Niles Perkins was a local physician who worked tirelessly to bring about the dream of Pen Bay Medical Center.  A graduate of Tufts University Medical School, Dr. Perkins trained at Maine General Hospital in Portland and later obtained a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University.

His vision for PBMC, combining Rockland's Knox Hospital and the Camden Community Hospital into a strong institution that would serve the entire Midcoast area, carried the project forward through the early developmental years.  "A hospital is people," he would say, and Harvard professors brought their classes to Rockport to hear him.

Dr. Perkins died tragically in a fishing accident in 1971.  When the hospital opened its doors in 1975, the library was named after him.  "I can't think of a greater honor for an internist than to have a medical library named for him," said one of his colleagues in Internal Medicine.  The library continues to support the work of everyone involved in health care in the midcoast area, and is a tribute to the memory of  Niles Perkins, MD, MPH.

Library Mission: The library supports the work of all members of the hospital and medical staffs involved in patient care, research, teaching, and administration by providing a dynamic information service. The library collects and organizes information for this purpose in the form of print and non-print materials that are kept as a readily available centralized resource. The library is dedicated to finding answers to all requests for health care information and can identify and deliver published materials from the worldwide library community.

As resources permit, the library supports the wider community by assisting members of the community with information needs in medical subject areas not available through other channels. Library services are provided in keeping with the stated mission, philosophy, and economy of Pen Bay Medical Center and its parent organization, Pen Bay Healthcare.

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