WHEREAS, libraries across the State of Maine are essential to education, imagination, and opportunity, providing early literacy programs, digital learning tools, and lifelong pathways to knowledge and growth; and

WHEREAS, Maine's libraries welcome all people, serving as inclusive and accessible community spaces that connect individuals across cultures, generations, and life experiences, and foster a strong sense of belonging; and

WHEREAS, Maine's 257 public libraries reflect and honor the diversity of Maine people, honoring Wabanaki voices, supporting new Mainers, preserving Franco-American heritage, and uplifting rural, coastal, and urban communities alike through collections, services and programs that are locally rooted; and

WHEREAS, our libraries help Maine people navigate life's challenges by offering trusted information, high-speed internet, job search and career support, and vital connections to health, housing, and social services – especially in communities where other resources are limited or unavailable; and

WHEREAS, our libraries contribute to Maine's economic resilience by equipping workers, students, entrepreneurs, and small business owners with free access to training, online resources, technology, and other tools to succeed in this changing world; and

WHEREAS, through good times and bad, Maine's library staff have remained steadfast in their service – innovating, adapting, and going above and beyond to meet the evolving needs of their communities; and

WHEREAS, a library card opens doors for every Mainer – to books and broadband, to curiosity and creativity, to ideas and inspiration, to lifelong learning and opportunity, to the local and global community;

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim September 2025 as

Library Card Sign-up Month

throughout the State of Maine, and I encourage all Mainers to sign up for a library card and explore the many resources, programs, and opportunities available through their local library.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this twenty second day of August Two Thousand Twenty-Five