A recent report found that the importance of libraries in American life continued to grow in 2010—and accelerated dramatically as the national economy sank and people looked for sources of cost-effective help in a time of crisis. In fact, 68 percent of American adults have a library card. Now more than ever, Americans turn to – and depend on – their libraries and librarians financial information, computer and Internet access, and, of course, books, movies and more. It’s all free with a library card.
We have two classes of library cards: a juvenile card for kindergarten through grade 6, and an adult card for grade 7 through adult. To obtain a card, come to the library and fill out an application. You will need a form of identification, e.g. a driver's license, with your current address shown. Children in kindergarten through sixth grade must have their parent or guardian's signature on the application, and the parent or guardian must provide their own I.D. and proof of address to obtain the child's card.
There is no initial fee for your card., but we do charge a $1.00 replacement fee for lost cards. You may also request a P.I.N. (personal identification number) that will allow you to check your account and place reserves via our in-house computer terminals or by accessing our system using a computer and modem in your home. The library card is bar-coded for use with our automated circulation system. YOU MUST PRESENT YOUR CARD TO CHECK OUT MATERIALS! Our library card can only be used in our library, and we cannot honor other libraries' cards.
Interlibrary Loan
The Dover Public Library is committed to offering a quality collection for our patrons to use and enjoy. If there a title that you are looking for and do not see it in our collection, please don't hesitate to ask a library staff member about our Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. Through ILL, our library works with other public libraries across the area to borrow materials at no additional cost.
Outreach Services
The Dover Public Library is committed to serving all residents of the Dover community, including those individuals who are unable to come to the library. The library conducts a community Outreach Program so that indvidual who need library materials delivered to their place of residence can do so in an efficient manner. For more information about the library's Outreach Program, contact Linda Toohey at 330-343-6123 or ltoohey@oplin.org[1]
Educator Resources
Needs updated...
Community Room
Community Room Policy
The primary purpose of the Dover Public Library's Community is to provide a space for library and library-related activities. The needs of the Library, the needs of the Board of Trustees, and the needs of the Friends of the Dover Public Library will take precedence. The Community Room is for the use of:
Library Board of Trustees meetings
Library staff meetings
Meetings of library-affiliated organizations
Public meetings of general interest to the community held by non-commercial, non-denominational, non-political organizations.
Community groups and sponsors of educational and cultural events are welcome to use the Community Room subject to availability and adherence to the following policies and guidelines.
Those wishing to use the Community Room must complete a Community Room Application. Library-sponsored activities, as stated above, will have first priority. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The room reservation must be made by an individual, over the age of 18, who will be in attendance throughout the meeting, and who will be responsible for returning the room to its original condition.
Use of the Community Room must be approved by the Library Director or designee.
Persons requesting use of the Community Room must have a valid Dover Public Library card.
No admission may be charged for any meeting, except for library-sponsored programs.
Groups or organizations using the Community Room must adhere to maximum capacity standards as specified by the Dover Fire Inspector. Capacity and an evacuation route are posted in the Community Room.
The Community Room is available during normal Library operating hours and is provided free of charge. Meetings must be finished by the time the library closes.
The Community Room is not available for private parties or meetings of a strictly social nature unless sponsored by the Library or the Friends of the Library.
Meetings and programs must be open to the public and free of charge. The person making the room reservation, who must be an adult, is responsible for the orderly conduct of the group, and in the event of any damage to library property and/or equipment that individual will be liable. Young children accompanying adult users of the Community Room shall not be left unattended in the Library.
Smoking and alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Groups serving refreshments are responsible for providing all serving utensils and for cleaning up following their meeting.
Storage of personal property, equipment and/or supplies is not permitted in the library.
The name, address, or telephone number of the Dover Public Library may not be used as the official address or headquarters of any organization other than the Friends of the Dover Public Library.
The name, address, and phone number of the person reserving the room is a matter of public record. Upon request, this information will be shared with anyone seeking to contact that individual or the group he/she represents.
