Check out a Fishing Pole?

Edgewater Library loans rods thanks to gift 

By Krista Pfunder 

How about a little fishing with your summer reading? Fishing poles are now available at the Edgewater branch of the Anne Arundel County Public Library, thanks to a memorial gift from the family of Philip F. “Phil” Meyers Jr.  

The latest addition means that fishing poles can now be borrowed free of charge from three library branches. Eastport-Annapolis Neck and Mountain Road libraries have stocked fishing poles since 2017 through a partnership with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. 

“My family are watermen, through and through,” says Georgeanne Meyers-Montanari, longtime AACPL employee and sister of Phil Meyers. “We wanted to honor the loss of my brother and chose this program. My parents were thrilled to do this, plus the library is familiar with us since I’ve worked here since I was 15.”  

The fishing pole loan program began when a staff member at the Mountain Road branch was approached by DNR Education Specialist Stacy Epperson about lending out fishing poles. DNR lends fishing rods to groups such as Scout troops, but lending to individuals was a new concept.  

“Our mission is to educate, enrich and inspire,” says Hampton “Skip” Auld, library CEO. “Given our extensive shoreline and interest in water activities, we feel like this program is a good fit.” 

The poles at the Edgewater branch feature stickers reading “In Memory of a Fisherman.” 

“My brother was a twin and they both lived in Edgewater,” says Meyers-Montanari. “So naturally we asked the branch manager at the Edgewater Library and she agreed fishing rods would circulate well there.” 

More than 20 poles are in the library’s collection and can be checked out for up to two weeks. Fishing poles must be returned from the location where they were borrowed and cannot be returned via the book drop or left outside the library.