… And you will never have to work a day in your life

It took me almost 35 years to find a career in which my job hasn’t felt like work. I have bagged groceries, worked in the fast-food business, built theater sets, taught in public schools and in a private pre-school, worked as a gas station attendant, washed dishes, and worked in retail, among other things, but nothing has been fulfilling and as rewarding as finding my calling to be a Children’s Librarian.

I began my career in libraries in 2012 as a Children’s Specialist for the Stark County District Library and moved up to Children’s Librarian shortly before completing my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science. A month after receiving my MLIS, I began working as the Children’s Services Manager for the Dover Public Library.

The past two years working and living in Dover have been wonderful for me. Library Director, Jim Gill, has given me the guidance and freedom to provide you with a permanent StoryWalk® at Dover City Park, has supported the changes I have made in the Children’s Department to make it more user-friendly, and had faith in my plan to bring internationally known, award-winning author and performer, Eric Litwin, to town for a free family concert and Interactive Early Literacy Workshop … without using any money from the Library’s budget. (Costs were covered by registration fees from over 140 librarians and educators from across Ohio who came to Dover for an Interactive Literacy Workshop, featuring Eric Litwin. Other costs were covered through the generosity of Dover First United Methodist Church, Dover Exchange Club, and Benson’s Market and Catering.)

While working for the Dover Public Library, I have had the opportunity to present for the NorthEast Ohio Regional Library System (NEO-RLS), as well as at the Ohio Library Council’s State-wide Convention. I was a finalist for the NEO-RLS Rising Star Award, and my name will appear on the 2018 Caldecott Committee Ballot for the American Library Association Youth Media Awards. Through all of this, my proudest and most memorable moments are the ones I have spent with you and your families.

I have appreciated every smile, every kind word, and every “corner-sun” pictures your children have given to me. Your kind words after my mom’s passing this year made me feel less alone and spending my 40th birthday with you during “Birthday Party Story Time,” which was intended to celebrate everyone’s birthday on one day, was made extra-memorable when one of you told the others that it was actually my birthday. I don’t have children of my own, but you have allowed me to be a part of your children’s learning and lives; for that, I am grateful.

While I have absolutely loved every moment (well, almost every moment) I have been here, I feel that I have been called to work with a larger population of under-served children and will begin as a Children’s Librarian for the Dayton Metro Library in January.

It has been my utmost pleasure and honor to have served you and to have been a part of your lives. Thank you for allowing me to do so.

Sincerely, 

Miss Dani 

Christmas is a time for family and friends, for being thankful for what we have and sharing joy, and for cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

There are a couple of cookies that are Christmas staples in pretty much every family. From there, every family has their own classics, their own favorites. For us, it’s just not Christmas without Russian Tea Balls, Pecan Tarts, Raspberry Crescents, and the king of all Christmas Cookies: Bells.

A spiced sugar cookie with nut filling and half a maraschino cherry made to look like a bell, these are my very favorite Christmas cookie of all time. They are soft and delicious with just the right amount of nuts and cherry flavor. If I had to pick just one cookie to have at Christmas time, it would be Bells. If I had to pick just one cookie to have any time, it would still be Bells. I am very serious about my Bells.  And nobody makes them like my Mom.

Mom is the Martha Stewart of our family. When I was at her house last week, she had all the flour, a giant can of Crisco, and everything else she needs for her holiday baking marathon already set out on her dining room table. This year, she’s having both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations, each with their own traditional menus like “Sausage Snacks” and “Pink Stuff.” If you leave Mom’s house hungry, well, that’s your fault. And if you didn’t have a good time, that’s your fault, too. Every year, Mom makes sure we have a holiday that you’d see in a magazine, complete with plates and plates of cookies.

Attached is my Mom’s recipe for Spiced Cherry Bells. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with all of your favorite holiday treats and the people who make them special.

Merry Christmas!

-Liz

Teen Librarian

Spiced Cherry Bells

Axis 360. What in the world is Axis 360? That doesn’t even sound like a real thing. Are you making it up?

Oh? A library service? Well, I do like libraries…I guess you can keep talking…

eBooks? AND Audiobooks? Wow! I love eBooks and Audiobooks! I listen to Audiobooks in my car. I download them from Amazon and they play through my car’s radio, since it has Bluetooth. Well, I did until I spent all my money. So how much does your Axis 360 cost? Let me guess, $360? Or just $3.60? $3.60 is doable, I guess.

WHAT?! FREE??????? I am making angry eyes at you if you are pulling my leg…No? Okay, well they are probably all those really old titles like Catcher in the Rye, which isn’t even about Baseball…

New titles? Brand new titles? Like James Patterson and Stuart Woods? Okay, how complicated is this thing to use?

