PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — While Christmas trees are a popular sight this time of year, an 11-foot-tall tree made of books at the Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library is causing patrons and passers-by to do a double take.
“Libraries across the nation are creating literary trees to celebrate our holiday culture and our love of literature,” librarian Sonja Plummer-Morgan said. “And with our beautiful new foyer, we wanted something special this year. A literary tree was an exciting and challenging project.
“I posted something on our Facebook page about wanting a literary tree and asking for volunteers. I also sent out emails to specific people that I knew might be interested,” she said. “Dr. Gregory J. Hamlin [a computer and robotics instructor at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics] and his wife, Louise, were the first to reply back and said they would love to do it.”
The Hamlins, along with MSSM student volunteers Jasmine Waite and Allison Johnson, helped construct the tree.
“We started around 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, and our part was wrapped up by 3 p.m.,” Louise, a school nurse at MSSM and board member of the Turner Memorial Library, said. “The top was finished by Rebecca Shaw, who also decorated the tree with lights and ornaments she crafted to fit the theme of a literary tree.”
Volunteers used approximately 1,000 books to construct the holiday piece.
“Most of the books were donated to us,” Plummer-Morgan said. “We ran out of books almost at the top of the literary tree, so we did have to use a few books from our shelves. The law offices of Bemis and Rossignol also lent us some sturdy law books to use. We used some ‘American Jurisprudence’ books as the foundation.”
Louise said to begin the process, her husband built a simple wooden structural frame to help guide the construction.
“Then we started building,” she said. “We had to be careful during construction that the final product would be structurally sound. We laid the books much like a brick layer does and used many layers of non-slip shelf liner to link the sides together and make sure the books would not slide.”
Louise Hamlin said she is proud of the tree.
“All of us are so happy to have had the chance to add to the holiday excitement at the Turner Memorial Library,” she said.
Plummer-Morgan said she, too, loves the tree and is pleased with people’s reactions.
“I love that community members are coming in and they are just thrilled with it … snapping photos,” she said. “We’ve seen people slow down and get out of their cars just to take a picture even when we’re not open. The response from the community is fun to see.”
The literary tree will stay up through mid-January.
Plummer-Morgan smiled. “It is likely a new annual tradition for us,” she said.