BRUNSWICK

“‘This is extra special,’ the bear thought as he ate the cookie,” said Barb Warner of Brunswick, reading from the illustrated children’s book, “Bear in Love,” by Daniel Pinkwater. “This is extra special, he’s saying. Extra special, extra special, extra special, extra special.”

Only a few children sat for Warner’s storytime this week, but she said she’s had a whole group coming to other sessions. And she always has a pile of books waiting for those who come, and prepared for a range of ages.

Warner is just one of the many invaluable volunteers who help make Curtis Memorial Library run. She’s there once a week, and has been volunteering since moving to Brunswick from Massachusetts four years ago.

It’s easy to see by watching her read that she’s a retired children’s librarian.

“It’s a passion,” she said. “I’m into children’s books — new and old — and to have the opportunity to share them still is wonderful. And to watch kids’ reactions, it’s great.

“The staff of this library is spectacular,” Warner added, and are encouraged to follow their own interests and passions. “They also encourage volunteers.”

When she’s not reading to children, Warner is shelving books along with other volunteers, including her neighbor, Anne Newman, and Donna Thivierge of Topsham — both retired teachers.

Thivierge also does storytime, incorporating finger plays and singing songs. After working in the public school system 33 years teaching mostly kindergartners, she still enjoys exposing kids to good literature.

“I like to interest them in literature, so it’s as simple as that,” said Thivierge. “It’s just fun, too.”

Though retired, she said she still needs to use her skills to contribute within the community.

According to the latest year in review, 337 people logged more than 12,096 volunteer hours for the library in fiscal year 2016-17. The library ran 1,238 programs, drawing 29,477 people in that time.

Rocio Carrera, the library’s new volunteer coordinator, estimates she has about 50 shelvers. After a broken sprinkler head in early January closed the library for four days, every single cart was full of books.

“I made a phone call or sent an email to everyone, and we had this surge of people come in, and they put all the books away in one day,” Carrera said. “They just are jewels, every single one of them.”

As volunteer coordinator, she works to recognize and play on the strengths of volunteers. Many enjoy working in the library gardens, weeding, and helping with spring and fall cleanup. Other volunteers wash the windows or tend the fire in the winter.

Still others contribute to the programming, such as Mike McNally. In addition to being a volunteer, he’s a local mushroom enthusiast. A member of the Maine Mycological Association, McNally will be speaking at the library at 6:30 p.m. on March 7 about the many types of mushrooms that can be grown at home and the benefit of doing so.

The services provided by volunteers allow more funding to go to programming, Carrera said.

For example, there are several children’s programs like the Stone Soup lunch that took place Tuesday. Her son, Quinlan Repetto, and 12-year volunteer Joan Llorente, 86, made soup as children heard two versions of the “Stone Soup” folk tale.

There are also many volunteers that work within separate library programs. Books on Wheels pairs a patron with a volunteer who can chose books for them or bring them requested books.

Also, the library’s Twice- Told Tales, a used book store located at 11 Pleasant St., is volunteer run. Currently closed for construction, it is slated to reopen in early March.

Warner, the retired school librarian, had also run a branch library in Brookline, Massachusetts, before retiring to move to Maine. Before she would even look at houses in Brunswick, she scoped out the library, and knew she could work there. She had a library card before moving.

“I’m not the only one,” Warner said. “There’s a lot of us involved here but there’s a lot of us who come here simply for the programming. The library is key to this community and it’s really important if you’re thinking of moving here, or staying here.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com