Daily Archives: February 10, 2017


Time to Check Out Your Future!

The Dover Public Library has been proudly serving the community of Dover, OH, since 1902. Our current building, started in 1954 and opened in 1955, is in need of some very important updates such as modern wiring, more accessible shelving, and dedicated Teen and Local History rooms. Check out this video for our 2016 report and the highlights of our renovation plan.

While putting together this video, I had the opportunity to look back at all the great events we have had here at the Dover Public Library over the years. We’ve learned so many things about animals – snakes and lizards and turtles, oh my! – about science, about writing and publishing, even about yoga. We are so much more than books – or our building.

But when you look around the library, really look, you start to see the pieces of furniture that have been here since we opened in 1955. Tables and chairs photographed in our grand opening are still here in the Lounge and the Teen Zone. We still use a few of the same book carts; the basement shelves are exactly the same; we haven’t even gotten a new circulation desk. And these are just the things that we can see. What we can’t see is the wiring that was not designed to handle all the technology a modern Public Library uses. Without an update to the wiring, keeping up with our technology needs is going to be a real struggle.

Some would say it already is.

What most patrons don’t see is the Processing Room downstairs. Yesterday afternoon, there were five of us trying to work on our various projects at once. There were only two computers we could use to input new materials into our system to get them ready for check-out.

I look forward to the day when adding a new computer doesn’t come with added worry about where to put it or how to hook it up. Better accessibility, more space for teens, and easier access to Local History Materials will make me even prouder than I already am of our Library and of our Community.

We are more than our building, but having a building that fulfills our community’s needs definitely helps us provide the very best for our patrons.

-Liz Strauss, Teen Librarian

To learn more, or to help, please visit: https://www.doverlibrary.org/capitalcampaign/