Caroline Andrews was born February 9, 1945 in Middlebury, Vermont, the daughter of Elizabeth (Burditt) Parker and John (Thayer) Andrews. Her father was a professor of philosophy at Middlebury College and the family summered in Boothbay Harbor.
Ms. Andrews graduated from Beloit College in 1967 with a bachelor of arts degree and received a Masters degree in Library Science from Clarion University in 1991.
She came to live on Mount Desert Island in 1968 where she taught English at Mount Desert Island High School. She married Richard Allen of Southwest Harbor and the couple became the parents of two sons, James and Andrew Allen.
In 1979 Southwest Harbor Public Library director Meredith Hutchins hired Ms. Andrews-Allen to be assistant librarian at the library. Ms. Hutchins has said that this was one of the best decisions she ever made and upon her retirement Ms. Andrews-Allen became director of the library and served in this position from 1986-1991.
She then went on to become director of the Ellsworth Public Library (1988-1996) and during her tenure there an addition to the library that doubled the size of the building was built.
In 1991 Ms. Andrews-Allen accepted a position as Library Media Specialist at Sumner Memorial High School where she served until she took a similiar position at Mount Desert Island High School in the fall of 1996.
She retired in 2005 and lives in Ellsworth, Maine with her husband David Zuk.
