Hundreds cram into a tiny library in Maine to watch two people turn one page every year since 2016

Art has the power to unite people, and the Special Collections room in Bowdoin College in Maine is a testament to that. On the first Friday of every month during the school year, students, staff, residents, and alumni would gather in the room for one special tradition that began in 2016. The room would watch with bated breath as two people turn the page of a rare copy of "The Birds of America," an illustrated book by 19th-century naturalist and artist John James Audubon. It contains 435 prints of life-sized birds on huge pages, as revealed in a June 11, 2026, report by NEWS CENTER Maine.

A 10-year-long tradition

This year, the first Friday in June coincided with Bowdoin's alumni reunion weekend. Hannah LeBlanc, a bird enthusiast and alumnus, was in town and wanted to witness the turning of the page. The night before, she sent a text inviting several friends to attend the special event. It sparked a chain of friendly bets, with people guessing which bird would pop up on the next page. The Audubon print of a raven was changed into that of a blue jay in June. LeBlanc revealed that no one had guessed blue jay. To make it more interesting, Shayna Stewart Deeds, a lab instructor, brought in three stuffed blue jay specimens and passed them around the room while sharing a few remarks about the blue jay with the attendees.

'Flipping the bird'

Marieke Van Der Steenhoven, a Special Collections librarian, revealed the reason why only one page is turned a month. Since it is a rare 19th-century work of art, they wanted to preserve it as much as possible. Turning a page a month would protect the prints from sunlight. She added, "It takes two of us to turn the page. I think there's some sort of magic in that. Just the community and the excitement around this event, it still blows my mind after ten years. It's really amazing." Steenhoven also has a running joke she told people, "I am just still amazed, right? All we're doing is turning the page — flipping the bird, a joke I've been making for ten years and continue to make, and it's really, really magical."

The power of art

The popularity of Bowdoin's page-turning tradition shows that art can bring people together and create excitement around a shared experience. A public opinion poll about the arts was conducted on 3,062 American adults in 2023. The results showed that 86% of Americans believe that arts and culture add value to the community, 70% think that arts help to improve academic performance, 60% believed that arts help people cope in times of distress, and 73% expressed that they enjoyed the arts in unusual places. 

 Audubon's artistry

People in the comments found Steenhoven's joke about 'flipping the bird' hilarious. Several others were in awe and impressed by this quirky Bowdoin College tradition. @petervanderwaart1138 wrote, "My librarian wife tells me that page-by-page display of the Audubon book is common at libraries that have a copy." @sandrinedurand3203 wrote, "I didn't find this crazy. It was indeed magical, and I cried. We  are fortunate to have such wonderful reminders of the beauty and talent in our world."

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