DPL Blog

Come Write In!

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cat writing at a deskIt’s almost November! And that means it’s almost NaNoWriMo!

NaNoWriMo? What’s that? How do you say it?

It’s National Novel Writing Month, the month when writers everywhere try to write a whole 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I’ll save you the math: that’s about 1,667 words a day, for 30 days. For a normal typist (40 words per minute), that’s about 42 minutes of straight typing per day. And it’s pronounced “Nan – Oh – Wry – Mo.” As the organization says on their website, “Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.”

This year, the Dover Public Library is offering up our Lounge as a Come Write In location. That means you can stop in and use our Lounge as a quiet space to write any time during NaNoWriMo. As always, the Lounge will remain available to the public unless it has been reserved by an organization.

In addition to the Lounge being available the whole month, we’re also hosting several scheduled events for writers to meet, get inspiration, and write.

  • Tuesday, November 1, 6pm – 8pm in the Lounge: Come write your first 1,667 words
  • Saturday, November 5, 2pm – 5pm in the Community Room: Come double your daily word count with us
  • Friday, November 11, 2pm – 5pm in the Community Room: Keep up the great work and log your progress
  • Friday, November 18 from 2pm – 5pm in the Lounge: Come Write In and get inspired by other participants
  • Monday, November 28, 6pm – 8pm  in the Community Room: Sprint to the finish this week to WIN
  • Wednesday, November 30, 6pm – 8pm in the Community Room: Meet your 50,000 word goal tonight

 

 

Happy NaNoWriMo!

Liz

Teen Librarian

 

Staff Retreat 2016

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“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”  –Winston Churchill

Dover Public Library Staff Photo October 10 2016Last Monday, Columbus Day, the library was closed for its annual Fall Retreat. This day is so important for the library and for the library staff because it gives us all a chance to go off-site and to come together as a staff through fellowship and training. All jobs have their “moments,” of course, and the public library world is no exception. Working with the public can be difficult and keeping up in an ever-changing library landscape is and always will be challenging. But at the annual Fall Retreat, we have the chance to learn and share and grow and be inspired. This year, we visited the Schiappa Branch of the Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County. It was fun to explore their library-which seemed like a new building, despite being constructed in the 1980’s. Their staff was amazing and it was incredible and eye-opening to see how they do things. After a great lunch (you must have Scaffidi’s in Steubenville) we talked about the changes facing our library: new staff, a fundraising campaign for a big building remodel, and that ever-present thing called change. We laughed, we shared, and yes–we even cried a little. In the end, as we drove back home on State Route 250 past beautiful Tappan Lake, we felt renewed in a way that was long overdue. It is such a blessing to work with men and women at the Dover Public Library and it is moments like the Fall Retreat that make it undeniable that I am where I am supposed to be. It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Dover Public Library. I truly have the best staff a library director could ask for.

A vision becomes reality.

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Local History & Genealogy on by

It’s not often that what you dream keeps its shape when the dream takes physical form. The real world plays havoc with your visions, and what you get at the end, while it may be satisfying, usually looks quite a bit different.

 

I am pleased to say that our first edition of Tapestries of Tuscarawas County, a book of living memories, has taken shape and finally come to fruition. The best part? I couldn’t have dreamed it any better.

ttcThe stories in the book are from Tuscarawas County locals, sharing memories of childhood, adulthood, and old age. Those of us who live here will recognize descriptions of Tuscora Park, the county fair, and the homey, small-town feel of most of the stories. There are descriptions of growing up in town versus growing up in the country, people who made a difference in someone’s life, and sometimes even crazy surprises that can shock and amaze. “Only in T County,” I was tempted to say a few times.

 

What impresses me most about this book written by my neighbors is that so many of the stories dig down deep to the heart of what it means to me to live in Tuscarawas County, and I am a person whose love for my hometown came late. I was raised here, and as soon as I could, I fled. I lived all around Ohio, Arizona, and California, but eventually something brought me back home. And a bit of what drew me back like a magnet can be read in between the lines of this book. We all have our struggles and our bad days we long to escape, but home is something that grows up around you when you’re not looking. It steadies you, calms you, and gives you courage. It can be hard to search for and hard to define, but you know it when you’re there. That’s what reading this book does for me. It tells me I’m home.

 

Look for copies to be available this fall at Dover Public Library – for only $8 you can share the experience of the place that you call home through the eyes of others who feel the same way. Join us at the book reception, Saturday November 5 at 6:00 p.m. to get your copy before they are gone!

 

– Claire Kandle

Local History Librarian

Super Mortimer to the Rescue! With Candy!

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Super Mortimer CertifiedHello!  Mortimer here again!  Maybe you didn’t recognize me because I am in costume!  I am SUPER MORTIMER, to the rescue!  Why?  Well, because Halloween is next month and I have to get ready!

Ok, so Halloween is when you dress up in a disguise and go trick-or-treating to get candy!  Yay!  I thought about dressing up like a moose again this year, because moose are my favorite animal, but then I know you wouldn’t recognize me at all and I might miss you.  So I will be Super Mortimer instead!

I want to walk in Dover’s Halloween Parade with the Dover Public Library’s little Tornadoes Reading Club on October 26 at 6:00 if my mom says it is ok!  If we walk in the parade, we will get our very own bag of candy!   Will you be there?  YOU could dress up like a moose!  How cool would that be?

If you didn’t do the Little Tornadoes Reading Club, (why not???) you could still come watch me walk in the parade!  I will give you extra candy if you yell something awesome like, “long live the moose!”  Yes, that will be our secret candy code!  When I hear you yell that, I will rush over with extra candy and next year you’ll walk in the parade with me!  Yay!

-Mortimer the Moose

Volunteer of the Month: Taylor

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Teens on by

Taylor shelving at the book saleThrow the confetti! Strike up the band! Our Volunteer of the Month for September is Taylor!

 

How long have you been volunteering at the library?

Almost a year

 

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

 

I wanted to become a volunteer at the library to learn how the library works and to see what it takes to be an employee at the library.

 

 Who are some of your favorite authors?

  • James Patterson
  • John Green
  • Gail Carriger
  • Richelle Mead
  • C.C. Hunter
  • Cassandra Clare

 

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer?

 

Learning how the library works

 

Thanks for everything that you do, Taylor! We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to helping the library.

 

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

End of Summer Reading — Beginning of Little Tornadoes Reading Club

This entry was posted in DPL Blog Kids on by

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

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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.