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What is that thing?

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Psaltery and Bow on a Music Stand

This is a psaltery.

Technically, this is a bowed psaltery. Because, you know, you play it with a bow. I think of it as a sort of a cross between a violin and a harp. The psaltery (no bow) has been around since before the 12th century, when it hit Europe. The old psalteries were plucked, they were wider, and were more harp than anything else. The bowed psaltery was popularized in the 1940’s. It was developed by a music teacher to teach proper bowing. He elongated the instrument, turning it into more of this triangle shape, and added the bow. So, all at once, the bowed psaltery is a very old instrument and a relatively new instrument.

Why am I posting about a weird instrument you’ve never heard of? Because this psaltery happens to be mine.

One of the first things people ask me when they see me with this weird thing is “Where in the world did you find that?”

So, this is the story of how I met the psaltery.

It was about three years ago. I had just purchased a hundred year old house that needed electrical work and plumbing work and… well. You know. Work. A friend and I took a day off home improvement to go to the Zoar Harvest Festival. Walking around, looking at the crafts, we heard this music.

We were like “What’s that? A violin? Where’s it coming from?”

So we followed the music to a booth run by Terry and Sharon Kirby, who showed us their Psalteries.

But, remember when I said I’d just bought a house? Yeah. I wasn’t going to let myself spend $300 on a musical instrument I’d never seen before. So, I didn’t even pick one up. Because I knew, if I picked it up, I’d have to have it.

Two years go by, and I still can’t get this instrument and its haunting music out of my head. So, I look up Terry Kirby online, meet him at his workshop in Massillon, and pick out my psaltery. 

And the rest is musical history. Or, well, to me, anyway.

To hear more about the bowed psaltery, come to my program on Saturday, April 16 at 2:00 PM. I’ll talk more about how to play it (it’s incredibly easy) and play a few of my favorite songs. Then, if anyone would like to hold the instrument and try it out, you’ll be more than welcome to do so. Don’t worry; I won’t let you take it from me, even if you do fall in love with it.

 

Introducing Dani Gustavich, new Children’s Librarian

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As you probably know, Miss Pat retired on February 29th of this year. As the new Children’s Librarian, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to fill you in on some of the changes which will be taking place in the Children’s Department over the next few months.

 

I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wilmington College, where I majored in Communication Arts. Since graduating, I have been a substitute teacher for Canton City Schools, a lead teacher at a family care center, and a co-director of an after-school program. My most recent position was as the Children’s Librarian for the Stark County District Library’s Main location. I recently earned my Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from Kent State and now, here I am, working for the wonderful community of Dover.Peanuts_gang

 

My goal is to make the Children’s Department more user-friendly for all of our patrons. In order to do this, we are weeding the entire collection. This means that we will be discarding the non-fiction books which are out-of-date and replacing them with more current information. The remainder of the collection is also being gone through to discard/replace popular books which are in poor condition and those books which have not been circulating very well. Some of our older collections, such as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, have been moved to our basement collection (ask any employee for access to this collection) in order to make room for new materials. Rest assured that we are not discarding every book which meets this criteria. We don’t like getting rid of books any more than you do, but it has to be done to make room for new material. These decisions are not made lightly.confused squirrel

 

Refreshing our collection is a time-consuming project, so please bear with us as changes are being made. The first major change we are working on is turning the “Tween” shelving area into a popular series and graphic novel section, which will allow you to easily find the books you are looking for without having to look in the paperback and hardback sections. The remainder of the paperbacks will be shelved with the hardback fiction.

 

Another thing we will be trying out is adding the paperback beginning readers to the hardback beginning reader collection and using the “box” shelving for popular character books. For example, super hero books will be housed in one of the “boxes,” whether they are paperback, hardback, beginning reader, or easy readers so that you can see them all in one location.

 

As new books come in, they are being labelled with the A.R. level on the spine, which will help our Accelerated Reader students to quickly and easily find books in his or her level. We will work towards labelling the rest of the collection as time permits. In addition to labelling the books, the A.R. and Lexile levels are being added to the catalog so that you will be able to search by A.R. or Lexile level. At this time, there are not enough items entered in the system to make this a worthwhile search, but I will keep you posted.

