Libraries conference

AUGUSTA – The Maine Libraries Conference, a joint venture of the Maine Library Association and the Maine Association of School Libraries, will be held at the Augusta Civic Center, Saturday through Tuesday, Sept. 16 to 19. It is the Maine library community’s primary annual event for continuing education, networking and visiting vendors.

The conference will kick off with dinner on Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Atrium of the Maine State Library. The speaker will be Dr. Naomi Caldwell, associate professor of the library and information science at the University of Rhode Island. She is also the past president of the American Indian Library Association. Jim Sapier, chief of the Penobscot Nation, will also be there to welcome her to the Wabanaki land.

Keynote speaker will be Kembrew McCleod, professor, author, musician and activist. McCleod is the author of two books on intellectual property.

For more information, visit http://mainelibraries.info/ or contact Conference Manager Edna Comstock at [email protected] or Conference Co-Chair Andi Jackson-Darling at [email protected] or 236-3440.

Arnold Trail tour

AUGUSTA – Old Fort Western and the Arnold Expedition Historical Society will co-sponsor a motor coach tour of sections of the Arnold Trail from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23.

The cost of the trip is $50 a person ($45 for members of Old Fort Western and the Arnold Expedition Historical Society). The registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 30.

The trail follows the route taken by Benedict Arnold during his 1775 attempt to take Quebec in the early days of the American Revolution.

The tour leaves Fort Western at 8 a.m. Stops will be made at Taconet Falls, Skowhegan and Norridgewock Falls, Devil’s Falls and Carratunk. A picnic lunch, provided by the Norridgewock Historical Society, will be served at the Pines Recreation Area in Norridgewock, a site the expedition used as a campground.

Phone 626-2385 or go to www.oldfortwestern.org for more information.

Writing retreat

BATH – The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance will host its annual fall writing retreat at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Friday through Sunday, Sept. 22 to 24.

Instructors will include Monica Wood, Lewis Robinson, Elizabeth Peavey, Alfred DePew, Charlotte Agell and Dawn Potter. Workshops will be offered in beginning fiction, advanced fiction, nonfiction/memoir, poetry, childrens/young adult, as well as a cross-genre creativity workshop. CEU credit is available.

Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 15. For registration materials, visit www.mainewriters.org.