Louis T Graves Memorial Public Library

What Louis T Graves Memorial Public Library does

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public library serving Kennebunkport, Maine, and surrounding communities in York County. The institution traces its origins to 1894 and was formally named under its current designation in 1921; it operates from a historic 1813 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, expanded in 2017 with the addition of the 5,000-square-foot Mothers Wing. Its core offering combines a physical collection of more than 37,000 items with access to over 20,000 digital titles through CloudLibrary, a shared platform used by more than 200 partner libraries, alongside 400 to 500+ annual programs including author events, children's programming, and lectures.

The library is led by a Board of Trustees (with Sarah Vander Schaaff serving as Board President) and Director Loretta Swift, supported by approximately 8 paid staff and 60+ volunteers. It operates a hybrid service model that includes the Book Cellar used book sales, ticketed author events held in partnership with Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, a Community Room available for private events with audiovisual equipment, and traditional library services including fines and photocopy fees. The signature lecture series was renamed the Patsy Bray Mahoney Lecture Series.

Funding is derived from two primary streams: approximately 40% from municipal appropriations and approximately 60% from private fundraising, including an Annual Appeal with a 2025-2026 goal of $125,000. Additional ancillary revenue is generated through the Book Cellar, event ticket sales, and miscellaneous fees. The organization holds no equity, raises no venture capital, and is not structured as an investable enterprise; it is a community-supported public service institution.

Name

Louis T Graves Memorial Public Library

Legal name

Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library

Website

https://graveslibrary.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is a 501(c)(3) public library in Kennebunkport, Maine, serving approximately 6,100 cardholders with 37,000+ physical and 20,000+ digital items, 400+ annual programs, and community space in a National Register-listed 1813 building.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Library Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Library Operations & Community Branch Management (EDAEAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Library-Based Learning Programs (Public Libraries) (EDAAAFAA), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Public library services
• Community library programs
• Digital book lending
• Library fundraising events
• Children's library programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Kennebunkport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Municipal Funding: Approximately 40 percent of the Library's annual budget is requested from the Town of Kennebunkport on an annual basis, providing a stable base of municipal support.
2. Donations and Annual Fundraising: The remaining 60 percent of the budget is predicated on the success of volunteer fundraising efforts including annual campaigns, memorial gifts, and special events. The library is a 501(c)(3) organization with tax-deductible donation status.
3. The Book Cellar (Used Book Sales): Continuous sale of used and rare books through the Book Cellar, operating during library hours. Titles include bestsellers, non-fiction, children's books, biographies, audiobooks, and a rare books section. Proceeds benefit the library.
4. Author Event Fundraising: Annual literary fundraising events featuring nationally recognized authors. Ticket sales and event sponsorships support the library's essential operations. The library has hosted Pulitzer Prize winners and bestselling authors.
5. Book Sales and Publications: Sale of publications including the two-volume set 'Kennebunkport: The Evolution of an American Town' by Joyce Butler, available for $50 for the set.
6. Library Fees and Fines: Overdue fines for books and audiobooks: 10 cents per day per item for adults, 5 cents per day per item for juveniles. DVD fines: 25 cents per day. Replacement charges for lost or damaged materials based on replacement costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library provides free public library services to residents of Kennebunkport and surrounding Maine towns, including lending of a 37,000+ piece physical collection (books, DVDs, audiobooks, magazines, puzzles), digital lending of ebooks and audiobooks, museum passes to seven Maine institutions, and 400-500+ annual programs for all ages (storytime, book clubs, author lectures, yoga, chess, knitting, tech help). Operations are funded by approximately 40% Town of Kennebunkport appropriation and 60% volunteer fundraising, with the Book Cellar used book sale and major author fundraising events supplementing the budget.

Product overview

Louis T Graves Memorial Public Library is a single-location public library offering core lending services (books, magazines, DVDs, audiobooks, puzzles) alongside specialized sub-products. The Download Library provides digital access to over 20,000 ebooks and audiobooks via Bibliotheca CloudLibrary. The Book Cellar operates as an ongoing used book sale. The Community Room provides 5,000 square feet of event space with professional AV equipment. Museum passes offer discounted access to seven regional institutions. The library delivers over 500 annual programs spanning literacy (Storytime, Book Groups), wellness (Yoga), recreation (Chess Club, Port Knitters), and cultural events (Author Lectures, Summer Concert Series). Funding comes from town appropriations (~40%) and volunteer fundraising (~60%), with annual fundraising events featuring prominent authors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Book Cellar: Ongoing used book sale offering bestsellers, non-fiction, children's books, biographies, audiobooks, videos, music CDs, puzzles, and rare books.
• Patsy Bray Mahoney Lecture Series
• Clifford W. Burgess Fall Author Night

