Adult Services

Halloween at Home

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Kids Teens on October 24, 2020 by admin

Stuck at home this Halloween? Make the most of it with these five fun activities you can do without leaving the house!

Interactive Movies: Watch your favorite movie with a new twist. Come up with actions to do during key moments in the movie to turn movie night into a game. Need some ideas? Check out YALSA’s post on Interactive Movies for scripts and more.
Ghost Hunt: Hide paper ghosts or other ghost props around your house and have the kids race to find them all! Search for free clipart to use on Pixabay or draw your own!
Halloween Egg Hunt: Have the Easter Bunny help you out for this one! Hide candy and toy-filled plastic eggs around the house. Bonus craft: decorate your plastic eggs with puffy paint to turn them into pumpkins, ghosts, monsters, and more. Not crafty? There’s always these pumpkin eggs from Amazon.
Scavenger Hunts & Escape Rooms: Feeling a bit more ambitious? Try your hand at making a custom Scavenger Hunt or go a step further with an Escape Room! Check out Escape Room puzzle ideas and downloadable kits at Lock, Paper, Scissors and Instructables.
Minute to Win It: Play a series of challenging mini-games to win the title of Halloween Champion. Come up with your own games or do classic Halloween games like bobbing for apples. Need some ideas? Check out 30 Easy & Fun Minute-to-Win-It Games for Kids from Red Tricycle.

Happy Halloween!

-the DPL Staff

Thank You, Julie Warther!

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on September 18, 2020 by admin

As Dover Public Library Board of Trustees Vice President Julie Warther begins her next adventure, we asked her a few questions about life, libraries, and literacy.

1. What has been the best thing about serving the community as a Trustee at the Dover Public Library?

I felt honored to have had the opportunity to participate in this vibrant part of our community. I loved being part of this winning team of staff, managers, board members and patrons who all work together to make the magic of the Dover Public Library happen! The overwhelming support shown by the community confirms time and again that what we do is important and valued here.

2. How has the Library changed during your time as a Trustee?

I’ve been on the board with two directors, a levy campaign, a remodel of the Children’s Department and later a remodel of the rest of the library. We’ve experienced an incredible growth in programming, making the library a hub in the community for all ages. I’ve watched our Outreach Program blossom and technology explode. The StoryWalk® was created and continues to flourish at Dover City Park. And most recently, we navigated a shut-down due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a re-opening with curbside pickup. And these are just some of the highlights! It’s been an incredible journey!

3.What words of advice would you impart on someone considering applying for the open Trustee seat?

Love the library and this community. Know that you are helping to bring our community together; be an advocate for literacy; open doors for many. The current board has worked together for numerous years and each fills a niche. Bring your own unique talents and be ready to jump in with both feet!

4. What do you like to do in your free time?

My favorite hours are spent with my kids, or reading, writing poetry, hiking at Norma Johnson’s Conservation Center and kayaking the Tuscarawas River.

5. What is your greatest memory of growing up in Dover?

I recognize I had a near-idyllic childhood with a loving family, lots of outside time, and a love of reading. My childhood home was adjacent to what is now the Norma Johnson Conservation Center. I spent hours hiking and fishing there with my parents and brothers. My mom brought me to Storytime at the Dover Public Library when I was younger, then I started reading through the shelves of mysteries in the Children’s Department – The Happy Hollisters, Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown. I grew up as part of the family at Dover First United Methodist Church and attended Dover High School where I remember fondly my days playing alto saxophone with the Marching Tornadoes and performing with the Thespians on the Dover High School stage.

6. One thing about me that people would be surprised to know is…

I am a poetry nerd! I am an editor for an online haiku journal called The Heron’s Nest www.theheronsnest.com and have been instrumental in establishing several haiku path installations, including one at The Inn at Honeyrun in Millersburg.

7. What is your favorite book of all time and why?

You didn’t really expect me to name just one, did you? I have found delight in many books.

The Bible, cozy mysteries, children’s literature like the Harry Potter series, and lots of poetry.

There is however, one particular book that surfaces when this question is asked. Richard Adams’s Watership Down was that one special book for me that still resonates. It was a place of community, albeit through many difficulties; friends helping each other along, each respected for his or her own unique gifts. There was an opening to possibilities and hope in it for me.

8. You are about to begin the next chapter of your life. Can you share what is next for you?

I am moving to Wisconsin with two cats where we will likely be snowed-in often and catch up on stacks of books. I will probably do much of what I did here: be involved in the writing community and the church, find a place to lead a tai chi class and enjoy hiking and biking. As my people are here in Ohio, I will make regular trips back to visit. Don’t be surprised if you run into me at the library!

***

Thank you, Julie Warther, for your years of service to the community! We wish you all the best in your next chapter!

If you know someone who has a passion for literacy, the community, and the Dover Public Library, please tell them about our Board of Trustees, currently seeking a new member! Learn more online or call Library Director Jim Gill at 330-343-6123 for more information.

Register to Vote by October 5

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on September 11, 2020 by admin

Do you need to register to vote? We can help with that.

At the Dover Public Library, you can register to vote, update your address, or fill out an application for an absentee ballot. Turn in your forms at the library, and we’ll get them to the Board of Elections, no postage necessary.

The deadline to vote in the November election is OCTOBER 5.

Your vote counts! However you decide to vote, just VOTE.

Find more information online at https://www.boe.ohio.gov/tuscarawas/voter-registration-information/ . Learn more about voting absentee here: https://www.boe.ohio.gov/tuscarawas/absentee-information/absentee-voting/

Fit for Fall 2020

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on September 3, 2020 by admin

Did you know the Dover Public Library has its own walking program for the fall?

