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by Will Gottlieb
Coastal Journal staff
 Peter Goodwin, manager of the Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room at the Patten Free Library, has been appointed interim director of the library, to replace Anne Phillips, who announced her resignation at a special meeting of the Board held on June 18. Phillips has held that position since 1989.
Goodwin was named to the position by a search committee that includes Board of Trustees President David Miller, trustees Susan Beegel and Julie De Bery, staff member Teeter Bibber, and corporators Arthur Mayo and Steve Singer.
“We were impressed by Peter's collaborative leadership style,” said Miller. “And we know him. He's been the recording secretary for the board. We're impressed with his programming of the Town History series, and his working with the schools in the history project. He has a strong academic background, and he knows the Library.”
Goodwin's academic career was launched when he earned a PhD in Geology at the University of Iowa. He went on to teach geology at Temple University in Philadelphia, a position he held for over 30 years. He also served as department chair and acting dean of the graduate school at Temple before retiring to Maine in 2000. He lives in Bath with his wife, Danielle Westcott.
Goodwin has been manager of the Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room since September 2002. Highlights of Goodwin's tenure include his work on the Town History Series, as well as two exhibits for the Maine Historical Society's Maine Memory Network, which is Maine's statewide digital museum, archive, and educational resource, available to teachers, students and scholars online at www.mainememory.net.
Goodwin's first contribution to the Maine Memory Network was a scholarly exploration of the life and times of Maine's first governor, William King, who lived in Bath for a time before serving as governor from 1820 to 1821. Apart from the text, which was a collaboration between Goodwin and historian Joyce Wanger, the exhibit includes a selection of antique pictures and other items related to King's governorship and life Bath, including the King Tavern, circa 1910, William King's Stonehouse Farm, located on Whiskeag Road, the Governor King monument in Maple Grove Cemetery and the Gov. King ferry, as well as high-resolution scans of monographs, tax receipts, and letters, a portion of which Goodwin pulled from collections in the Sagadahoc History and Genealogy Room.
According to a press release from the search committee, Goodwin's appointment was unanimous, and his first official day as interim director will be July 13. However, Goodwin will not be looking to stay on in that role.
“I think he's happy as a retired man taking on a part-time responsibility at the library,” said Miller. “One of the reasons for appointing him as the interim [director] is, he is not a candidate for the director's job.”
And so the search for a new director continues. According to Miller, the search committee has met on just two occasions, the first to agree on an interim director, and the second to interview Anne Phillips on the future needs of the library and the qualities needed in a new director.
“We haven't even written a job description yet,” said Miller. “We haven't settled on the two or three objectives we're hoping to complete with a new director. So we've still got some work to do before we'll be able to send out requests for resumes.”
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