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Nights at the Round Table: Rex Ray

RexRayRex Ray

Thursday, February 23 at 6:30 PM

Author Rex Ray will discuss his book: Every Day is Mother’s Day

Studies show that children show higher levels of emotional and moral well-being if they hear stories about relatives who came before them. Psychologists have analyzed dinner time conversations and other measures of how well families work and found that family stories are a critical part of a child’s emerging identity. This memoir by Dover native Rex Ray gives examples of dinner time stories that have shaped his life and can shape the thoughts of children and adults today.


National Park Service Centennial Program

In August of 1916 the National Park Service (NPS) was created to care for America’s treasures. Today, the NPS cares for over 400 National Park Service Sites that preserve America’s treasures. Join a park ranger for a celebration of the Centennial and a look at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. For more information or to register for this free community event, please call the Dover Public Library at 330-343-6123.NPS Centennial


End of Summer Reading — Beginning of Little Tornadoes Reading Club

Mortimer Moose here again!  Did you miss me?  I have some very bad news today – I did not win any summer reading prizes.  Bummer.  Good news – I read a lot of great books and got a FREE book to keep!  Yay for free books!  Did you get a free book?  Can I read yours?  Please?  I think I will win lots of prizes next year, since moose are usually very lucky.

I am excited about the fall Footnotes that will come out in the fall, I believe.  There are lots of new programs to get me by until the next summer reading.  I wonder when fall reading starts.  And winter reading and spring reading? WHAT?!  There is only SUMMER reading?!  I’m going to go into prize withdraw!  Medic!  Medic!

Little Tornadoes Reading Club LogoOh, wait! I almost forgot about the Little Tornadoes Reading Club! That’s just as good as a fall reading program. Not only do we get to read sports books, everyone who finishes the drills will get football game tickets, a club t-shirt, and a membership card! There’s also some great events for club members like a Gridiron story time with the Dover Tornadoes! So awesome! I’ll let the other events be a surprise. *Moose Wink*

Come visit the Children’s Department and tell Miss Jen you want to sign up for the Little Tornadoes Reading Club! Then we’ll be in a club together! How fun will that be?

Your Pal,

Mortimer Moose


Volunteer of the Month: Carl

volunteer Carl with boxCongrats to our Volunteer of the Month for August: Carl!

 

How long have you been volunteering at the library?

3 Years

 

Why did you want to become a volunteer at the library?

A way to give back to the community

 

Who are some of your favorite authors?

 

Box, Baldacci, Patterson, Gavis, Deaver, Sanford, Castillo

 

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer?

Just being around the library and talking with the staff

 

Thank you for all your help, Carl!

 

Would you like to volunteer? Contact Wendy Contini for more information on how to help your library.


5 Things I’ve Learned in 5 Years

Snakes in the Library Poster

One of my favorite posters for one of my favorite events: Snakes in the Library!

This July, I’m celebrating 5 wonderful years working at the Dover Public Library. I feel like it was only yesterday that I did my first official teen program (Silent Library) and had fifteen people show up (five were registered). I’ve learned a lot during my time here, much more than what I learned in Library School. Since I’m celebrating 5 years, here are my top 5 things I’ve learned while working here.

  1. Microsoft Publisher is the Bomb

A few years back, Jim asked me to take over designing the library’s newsletter, Footnotes. I was excited for the challenge. I got to learn fabulous new tricks on Publisher like Master Pages and Color Schemes, tools I hadn’t needed in the past. Before I started at the library, I was all about Photoshop. Now I barely use it. Publisher is where it’s at for posters and other random library projects.

  1. Minecraft May Be the Best Game Ever Invented

    Minecraft Screenshot

    A screenshot preview of my Platform 9 3/4 for this summer’s Minecraft Lock-In

I see a lot of Minecraft in the Library. I was sceptical at first about this game that looks a lot like LEGOs and has no rules, no plot, and no guide. Then I tried it. Because there are no rules, no plot, no guide, you can make the game whatever you want it to be. It makes you think: What do I need to survive? It lets you get creative: What can I build now? It lets you fight a dragon. Beat that, LEGOs.

  1. Teaching a Tech Class is Not as Hard as Teaching Mom to Play a Video Game

I was very nervous the first time I had to teach a tech class. I obsessed about getting everything exactly perfect. Since that first class (on eBooks, by the way), I’ve chilled out a bit. I finally figured out that if I have the patience to walk my mom through playing Skylanders, I have the patience to help people learn how to make a poster in Publisher. (Love you, Mom.)

  1. When in Doubt: Google

I feel many a researcher cringing at this one. BUT: how do I start numbering pages at 1 in the middle of a Publisher document? Why is this error coming up on a patron’s Kindle? How can I unlock my iPad when it’s asking me for a passcode that I never even set up? Google knows! For tech support especially, Google is my best friend. That’s something they neglected to mention in school.

  1. Teen Volunteers at Haunted Library Program

    Awesome Teen Volunteers hanging out at the Haunted Library event last year.

    Teens are Awesome


In Library School, one of my professors said that to work with teens you have to have a thick skin. This worried me because
no one in my life would describe me as “thick-skinned.” But I’ve learned something in five years of actually working with teens: they’re not half as bad as you think they are. Yes, they like their food. Yes, they can be loud. Yes, they sometimes make incredibly awful jokes about Hitler. (Why Hitler? I… don’t know.) BUT they will also play with balloons and play dough, give you ideas for programs they want to do, and help you vacuum the Community Room. Throw in Phantom of the Opera themed Gingerbread Houses, Pac-Man themed volcanoes, and a new cosplay outfit every week, and you’ve got some idea of how awesome teens are.

 

So, that’s it, folks. The things only Dover Public Library could teach me. Thank you for a great five years. Here’s to many, many more!

 

-Liz Strauss

Teen Librarian

 


Volunteer of the Month: Judy

JudyCongrats to our Volunteer of the Month for July! Thank you for all that you do to help the library, Judy!

How long have you been volunteering at the library?

Around three years

Why did you want to become a volunteer at the library?

I love to read and have been coming to this library for around 25 years. The staff is great. After I retired I thought it would be a great place to volunteer.

Who are some of your favorite authors?

I read many authors who write books about the Amish. I also like James Patterson, Jude Deveraux, and Linda Castillo.

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer?

Working with the staff and the feeling that I can help out.

 

Thanks again for all your hard work and dedication to the library, Judy. We can’t thank you and our other excellent volunteers enough for everything that you do!

Would you like to volunteer? Contact Wendy Contini for more information on how to help your library.


NY Times Bestselling Author Linda Castillo Comes Back to Dover

AmongTheWicked

New York Times Bestselling author Linda Castillo is coming back to Dover!  On Thursday, July 14 at 6:30 PM, Castillo will discuss her latest edition in the Kate Burkholder series, Among the Wicked.  In the book, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called upon by the sheriff’s department in rural, upstate New York to assist on a developing case that involves a reclusive Amish settlement and the death of a young girl.  Unable to penetrate the wall of silence between Amish and English communities, the sheriff asks Kate to travel to New York, pose as an Amish woman, and infiltrate the community.  In the coming days, Kate unearths a world built on secrets and finds herself, alone…trapped in a fight for her life.

As special audience Q&A session will also be a part of the evening.  A book signing will follow the program. Please call the Library at 330.343.6123 to reserve your seat for this free community event!