Cute, too-perky girl enters stage left and knocks on a door, center stage.  Grouchy-looking man answers the door eventually

LIBBY: Hi!  I’m Libby!  I’m new to the neighborhood and wanted to introduce myself!

OVERDRIVE:  Welcome to the neighborhood, kid.  I don’t buy Girl Scout cookies or Boy Scout popcorn, I can mow my own lawn and shovel my own snow, and I have no pets to walk.  Have a nice day.  (Starts to close the door.)

LIBBY: (Putting a foot in the doorway) Oh, great!  Good for you!  I really am just introducing myself, though.  I’m Libby.

OVERDRIVE:  So you’ve said.  (Reluctantly) What can I do for you?

LIBBY: Well, can you tell me about Ohio Digital Library?  It seems like a great place to live, but I don’t know much about it.  I’m new in town.

OVERDRIVE:  So you’ve said.  Why don’t you ask the other neighbors?  I’m super busy providing eBooks, digital audiobooks, magazines, and streaming video to Ohio citizens.

LIBBY: Oooo ooo ooo I do that too!  (Looks around) And there aren’t any other neighbors…

OVERDRIVE: Wait, what?!  You offer the same services as me?

LIBBY: Yes, but I also let them download items immediately, use multiple library cards, and stay logged in!  I even give approximate hold times!

OVERDRIVE:  No way!  Well, I do all these services for FREE!  You upstarts always charge for everything.  Well, Ohioans aren’t going to pay for something I’ve always offered for free, I’ll tell you that much!

LIBBY: Oh, I’m free too!

OVERDRIVE:  I see what’s going on here.  Ohio Digital Library doesn’t have room for the two of us, and it’s out to the curb for me.  I spend my whole life providing quality free materials to hungry minds and for what?  As soon as someone wants approximate hold times, I’m out.  Fine, enjoy your neighborhood ALONE.  Don’t worry about me.  Out with the old, in with the new, I always say.  (Starts to leave)

LIBBY: No, you don’t understand!  Ohio Digital Library is committed to supporting us BOTH!  Ohioans can try my app, but if they prefer the one they are used to, it’s fine.  No hard feelings.  In fact, if they download an item, it will appear on both our apps!

OVERDRIVE:   Oh.  Well in that case, welcome to the neighborhood, kid.  I don’t buy Girl Scout cookies or Boy Scout popcorn, I can mow my own lawn and shovel my own snow, and I have no pets to walk.  Have a nice day.  (Re-enters house and successfully closes the door)

Visit the Ohio Digital Library or our Downdloadables page to learn more about our digital collections. Don’t have a card? Have fines on your old card? Sign up for an eCard to gain access to all digital materials for free! 

Jen Miller

Technology Manager

I have always loved to read.  I remember loving the Golden books as a child, begging my mom to read The Monster at the End of This Book repeatedly.   As I entered my adolescent years, my love of reading grew. I devoured Nancy Drew books and kept a journal so I could track which books in the series I had read.  My grandma was always a big reader, and she got me hooked in the mystery suspense genre as a young adult and they are still to this day the books I turn to and enjoy the most.  

Being a busy working mother, with kids involved in so many activities, I found my reading decrease in the last several years.  During 2017, I made a goal to read 2 books a month, a big change seeing in that I was only reading probably 2 books a year in the last several years.  Making a choice to increase my reading meant I had to figure out HOW I could broaden my reading time.

There are several things I did to meet my reading goal and perhaps can help you increase your reading time as well.

1. Make a plan: One of the many things I struggled with was deciding what to read.  I am not one to just hit the bookshelves and decide on a book. I have a limited amount of time to read and so I rely heavily on recommendations from others.  I started creating a What to Read list so when I was ready for a new book I could go to my list. I find recommendations from several sources: Entertainment Weekly, podcasts like What Should I Read Next? By Anne Bogel, and from Blogs I read by moms like me.  
2. Listen to books: I also began listening to audiobooks.  This has allowed me to increase my reading substantially.  Now I can listen while I am in the car running my kids all over town, doing dishes or laundry, or cleaning my house.  I check out audiobooks with my library card on my iPhone through the Ohio Digital Library and Axis 360. The Dover Public Library and its friendly staff members can help you set this up.  
3. Quit it:  Never finish books if you are not enjoying it.  This was a huge breakthrough for me. When I finally gave myself permission to give up on books if I was not enjoying them, I was able to read more and more.  
4. Schedule reading time:  I live by my planner and calendar, I am a huge scheduler and love to follow my lists and check completed tasks off.  I decided to build reading time into my day instead of reading when it fit into my schedule. I scheduled 30 mins of reading into my bedtime routine.  The added bonus is this also allows my brain to shut down for the day and I seem to sleep better.
5. Find a reading guide or join a bookclub:  The last way I increased my reading was by having some sort of accountability.  I found a reading guide for the summer from the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog, which recommended books, based on genre.  I also joined a book club, an online community that connected me with other readers and helped me stay on track with my reading goals.

With the tips listed, I was able to meet and exceed my goal for 2017 and I have increased by goal for 2018.  I hope this list is as helpful to you as it has been for me.

Jamie Rieger

Fiscal Officer

Our Seed Library has given this Card Catalog a new life!

There have been many changes at the Library in the last 25 years since I have been working here. From the “old” way we had of checking out patrons and using the card catalogs to look up a book, to now using computers and new technology to do the many things that we did differently in the past.  I have seen the addition and remodeling of the Children’s department and also the addition of the Technology and Community Room wing. Since my time here I have had the pleasure of working with four different Children’s Librarians and other numerous staff that have come and gone, as well as a new Director.

But the biggest change will be happening soon, and that is the remodeling of the Adult department which is in dire need of new wiring to keep up with technology. There will also be changes in the existing Tech room, and the basement will be revamped.

We are very fortunate to have a community that supports us with this project in a variety of ways.

These are exciting times and I know we are all looking forward to this change.

-Wendy

Technical Services Manager

Learn more about the Capital Campaign!

Do you hate book clubs? Maybe hate is not the correct word for it. Do you dislike reading what other people tell you to read? Do you despise dissecting every part of a book until you’re blue in the face? Do you loathe reading all of those intense books chosen by most book clubs? Do you have an aversion to trying something new? Is that why you haven’t joined a book club?

Well that was me 3 years ago. I didn’t join a book club because I didn’t want someone telling me what I should read. I didn’t want to give a book report. I didn’t want to read all of those heavy intense books.

Maybe like me, you just haven’t found the book club for you. B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Book) was a good fit for me. This book club meets at 6 PM on the first Thursday of every month at different eating establishments. The members of the club select a theme that changes each month. You choose whatever book you want that goes with that theme. Here’s how this works, next month our theme is “weather in the title”. You choose any book that has anything weather related in the title. For example, “Black Wind” by Clive Cussler, “Summer Rain” by Barbara Freethy, “Whiter than Snow” by Paul David Tripp or “Six Inches of Partly Cloudy” by Dick Goddard. See how that works? It is so easy and fun. We get a wide variety of books from all genres. You don’t have to be a public speaker to participate, just briefly say a little something about the book you selected. You get to hear about what other people are reading. And maybe something will interest you that you may not have thought you would have liked. If doing something new was one of your New Year’s Resolutions, then I suggest trying B.Y.O.B.

Linda Toohey

Outreach Librarian

Next BYOB Meeting: Thursday, February 1 at 6:00 PM at Magoo’s. Theme: Weather in the Title

More Info on the BYOB

… 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