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

In Ohio, the summer offers many wonderful foods grown from our gardens! Some of my favorites include strawberries, corn and tomatoes.

Our locally  grown tomatoes can be flavorful, juicy and have a delightful fresh aroma. Plain slices of tomatoes, or even a slice on a grilled cheese  sandwich can be enjoyable. One of my favorite recipes  includes some Ohio tomatoes and is handy for a quick meal or a cookout.

Lindy’s Summer Salad

Cut up Romaine lettuce and place in a large bowl. Chop up those yummy Ohio tomatoes, and add to the bowl. Sprinkle in two cups of grated cheddar cheese. Stir in  one can of drained kidney beans. Just before serving, mix in one bottle of Catalina French dressing.  Finish the dish by adding small Frito corn chips,  that can be crushed if you prefer.

There are so many ways to prepare these delicious summertime foods! What’s one of your favorite recipes?

-Lindy Conley

I’ve visited over a dozen states over the course of my life, and I’ve had the opportunity to travel to more than six other countries around the world. I’ve seen some great places and done some things that many people haven’t. I’ve hiked part of the Appalachian Trail, explored caves in Kentucky and Guatemala, and ridden on the back of an elephant in Thailand. I’ve been blessed with great vacations and awesome mission trips. There are so many cool things for us to see on this planet.

But what if you could vacation, for a week or so, in some fictional land, any fictional land. Where would you choose to go?

L. Frank Baum has been one of my favorite authors for many years. He created a world of characters, creatures, and settings that most minds could never imagine. He created a realm of mystery and excitement, innocence and danger, vivid color and deep darkness. Baum fabricated a place that we’d love to visit, but probably not want to live in. So, if I could vacation in any fictional land of my choosing, I’d choose Oz.

Who wouldn’t want to go “somewhere over the rainbow” to Oz, where we can all “laugh the day away”?

I’d love to follow that Yellow Brick Road through extraordinary villages and counties, forests and fields. It would be quite exciting to visit the Emerald City and chat with the friendly folks of Munchkinland. I’d like to meet a talking lion, discuss politics with a scarecrow, and do some mission work with a kind-hearted man of tin.

Oh, Oz has its fair share of dangers. That’s for sure. It’s not every day that we encounter green-skinned witches, flying monkeys, humbug wizards, or apple-wielding trees. But how do those perils compare to the terrorist attacks, suicide bombers, and natural disasters we face here?

Oz, “where troubles melt like lemon-drops” would be a fun place to spend some vacation time, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Folks in Oz are constantly watching the weather for fear of falling houses. Witches, good and bad, come and go so quickly on broomsticks and in bubbles. And wouldn’t it get tiring breaking into song for every move you make – following a road, leaving the woods, getting a make-over?

Like I said, Oz would make a great vacation destination, but “there’s no place like home.”

Rick Slayman

Custodian

Why aren’t there more songs about Libraries?  I get this question all the time in my position in the Technology Wing.  ALL THE TIME.  Really.  So I wrote a song about Libraries.  It’s to the tune of…well, I’ll let you figure out that one.  Next time you stop by the Technology Wing, please feel free to sing it along with me.

L, a line, it’s all online

I, internet’s always free

B, a book, a brand-new book

R, reading along with meeeee

A, audio books to hear

R, please let me ring that bell

Y, your programs make me cheer

And that will bring us back to L!

L-I-B-R-A-R-Y (Do-ver)