“This is the one image in the exhibition that is taken with traditional film and is not digital. When I showed Mary Lou this portrait, the first thing she said was, ‘That smile on my face represents how I feel every time I walk up those stairs going to the children’s library.’”

Mary Lou Boucouvales earned her B.A. from the University of Southern Maine and her Master’s degree in Library Science from Simmons College. She has worked in Kennebunkport since 1997. Boucouvales became the children’s librarian at Kennebunkport’s Graves Memorial Library in 1998 and took on the added responsibility of Library Director on April Fool’s Day in 2005.

Two hats on a rack were on loan for this exhibition from Boucouvales and metaphorically signify the two different roles she fulfills at the library. She additionally loaned a selection of her favorite children’s books and guides to children’s literature.

“For me, the Kennebunks represent adults residing in unique communities that care about and focus upon shaping our youth into bright, kind, and talented individuals. Everything these people do educationally, recreationally, culturally and intellectually for the children growing up in these two towns is what it should be and truly is what matters most. You can see and sense it everywhere.”