Nestled downstairs in the Wiscasset Public Library, next to the children's room, donated, used books fill the shop, Secondhand Prose.

The fundraising and volunteer group Friends of the Library ran a contest years ago to give the store its name.

It suits the stock and the room's charm. An older chair and gateleg table await browsers, along with a window view onto a certified Monarch station the Wiscasset Garden Club maintains, Friends' president Linda Winterberg said.

Now Friends would like to improve the shop with new shelving, carpeting and better dehumidifying and heating, Winterberg said. She pegged the cost at about $3,000.

The plans come as the 48-year-old group restores its former summertime practice of manning the room at least one day a week; the direct, outside entrance from the library's back lawn will be open Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from July 3 through Labor Day, Winterberg said.

At other times, customers will still need to enter through the library and then pay library staff for their picks, she said.

The volunteers who spend time in the room are in a better position than the library staff to find an item there quickly, as well as other books the same customer might be interested in, Library Director Pam Dunning said.

The store, where most items range from 50 cents to $2, is Friends' main fundraiser for library programs; the group donates $1,000 a year to the summer reading program.

“They're a great group,” Dunning said.

Friends is planning a September 14, big band concert at Marianmade Farm in Wiscasset to fund the shop's upgrade. For more on Friends, the shop or the concert, call Winterberg at 207 882-9693.