RANGELEY — At the library, we are definitely thinking spring! Do we dare? Are we safe to say that it looks like we’re through with snow for this year? We can only hope.

On Saturday, May 29, the library will be having their Annual Prose, Pies, and Plants Sale. This is always a great way to welcome spring and to anticipate all those lovely, warm Rangeley summer days. Stop by and pick up your reading supply for the summer, your plants for the garden –-yes, it’s safe to plant them, even in Rangeley, after Memorial Day weekend-– and a luscious homemade pie to celebrate the beginning of summer. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. but stop by early for the best selection.

This year, we really should have called the sale the Prose, Pies, Plants and Phone Book Sale. Yes, the new and updated phone book is ready! We will be selling the 2010 edition of the Rangeley Phone Book for the first time on May 29 at the sale. Volunteers have been hard at work since last August putting the new phone book together. It’s really a handy little thing to have around the house. Of course, it has phone numbers, but it also has lots of Post Office Box numbers and a wealth of information about all the shops, restaurants and services that are available to you in the Rangeley Region. Most people seem to think one is never enough.

Volunteers will also be selling “Dine Around Rangeley” Raffle tickets. The winner of this raffle will be able to dine in just about every restaurant in the Rangeley region with a gift certificate. Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $25. This raffle has been a great fundraiser for the library —probably because it’s such a great prize. So please, support the library and the local restaurants that are so generous with their support for the library. Buy a ticket, or six, or more –-you might just be the lucky winner. The drawing will be held at this year’s 6th Annual Literary Gala on Aug. 12 at the Lodge at Saddleback Mountain.

Speaking of the Gala, the Gala Committee is hard at work planning this year’s event honoring local essayists and photo essayists. Once again, there will be a Silent Auction and a Live Auction with Joanne Dunlap and Larry Koob as our auctioneers. Check the library Web site for updated information about what we will be offering for auction. The Gala is always a really fun event and this year’s promises to continue the fabulous tradition.

Finally, there’s construction news. Any day now, you should be seeing lots of outdoor work taking place on Lake Street. We are replacing the Library’s front steps! After 100 years of service, the steps are showing signs of age. We are excited about this project. The new steps are going to be beautiful. We have tried to design a replacement that will simply be a newer version of the originals. They will be granite. We are very happy to report that some of the funding for the stairs has come from very generous donations. If you would like to be a part of the “Stepping into the Next One Hundred Years” campaign, please contact the library or check out the library’s Web site at www.rangeleylibrary.com where you can make an online donation.

See you at the sale! Happy spring from the staff and volunteers at your library.