 

I am very lucky to have a job that I love and am here to listen to and to answer and questions, concerns, and/or comments you may have. Thank you for welcoming me to the Dover Community.

 

AIbEiAIAAABECIuetaO6gJe99QEiC3ZjYXJkX3Bob3RvKigzZTEyMjVjZjQxYmZhMmI5YTcwNjc4ZjBiZTlmZWVkNGNhOTM3NWQ4MAGnxi2kte99FRzH8LyAw5-9ZOZRHQHappy endings,

Dani Gustavich

Children’s Librarian

Painting the Tuscarawas Valley Green

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Celtic Rush

The Library invites the community to its 3rd Annual St. Patty’s Celebration on Saturday, March 12!  Regardless of your heritage, everyone can be Irish for at least one day per year. Join us for a wee bit of Ireland at this fun, family-friendly annual event.  Enter to win a Luck-of-the-Irish gift basket and don’t forget to wear green!  Call the library to register or for more info: 330.343.6123.

10:00 AM: ‘Tis a Wee Folk Family Party!
Calling all kids! The library is throwing a party for the “wee folk,” or leprechauns. Join us for music, stories, games, crafts, and refreshments.

10:00 AM: Irish Folklore & Traditions
Presented by the Library’s very own Linda Toohey, this fun program for teens and adults explores the rich tradition of Irish legend and folklore.

12:00 PM:  Irish Movie Time, starring Sean Connery. Popcorn, pizza, and more provided.
Join us for free popcorn, pizza, and a showing of a classic Disney film starring Sean Connery.

2:00 PM: Haunted Ireland, presented by Sherri Brake
Ireland’s centuries-old castles, creepy cemeteries, and battle sites hold plenty of secrets…and maybe a few ghosts. Join acclaimed ghosthunter Sherri Brake on a journey across the magical and mysterious country of Ireland.

4:00 PM: Celtic Rush performs LIVE till 5:30 PM
Enjoy the unique & lively sound from this popular Irish pub band. The group performs with a variety of instruments including fiddles, guitars, tin whistle, bass, mandolin, and Irish drum.

Volunteer of the Month: Jill

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Jill and LindaOur Volunteer of the Month for March is Jill! Jill is one of our Book Buddies, volunteers who help our Outreach Librarian Linda deliver books and other materials to patrons who cannot come in to the library.

 

How long have you been volunteering at the library?

3 Years

 

Why did you want to become a volunteer here?

I wanted to help with the Outreach Program so that those who enjoy reading and, for whatever reason, are unable to come to the library, are able to receive books and continue to experience the joy of reading.

 

Who are some of your favorite authors?

Bill O’Reilly, Katrina Kittle, Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, Linda Castillo, and Ken FollettJill and Linda pack the car

 

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer?

The Outreach patrons are truly appreciative for the materials and services provided by the Dover Library staff. It’s a joy to see a spark of delight when a reader receives a new book or AV material.

 

Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the Outreach Program, Jill!

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

New Genealogy databases are here!

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I want to thank everyone who used the genealogy databases during our free trial and gave us feedback. Out of the four sites we tried, two were clear winners, and I am happy to announce that we will provide access to these great resources for the next year! So without further ado, let me tell you a little bit about our new research gems and how you can use them.

fold3

#1: Fold3 is a military database created by Ancestry.com. A subscription to Ancestry alone will give you access to some military records, but compared to Fold3, it’s a drop in the bucket. Fold3 has 60,000 pages of unique resources that contain 440 million records dating from the American Revolution to present conflicts. Here are just a few record collection examples that are unique to Fold3 : WWII diaries (2 million + records), Revolutionary War Service Records (2 million +), and War of 1812 Pension Files (1 million +). If you want to browse a list of all titles that are unique to Fold3 that the library can now provide access to, you can find it here. The site also has awesome personalizing and collaborative properties. You can create a personal user account (FOR FREE) to build memorial pages to your own veteran ancestors or living relatives, you can annotate images found in the database and leave comments on others’ memorial pages, and you can share it all via Facebook, Twitter, email, and even link to your Ancestry tree if you have one. So of course, we always have to add the caveat, if anyone can add anything to the pages, be careful about trusting the information if it stands alone. It’s about as reliable as Wikipedia (which can be a good source of information – it just depends). ALWAYS corroborate results with other sources whenever possible. There are many ways to search and browse, and Fold3 offers really helpful tips if you find yourself overwhelmed by the information. I plan to spend some time searching for my relatives here, so be on the lookout for a Fold3 intro class before our next genealogy lock-in this summer!

