Lithgow Library in Augusta opened in 1897. This photograph shows a view of the nearly-completed book room from the rotunda, with the librarian's desk front and center. The stacks were closed, and were designed to house up to 30,000 volumes.

Llewellyn E. Bradstreet and Herbert M. Damren of Hallowell were the carpenters; Morse and Co. of Bangor carved the state seal above the fireplace; McKenny & Waterbury of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured the copper light fixtures; Fenton Metallic Manufacturing Co. of Jamestown, New York, manufactured the steel bookcases and copper memorial tablets located above the aisles.

Shown also are 12 of the 22 stained glass transom windows in the room, made by Phipps, Slocum & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts; the six on the left depict local historical sites. The six windows on the right depict early printer's marks and printing devices from the 14th-16th centuries.