything". This book is a collection of beautiful reflections accompanied by photos of the hearts in nature she has found (and that many people from all over the world have shared with her)! She will share about her journey searching for connection and spreading kindness without expectation.
We encourage you to bring in "hearts" you have found in nature to share! Or please email bpalmer@dyersaco.org with any photographs that you would like to share.
Family Craft: Bottle Bird Feeders
Did you know that roughly 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year, 50% of which are designed to be used only once? ecoMaine will join us on on Monday, August 17th at 10:30AM to make bottle bird feeders in this family event! Attendees will explores why plastic reduction, reuse, and recycling are so important and learn how to upcycle discarded water and soda bottles, milk jugs, string, and other found-natural materials into bird feeders. For all ages with adult assistance! Please register on our Events Calendar.
It's hard to believe, but the upcoming school year isn't far away! The Saco Grange 53 is conducting a school supply drive to make sure local students have everything they need to start the school year off right. There is a box in the vestibule of our main entrance where you can leave donations that will be picked up and distributed by Saco Grange. Please see the list below for suggested items. Collecting through August 21.
Teen Crafternoons
Miss Lyla is hosting a series of TeenCrafternoons on Mondays at 3:30 PM! Teens (13+) are invited to join for a relaxing craft session each week. Come connect with other teens while making something uniquely yours. No registration, just drop in!
August 3: Shrinky Dinks
August 10 & 17: Clay Trinket Trays
New Storywalk at Cascade Falls
We've just installed a new storywalk at Cascade Falls in Saco! Take a gentle trail through the woods as you follow the story of "The Bugliest Bug" by Carol Diggory Shields. Cascade Falls trail system is located off Cascade Road. Look for another Saco storywalk at Diamond Riverside Park!
Youth Programming
Please note that our regular weekly youth programming will pause from June 1st - September 8th for our Summer Reading Challenge.
Summer Storytimes
Tuesday and Thursdays,10:30-11:30 am
Deering Room
Stories and songs for kids of all ages!
Reading Buddies
Wednesdays in August, 3:30-4:30 pm
Boost your child's reading confidence while having a blast! Every Wednesday from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM, your child will pair up with an enthusiastic older buddy for a 20-minute session to play literacy games that make learning fun and explore exciting new books together. Little Buddies receive the dedicated attention they need to build strong reading and writing skills, helping to inspire a lifelong love for books. No registration required!
Dancing in the Library
Thursday, August 20th, 3:00-3:30 pm
Join Ms. Jenn from Collective Motion Arts Center for a summer-themed creative movement class!
Ages 2-4.
Tween Summer Book Club
Our Tween Summer Book Club with TA Middle School is down to our last selection! We'll be discussing "What Happened Then" by Erin Soderberg Downing on August 24th at Saco Scoop. All meetings are from 3:30-4:30 PM. Please click the link to register!
Click on the book cover to be taken to its MINERVA listing, where you can request the book even before its release date, when possible!
The Unknown
Riley Sagar
In 1926, five women disappeared from a remote island in Vermont. Now, one hundred years later, it’s happening again.
Releasing August 4.
Under the Falls
Richard Russo
A spellbinding page-turner about a crime in a small town that exposes long-held secrets and betrayals among a group of lifelong friends, Under the Falls is at once a propulsive thriller, a gut-wrenching portrait of a tight-knit rural community undone by the sins of its past, and an unflinchingly honest depiction of how porous the line between right and wrong, good versus evil, can become.
Releasing August 11.
Big Little Truths
Liane Moriarty
In this highly anticipated sequel, Liane Moriarty examines the complexities of modern women’s lives, shining light on family dynamics and long-hidden truths with wit and compassion. Whether you’ve read Big Little Lies or not, this is the perfect novel for longtime fans and new readers alike.
Releasing August 25.
The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State
Jill Lepore
"Much in history is headlong but few grand transformations have been more precipitate or more heedless than the rise of . . . the Artificial State,” writes Jill Lepore in this passionate account of how rule by machine has ravaged the world. Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism, which argued in 1951 that the machinery of modern life was reshaping the very fundamentals of human existence, Lepore, profoundly disturbed by the technology revolution and by the soulless inundation of artificial intelligence, unfurls a new history for our own twenty-first century.
Releasing August 25.
Museum & Park Passes
Did you know that Dyer Library/Saco Museum patrons can access free or discounted passes to local museums and parks? All are now open for the season! We are also excited to offer two new passes this year, to Historic New England properties and Strawbery Banke Museum. Please visit our website for a full list of participating organizations and instructions for reserving and using your passes!