Okay, wait…slow down…I need to write down this complicated procedure…download free app from app store…go to www.doverlibrary.org…click on downloadables…click on Axis 360…choose book…and I’m done? Great! That’s not hard at all!

This is awesome! I’ll just have to make sure to return it on time, since I can’t afford the fines!

NO FINES?!?!?!

WHY DIDN’T SOMEONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE I SPENT ALL MY MONEY??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???? Aaaauuuuurrrrggggg!

-Jen Miller

Technology Manager

There are only a couple dates in history that will forever remain etched in the hearts and minds of Americans, date that will never be forgotten. Where were you on December 7, 1941? What were you doing on November 22, 1963? Do you remember September 11, 2011?

That’s one date I’ll never forget.

It was a Tuesday, and I was working in a grocery store in Massillon when a co-worker’s mother called and told us about  a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Shortly after that, we got news of a second plane hitting the New York City landmark. We knew then that this was something huge and no coincidence. A third plane hit the Pentagon, and a fourth hijacked plane was coming our way.

I felt so many emotions as I later drove home. I was confused, angry, and scared. I remember wondering how I was going to explain all of this to our six-year-old daughter. If I couldn’t understand why America was being attacked and what was going to happen next, how was I supposed to answer the questions I was certain she was going to ask?

Now, here we are, sixteen years later, and we still can’t explain why terrorist hijacked and crashed four planes loaded with innocent people. But whatever the terrorist cowards hoped to accomplish that day, whatever victories they claimed to have gained, they did not win. Remember that fourth plane that was coming our way? The first battle in our fight against terrorism was won in the air over rural Pennsylvania when a small community of passengers on Flight 93 decided to do something and not let evil have its way.

It seems like every other day another group comes along and tries to take away the blessings our country enjoys.

Let us never forget those that perished on September 11, 2001. Let’s not take for granted the brave men and women who fight for our country everyday, sixteen years after that terrifying attack on our country. Always remember where you were that day and how far we’ve come.

Thank the first responders in your community and support our military. Let’s not allow evil to win and destroy what makes us a great nation.

-Rick Slayman

Custodian

This fall, the Dover Public Library will be starting a new service for local schools and groups, a Mobile STEAM Lab. The traveling lab features some awesome gadgets and toys to help teach science, technology, engineering, art, and math. We have Snap Circuits, KEVA Planks, an Ozobot robot, and two 3D Printing Pens.

The 3D Printing Pens the Library has in the Mobile STEAM Lab are PACKGOUT 3D Doodler Drawing Printing Pens and currently run $30 on Amazon. About two years ago, I spent $100 on my first 3D Printing Pen. About five minutes later, I think I broke it… It got clogged every five minutes and was the most frustrating thing I’ve ever bought. With these new pens, I saw a second chance, and if these ones clogged, well, at least they would have been a lot cheaper. But something amazing happened. They actually worked like they were supposed to! No jams. No frustration.

It didn’t take me long before I decided I had to get myself one of those pens. So, I did, and once I started drawing, I kind of didn’t stop. I’m a little embarrassed by the amount of time I’ve spent playing with my new toy and by how much material I’ve burned through in such a short amount of time. Then again, I’ve made some really cool things and learned a lot about how to use the pen.

Generally, 3D Printing Pens work kind of like hot glue guns in that you have material that you feed through the device that gets melted and extrudes out the other end. Having a long history with glue guns, this explanation makes sense to me. Instead of glue, 3D Printing Pens use plastic filament like this.

Project #1: 3D Butterfly

When 3D Doodling, you usually have a stencil that you trace. One of the most common stencils is a butterfly. It’s drawn in three pieces: 2 wings, and 1 body. You always start with an outline; with this project, in black, and then fill in.

To change colors, you simply eject the first color then load the next color. You want to doodle a bit out between color changes, as remnants of the old color will remain as you get started on the new one.

When all the pieces are done, you gently pry them off of the tracing surface and “glue” them together with more melted filament. I changed back to black for this task.

The whole project probably took me half an hour to forty-five minutes. On my old pen, this same project took me a week because I had to keep putting it down.

Project #2: Stained Glass Inspired Box

To make this box, I found a free coloring page online that looked a little bit like a rose window. I shrunk it down and printed it off as my stencil.

With any box, first you draw the sides and the bottom, then you put them together.

The possibilities with a 3D Printing Pen are endless. Don’t believe me? Say it again to my… DRAGON!

-Liz Strauss, Teen Librarian