 

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#2: NewspaperARCHIVE is my favorite new database. I spend quite a bit of time fielding obituary requests, and NewspaperARCHIVE has made my life so much easier! My success does depend on the number of issues digitized; not every day of every year for the Dover Daily Reporter can be found here. I can see at a glance if the date I am looking for will appear by using the “browse by location” feature. I can tell you within a few clicks that the database has only 2 issues for 1917: March 21, and April 6. The intuitiveness and efficiency of the filters is really what makes this database great. You can narrow at the front end of your search, or do a very general name search and narrow afterwards. Both options are quick and easy; I can usually find out whether or not I will have to go to the microfilm (a much slower searching experience, as some of you know!) within 30 seconds. And when I find what I’m looking for, I can easily create a PDF of the whole page, or zoom in on the article I want and clip the section to print.

Want to try it for yourself? Here is how you can access the databases:

There are two places you can find the databases on our website. First, if you click on “Research” from the menu bar across the top of our homepage, you will be sent to a list of all research databases provided by the library. You can also hover over “Local History & Genealogy” (it’s just to the right of “Research” in the menu bar) and select “Collections & Resources”, then scroll down to “Research Databases”. If you are here at the library, all you need to do is click on the image and you will be redirected to the site. If you are at home (oh yeah, you can browse these databases in your jammies!) you will be promted to sign in with your library barcode and pin. If you don’t know your pin, call the library at (330)343-6123 and we can help you.

Need more help?

I can meet with you one-on-one if you would like to set up an appointment, or you can stop in the Roots Cellar on Thursdays from 9-5 and explore the resources on our brand new research computer, courtesy of The Reeves Foundation!

 

Happy hunting,

-Claire Kandle, Local History & Genealogy Librarian

Meet Mortimer the Blogging Moose!

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Mortimer the MooseHello!

Mortimer here. You know, Mortimer? The Moose? You’re just confused because you didn’t realize moose could write blogs. Well, let me tell you, most can’t. But, lucky for me, Miss Pat taught me everything she knows about blogging.

Miss Pat is the Children’s Librarian at the Dover Public Library. Well, just for one more week. She is retiring. Retiring means leaving your work to spend more time with your husband and less time with your moose. I guess. Well. I will not cry, because moose don’t cry. Usually. Sometimes we do. Not today.

She is leaving me with Miss Dani. Miss Dani will be the Children’s Librarian now and take care of me. I hope Miss Pat teaches her everything she knows about taking care of moose. I require a lot of care. I need books. And kids. And those cute t-shirts. And music. And books. I like books.

Miss Pat told me to look at this as an adventure. That’s a good idea, because moose like adventures. In books, mostly. So I will look at this as a new chapter. I will never forget Miss Pat, but will hear brand new stories with Miss Dani. And I will still have all of you to visit me, right?
See you at the library!

-Mortimer the Moose

Volunteer of the Month: Sherry

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SherrySherry has been named our Volunteer of the Month for February, 2016! Congrats, Sherry!

 

How long have you been volunteering at the library?

Since 2010

 

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

I’ve had a life-long love of reading and my first job was at the Library while I was in High School. So, I thought this was a perfect opportunity to renew my interest when I retired.

 

What are some of your favorite authors?

Donna Andrews, J.D. Robb, John Sandford, and Catherine CoulterSherry Among the Books

 

What do you enjoy most about being a volunteer?

The great staff and the opportunity to be among the books

 

Thank you for all your hard work, Sherry!

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