Returning home from college a couple of weeks ago, I went into the Freeport Community Library in search of books for summer pleasure reading. When I went to check out my selection, the librarian asked for my library card. I didn’t have a current card, so they had to look up my number. The librarian then updated my account and asked me if anything information had changed. This past October, after living in Freeport for 18 years, my parents relocated to a newly built house in Pownal. Upon hearing this, the librarian informed me, “it is $55 a year for a library card for a non-resident of Freeport.”

I was shocked when I heard this. Even as a graduate of Freeport High School I can no longer use the library without paying $55 a year, a high cost for a college freshman. I left the library empty handed and disappointed. Pownal does not have a community library but residents, like my parents, pay taxes to the RSU 5 school district. It only seems fair that Pownal and Durham residents should be allowed access to the books at the Freeport Community Library without a yearly fee. Freeport, Pownal and Durham schools are all merging so why shouldn’t student resources be available to the whole community?

I’m a college student trying to save money like many others in the area and the Freeport Community Library should work to serve the whole community.

Andrea Goodrich
Pownal