If you were a fan of the Summer Walking Program, this program is a great next step. For each 15 minutes that you walk, you check off a box on the tracker. You can count all of your exercise: jogging, raking leaves, Zumba. Anything that gets you moving counts towards your goal!

I am a big fan of Fit for Fall. As the weather gets a little cooler, it’s a great reminder to get out and enjoy those wonderful fall colors. Being part of a community fitness program also helps keep me motivated. Plus, setting an achievable goal is important.

Thirty hours of walking (or other activity, remember!) is a lot of fitness, but is absolutely achievable in just over three months. If you do finish 30 hours of walking, you are eligible for a free T-shirt, and if you’re an overachiever, there is a grand prize drawing just for those who completely fill in the chart.

Deadline to turn in trackers is December 9, so we all have plenty of time to get fit this fall!

What are you waiting for? Download your tracker and get moving today!

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Manager

Questions from the Switchboard

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Teens on August 21, 2020 by admin

There have been a lot of changes at the library since we’ve reopened. Some everyone can see: free masks, more hand sanitizer, less computers open so users can spread out. Some are more behind the scenes. One such change is the elimination of the phone tree when you call in so you get to talk to a real person, real quick.

When staffing allows, we have a librarian dedicated to answering the phone in one of our staff work spaces, now affectionately nicknamed “the Switchboard.”

We get a lot of work done in the Switchboard, and we also get a lot of questions. Here are some of the most common:

What are your hours?

New Hours library photo background Monday through Friday 10 AM to 6 PM Saturday 10 AM to 2 PM and Closed Sunday

Our new hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We are still closed on Sundays.

How do I return materials?

Due to health and safety guidelines, all materials returned to the Dover Public Library must be placed in our outdoor bookdrops. There is one in the back parking lot as you pull in from 6th Street, and one to the left of the front entrance.

I returned _____ . Why is it still on my card?

All returned items are placed in Quarantine for three days before they are checked in. If you’re getting emails that items are being renewed, are overdue, or notice that items are still on your account, and you know the items were returned, please don’t worry! The items are probably here, just waiting in quarantine.

What are my overdue fines?

You don’t have any! We all have enough to worry about during this crazy time, so the Dover Public Library is fine-free until further notice.

We get some uncommon questions at the Switchboard as well. Here are some of my favorites:

How do I cook shiitake mushrooms?

This one was a challenge. But apparently you… saute them? Check out this blog post from The Kitchen Magpie for more information!

What’s the weather for the week?

For the answer to this one, I like good old Google.

How do I contact the White House?

There’s a handy dandy form on this website!

Where do I send in my Absentee Ballot Application?

The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections: PO Box 69; New Philadelphia, OH 44663

Got Questions? We’ve got answers! Or… we’ll find answers. Call us at 330-343-6123 to talk to a Librarian.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Manager

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Review

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Teens on July 31, 2020 by admin

With everything going on in the world, the library’s copies of the latest Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, arrived about two months late. Was it worth the wait?

The short answer, from a Hunger Games fan, is YES! The long answer is… maybe?

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place about sixty years before the original trilogy. The first two parts of the book follow the tenth Hunger Games, the annual competition slash punishment that takes twenty four children from the twelve districts of Panem and puts them in a fight to the death. This year the Capitol is trying something new: mentors. The first class of mentors includes students from the Capitol in their final year of school. Eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is one of those students, and he is assigned the female tribute from District 12.

Weighing in at 528 pages, this book, full of surprises and insights, is not what I would call light reading. It raises a lot of questions about Panem and about future villain Snow. The book tackles war, reformation, poverty, hatred, ambition… It makes you think.

Personally, I like this book. It was a good read. As a Hunger Games fan, I would recommend this to other fans. But fair warning: if you haven’t read The Hunger Games, you’ll need to after reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Then, you’ll probably want to read all four of them again.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Librarian

Health & Safety Update

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Kids Teens on June 19, 2020 by admin

The Dover Public Library seeks to enrich lives in our community while being committed to the health and safety of both the public and the staff. For this reason and in light of the COVID-19 world we now live in, the Dover Public Library will implement the following measures per state & local health guidelines:

Six-foot minimum distance between all individuals or the minimum required by the Ohio Dept of Health (ODH). Visual indicators and signage posted in high traffic areas demonstrating a six-foot distance.
Staff will not report to work and the public should refrain from entering the library if showing the following COVID-19 symptoms in the last 72 hours: cough, fever, respiratory illness or difficulty breathing.
Clear, protective, counter shields installed at transaction desks between staff and public where appropriate.
Sanitization of shared surfaces daily with additional sanitation provided by staff, hourly as needed, to high-touch areas.
Everyone who enters the building are encouraged to sanitize their hands upon entering & exiting the building.
Patrons are asked to limit their visit to the library to 1 hour.
The library’s Unattended Minor Policy will be enforced.
All returned materials must be placed in one of the library’s two exterior book drops. Materials will be quarantined for a minimum of 72 hours before they are handled by the staff & public.
Library staff are required to wear masks. Staff may supply their own masks or choose to wear one provided by the library. The Library strongly encourages the public to wear their own masks in compliance with ODH guidelines.
Adequate supply of cleaning products, masks, and gloves will be available to staff.
Staff required to perform thorough hand washing for at least 20 seconds per ODH guidelines; Glove use is optional but available for staff as needed/requested.
Staff will clean workstations before and after use.
The Library strongly advises members of the public refrain from entering buildings if you or a member of your household has been ill or has a temperature.