By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

As she sat in the oldest wing of the Kennebunk Free Library, The Kennebunk Kennebunkport Post Great Person award winner Carol Whitten said it is “certainly an honor” to receive the award.

Whitten, who has worked at the library for nearly 31 years, was nominated by her nephew, Adam Perkins, and said she was surprised, but embarrassed at the same time. 

“I was certainly surprised,” Whitten said. “There were so many great people on the list, but I guess every person is a great person some way or another. They have all given a great deal to the families, churches and the community.”

Whitten recognized the other dozen Great Person nominees were equally as deserving of the award. She is already an authority on several, having attended school in Kennebunk with Todd Nutting and as she currently works with Barbara Weeman as members on the West Kennebunk Village Committee. She also praises Ann Whetston for her fundraising efforts at the library and Dan Boothby for his commitment to the town. 

After graduating from the University of Maine in Orono in 1974 with a liberal arts degree in history, Whitten said she returned to Kennebunk where she grew up. Originally, Whitten said she had planned to attend law school, but stayed in Kennebunk working at a local newspaper and helping her mother after her father died. 

Four years after graduating college, a part time position at the library opened up and Whitten began her career there one or two nights a week. Her background in history helped when students came in with research projects, and as demand increased at the library, Whitten said her hours  increased from one night a week, to a couple days a week, to full time during the past 10 years. 

Whitten said her official title as the “circulation desk manager” not only entails managing the circulation desks, but also includes taking care of inter-library loans, overdue fees, helping patrons navigate the library and assisting with reference questions as needed. 

Now between improvements in school libraries, Internet resources and a librarian at the reference desk, Whitten said her research assistance is no longer in demand, but she enjoys helping students with projects when she can. While some students still visit for various activities and borrowing books, Whitten said she has noticed an overall increase in library use since the beginning of summer. 

“When you’re in tough times, what’s the first thing that can go? People have been coming in to borrow books, magazines and newspapers. They have the use of our computers. Circulation has skyrocketed,” Whitten said. “Unfortunately in times like these when we need more funding for the library, the funding available shrinks, but we have great community support. We wouldn’t be able to exist without the community.”

The most enjoyable parts of her job are working with a great staff, helping patrons find what they are looking for and seeing community members time after time, Whitten said. 

“Some patrons I’ve seen coming into the library since they were children and now they are adults bringing their children in,” she said. 

Whitten said the library is a great resource for the community and she enjoys sharing it. For some Kennebunk residents who cannot make it into the library, Whitten brings the library to them during her free time. 

Every other Monday, Whitten visits the senior living facility Atria with 25 books in hand to loan and other items to read to the residents. She said on average 15 Atria residents visit with her for the reading hour and to borrow books she has brought along. 

Whitten said  readings she selects for Atria residents range in works by local authors such as May Sarton, or something with humor, and recently “Twas the Night Before Christmas” as a seasonal piece. Whitten also takes requests from Atria residents for readings, and breaks up the readings with trivia nights occasionally.

“I joke with them that I am their every other Monday night entertainment,” she said. 

She said while sharing books with Atria residents for the past three years is her way of giving back to the community, it also feeds her love of history. 

“I enjoy talking to them as they share their life stories,” Whitten said. “Some of them lived through the Great Depression, World War II, assassinations and elections. I’m paraphrasing, but those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. We have so much to learn from history.”

On top of working full time at the library and visiting Atria, Whitten joined the West Kennebunk Village Committee about a year ago. Living in West Kennebunk, only about one mile from where she grew up, with her German Shepherd named Checkers, Whitten said she joined the committee because she felt it is important for Kennebunk to recognize it is “its own little village up there,” just like the downtown area and Lower Village. 

“Some people are more comfortable talking to a neighbor about something rather than going to town hall, and it is a community group that can go to bat for the neighborhood,” she said. 

The committee has kept her busy throughout the fall with a Thanksgiving dinner, holiday fair, village tree lighting and other events, Whitten said. She said “the community treats us well” and since she does not have children, she said it is easier to dedicate her free time to give back.