BELFAST — Dance on over to the Belfast Free Library if you want to check out a few new books about dancing — fiction or non-fiction — with animals or people, dancing to fiddle tunes or drums or brass horns or sticks.

Belfast Flying Shoes, the nonprofit arts organization that produces first Friday community and contra dances, recently donated several books about dancing to supplement those in the existing children’s and young adult collection at the Belfast Free Library.

The new books are currently available for patrons to borrow.

According to the board members of Belfast Flying Shoes, this contribution dovetails with their nonprofit mission of bolstering the spirited dance community in Midcoast Maine. Julia Plumb said, in a news release: “I used one of the books at Maine Fiddle Camp with a group of young students, some of whom spoke only French. The rich illustrations built our shared understanding of the impact of music on ourselves and on the world around us. I’m looking forward to diving into the other books soon!”

Speaking for the library, Erica Rubin Irish said: “We’re delighted to have these new books, representing such diverse dance raditions and cultures, in the Belfast Free Library’s collection.”

The book donation is an outgrowth of “Dancing in Literature: A Partial Bibliography”, which was funded by Belfast Flying Shoes with support from the Maine Arts Commission. This annotated bibliography of fiction and non-fiction books related to all sorts of dance is available for download via the “Dancing Books for Flying Shoes” blog post on the BFS website.

Visit belfastlibrary.org and belfastflyingshoes.org to find books and local dances.