Products and services

• Public Library Membership and Lending Services Free library card and lending services for residents of Kennebunkport, Kennebunk, Cape Porpoise, Wells, and Arundel, providing access to a 37,000+ piece physical collection of books, magazines, DVDs, audiobooks, and puzzles, plus free WiFi and reference assistance.
• Download Library (Audiobooks & eBooks) Digital lending service running on the Bibliotheca CloudLibrary Platform, shared between over 200 libraries with access to over 20,000 ebooks and audiobooks. Users can check out up to 3 books at a time with a 21-day loan period.
• The Book Cellar (Used Book Sales) An ongoing used book sale open during library hours featuring bestsellers in hardcover and paperback, non-fiction, biographies, audiobooks, videos, music CDs, puzzles, and a rare books section, plus publications like 'Kennebunkport: The Evolution of an American Town' (two-volume set, $50). Proceeds benefit the library.
• Community Room Venue Rental A 5,000 square foot meeting and event space in the Mothers Wing featuring state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment (75-inch Sony 4K HDR TV, 133-inch ceiling-mounted theater screen, high brightness 4K HDR ceiling-mounted laser projector, multi-channel theater sound), comfortable seating, and full ADA accessibility. Can accommodate 100 theatre-style seating.
• Museum Passes Program Library cards provide discounted or free passes to seven Maine museums through the Maine State Library ARPA Funds Grant: Brick Store Museum, Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Portland Museum of Art, Seashore Trolley Museum, and Strawbery Banke Museum. Available to Kennebunkport residents and patrons.
• Patsy Bray Mahoney Lecture Series Monthly lecture series featuring award-winning authors, poets, artists, photographers, and musicians at 2 PM on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. Funded by the Mahoney Family Foundation since 2024.
• Annual Literary Fundraising Events Annual fundraising events featuring Pulitzer Prize winners and bestselling authors including David McCullough, John Grisham (2021), David Baldacci (2023), Rick Atkinson (2025), Ken Burns, and Wally Lamb (2026). Held at venues like Vinegar Hill Music Theatre and Kennebunkport River Club with ticket sales and event sponsorships supporting library operations.
• Summer Reading Program Seasonal children's programming including Storytime, Stuffy Sleepover, Furry Tales, Summer Concerts, and activities such as Children's Wooden Flower Painting, Children's Flower Pot Painting, and Center for Wildlife visits. Designed to prevent summer learning loss and engage young patrons.
• Library Programs & Events Over 400-500 annual programs including Chess Club, Port Knitters, Storytime, Morning Yoga with Kriya Yogi Virginia Williamson, Tech Help, Board Games, Furry Tales, Book Discussion Groups (Morning, Evening, On the Nightstand), and seasonal events like Secret Gardens of the Kennebunks and Summer Concert Series.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vinegar Hill Music TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe library partners with Vinegar Hill Music Theatre in Arundel, Maine for major author events. This venue hosts the annual Clifford W. Burgess Fall Author Night featuring nationally recognized authors. Events include Wally Lamb (2026), with doors opening at 5:30 PM and programs beginning at 6:30 PM. The partnership provides a festive venue with old barn ambience, full bar, and garden patio for library fundraising events.
• Maine State Library (ARPA Funds)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe library participates in a Maine State Library ARPA Funds Grant program providing museum passes to seven different institutions throughout Maine for all Kennebunkport residents and patrons. This three-year program provides access to cultural institutions including Brick Store Museum, Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Portland Museum of Art, Seashore Trolley Museum, and Strawbery Banke Museum.
• Bibliotheca CloudLibrarycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe library utilizes the Bibliotheca CloudLibrary Platform for its Download Library, which is shared between over 200 libraries and consists of over 20,000 ebooks and audiobooks. Users can check out up to 3 books at a time with a 21-day loan period.
• Digital Maine LibrarycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Digital Maine Library provides every Maine resident access to online resources including full text articles, abstracts from magazines, newspapers, journals and reference materials. It provides online learning tools for students, business people, public library patrons, and educators.
• Brick Store MuseumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough the Maine State Library ARPA Grant, the library provides Kennebunkport residents daily passes to the Brick Store Museum, a regionally-centered community museum focusing on history, art, and culture of the Kennebunks with a collection of more than 70,000 historically significant artifacts.
• Portland Museum of ArtminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough the Maine State Library ARPA Grant, the library provides passes to the Portland Museum of Art, which boasts a collection of more than 22,000 artworks featuring pieces by Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, and Lois Dodd.
• Coastal Maine Botanical GardensminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough the Maine State Library ARPA Grant, the library provides passes to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the largest botanical garden in New England offering 300 acres of gardens and green spaces with exhibits including the Butterfly House and Dahlia Garden.
• Children's Museum & Theatre of MaineminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough the Maine State Library ARPA Grant, the library provides a 50% discount pass to the Children's Museum & Theatre of Maine, housed in a state-of-the-art building on Thompson's Point and home to Maddy's Theater, the oldest continuously operating children's theatre in the United States.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Portland Public Library: Maine's flagship urban public library system serving Greater Portland with comparable lending, digital, and event programming; directly comparable in operating model and mission to Graves, just at significantly larger scale.
• Kennebunk Free Library: Adjacent town library serving Kennebunk residents with similar community-led programming, fundraising events, and digital-collection participation; the most direct local comparable to Graves' footprint and demographic.
• Scarborough Public Library: Mid-sized Maine public library with active fundraising, programming calendar, and shared digital-collection participation through CloudLibrary — a relevant operational comparable.

Others

• Maine State Library: State-level library administrator funding the ARPA museum-pass program and Digital Maine Library that Graves depends on; not a competitor but a key institutional ecosystem partner.
• Brick Store Museum: Regional Kennebunks history museum whose free admission is provided to Graves cardholders; functions as an adjacent cultural non-profit partner with overlapping donor and volunteer bases.

Regional players

• York Public Library: York County coastal public library offering comparable programming, museum passes, and community-event fundraising model in a similar New England coastal-town setting.
• Ogunquit Memorial Library: Small Maine coastal town library with a tourism-driven patron base and a parallel mix of community programming, lending, and local cultural partnerships.
• Wells Public Library: Neighboring York County public library included in Graves' reciprocal borrowing area; operates a similar community-supported model with comparable scale and programming mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCl18mRNhOMCSuPvEq7-aqdg
• Facebookfacebook.com/GravesLibrary/?fref=ts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/louis-t-graves-memorial-public-library

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Louis T Graves Memorial Public Library