DPL Blog

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)

Hello T-County neighbors!  Our library is looking for submissions for the second edition of the literary magazine, Tapestries of Tuscarawas County!   We are compiling stories for publication in a book as part of an ongoing oral history project.  This project is a vibrant book that captures what it is like to live in Tuscarawas County and we hope you can help.  If you have a strong memory of your life that you can share with us in the form of a letter or email, you could be included in this book–and may even win a cash prize!  Each story provided will be a thread, and each thread will be woven together with stories from friends, family, and neighbors to contribute to a rich tapestry that expresses the varied beauty of our individual lives. This book will display a collection of stories and art of and from Tuscarawas County in its second edition!

Submission Form

How do I contribute?

You can contribute by sharing your stories with us! There are several ways to do this: You can write us a letter. You can dictate your story to a loved one. You can record it at a family gathering. It can be handwritten, typed, or emailed. All we ask is that the final submissions are kept to 2,000 words or less.

What if I’m not a very good writer?

Stories are not judged based on writing ability, but on interest and relation to our county, and our editor will help make them ready for publication. You will get a chance to review the edited version before it is published.

What should I write about?

Anything! Your best/worst memory, something embarrassing that happened, something that changed your life, something that stands out to you as a representative example of your youth or adulthood in Tuscarawas County. The stories must adhere to only two rules: they must be true, and they must not harm anyone in the telling. See the reverse side for some prompt questions to help you get started. More questions can be found at https://storycorps.org/great-questions/

How can I win the cash prize?

The editing team at the Dover Public Library will award the top prize to the most appealing story. Writing ability is NOT a factor. There is no cost to submit a story, and you are under no obligations.

When can I get the book?

Tapestries of Tuscarawas County will be released in the fall of 2017. Contributors will receive a free copy. It will also be available at Dover Public Library and other local libraries and historical societies. Write your letter today! You can be proud to be a part of this valuable addition to our local living history.  Deadline for submission is August 1, 2017.

If you have questions about this project, please contact Kellie Pleshinger at kpleshin@ashland.edu or by calling the library at 330-343-6123

What are you doing in that “tiny room” by the back door?

I’m Linda Toohey the Outreach Librarian and I’m asked that a lot. Big things happen in that” tiny room”. For instance, did you know that over 100 people throughout our community get items delivered right to their door?

Being the Outreach Librarian, I am responsible for making sure our homebound patrons are still able to make use of our library. I keep records of what each of these individuals like to read and maintain a reading list for them. I then select items for them. Whether they like books, CDs, DVDs or magazines, it doesn’t matter. Whatever is available in the library is also available to our homebound patrons as well. Then I check these items out for them and put them in a bag with their name on them. Then these bags get crated up for delivery. With the help of some very reliable volunteers we deliver these bags to the patrons and pick up what they are finished with. Everything then comes back to the library where I unload and check everything back in.

In my spare time, I also do research for entertaining and educational programs that I compose and present at the area care facilities and the Senior Center. So although you might not see a lot of me, I am doing a lot for the people of our community that can’t make it to the library.

Stop by to say “hi” and see the big things that happen in that “tiny room”!   

Hello, Patrons! Ever start talking to one of us here at the library and get the sense that we’re actually speaking a different language? Well, here are some commonly used Librarian phrases and their meanings.

1. Patron: (n) A person who uses the library. AKA: You! Other libraries also use the words “Customer” or “User.” We prefer “Patron” because without your support, or patronage, we wouldn’t have a Library to begin with.
2. Processing: (v) The task of getting items ready to be checked out. This includes adding labels, bar-codes, and stamps to the materials and putting the record in the system.
3. Polaris: (n) Our computer system. It houses all of our records for every item we circulate and all of our patrons. (No wonder we get stressed out when “Polaris” goes down!)
4. ILL: Inter-Library-Loan; (v) the process of borrowing a book from a different library. We contact the other library, check it out (as if we were a patron), have it sent to us, add it temporarily to Polaris, then call the Patron who requested it. (n) An item that has been obtained from another library. Learn More.
5. Weeding: (v) The process of removing books that are outdated, no longer circulate, or are in bad shape from the library shelves. No, we are not working outside. But just as a successful garden requires weeding, so does a successful library.

What other words or phrases have you heard us use at the Library?

-Liz Strauss

Teen Librarian

Ever wonder what we do all day? Here’s an inside look at what being a Library Assistant here at Dover Public Library is all about. 

Syrena and Children’s Librarian Dani at the StoryWalk(r) at Dover City Park

Name: Syrena Troyer

Job Title: Library Assistant

12:30 – 1:30 PM

Cover the Desk for the morning shift’s lunch break. Check patrons out. Check returned items in. Shelve (put away) items that have been returned and checked in.

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Cover the Desk. Help patrons.  Process new DVDs. This means putting a record in the computer system and adding labels and a bar-code to the case. Check the Book Drop in the back for books that need checked in and delivered to the Adult Department.

3:00 – 4:00 PM

Cover the Desk. Help patrons. Shelve books. Check in returned items. Check the Book Drop.

4:00 – 5:00 PM

LUNCH BREAK! YAY!

5:00 – 7:00 PM

Cover the Desk. Help patrons.  Check in returned items. Check the Book Drops. Shelve all materials that were checked in.

7:00 – 8:00 PM

Work on changing some of our Graphic Novels from Fiction to Non-fiction. Change the labels on said Graphic Novels. Check out and assist patrons. Perform Closing Procedures