The Dover Public Library reserves the right to deny use of the Community Room to any organization which or individuals who have abused their privileges in the past. The library also reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any meeting or to limit the frequency of use by a single group.
The use of the Community Room by a group does not imply endorsement by the Dover Public Library of the policies or purposes of the group. Community Room use should not be publicized in such a way as to imply library sponsorship.
The Library Board of Trustees and the Library staff do not assume any liability for groups or for individuals attending any meeting or program in the Library.
Dover Public Library is pleased to offer an advanced Technology Room to our patrons. This facility integrates all computers, printers, and microfilm machines into one efficient and comfortable electronic access area. We offer the following electronic services:
High speed Internet access.
CD-ROM library research materials
Word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs
Microsoft Word
WordPerfect 9
Microsoft Excel
Corel Quattro Pro
Lotus 1-2-3
Microsoft PowerPoint
Corel Presentations
Each workstation is equipped with a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer. We also provide a Hewlett-Packard InkJet color printer for those producing color documents. The Internet workstations are fast, state-of-the-art machines accessing the Internet through a high-speed T1 data line. Individual headphone/ear bud plug-ins allow unobtrusive listening to audio content on the Internet.
The Technology Room is staffed at all times by personnel trained to assist patrons in Internet usage, database searches, and office applications. Internet classes for beginners will be offered in the very near future.
Two microfilm machines, one a viewer only, and the second a reader & printer, allow patrons to research newspapers as far back as the 1800's. Specifically, the microfilm library consists of:
Ohio Democrat (Dec. 22, 1865 - Dec. 30, 1897)
New Philadelphia Times (Jan. 7, 1886 - Dec. 20, 1894)
Dover Iron Valley Reporter (June 1, 1872 - Apr. 12, 1900)
Ohio Democrat Times (Mar. 29, 1900 - Dec. 31, 1925)
Daily Times (Mar. 20, 1903 - Mar. 2, 1968)
Dover Daily Reporter (Nov. 16, 1905 - Mar. 2, 1968)
Times-Reporter (Mar. 4, 1968 - Present)
Every effort was made to ensure our patrons' comfort while using our electronic resources. Modern, ergonomic seating, large-screen monitors, and diffused lighting assure a comfortable experience while "surfing the Web" or producing documents.
Tours
The library staff provides speakers to groups in the community who want to learn about the services provided by the library. The library is happy to provide tours for organizations, schools, Scouts troops, & more. Please call the library to make arrangements, 330-343-6123.
History of the Library
Ohio librarians are proud of the state's "long history of literacy." But Dover had to wait until 1902, and like many communities had to wait on an "angel" for financial help. It came from the American Sheet and Tin Plate Co. who wanted a library for its employees, and the general public.
It was located at the corner of Front and Factory Streets (Tuscarawas Avenue). It contained 2,000 books in charge of a Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, and included everything from "Six Thousand Years of History" to "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Modern day mystery fans will appreciate it also contained "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
In 1907 the community of Dover took over, moved the library to the corner of Cherry and Fifth Streets, and the Simpson family remained custodians until 1914.
The new high school was built in 1916. The library building was dismantled and the library moved to the school basement. In 1923 came the state law requiring a community library board. Mrs. L.H. Alexander, Francis Briegal, Mrs. P.G. Justice, S.O. Mase, Mrs. Ella Seibel, Dr. K. Earl Shaweker, and Rev. J.E. Weinland, comprised the first board. The first librarian was Vivian McCarthy who served as a high school senior.
Mrs. Justice retired from the board in six months, assumed librarian's duties and served "competently and devotedly" for 22 years.
In 1927 an "unfortunate impression" arose. A newspaper story reported that many Dover residents thought the basement library was a student library. But figures were released saying that circulation had increased 100 percent in four years and it was feared the library would soon outgrow its quarters.
In August 1934, The Daily Reporter headlined the fact that the library was opening in an "Elaborate New Home." This was the former private home at 417 Walnut Street, which was to house close to 11,000 books. The "new" library was described as "commodious, with excellent natural lighting, serving its purpose well and conveniently accessible to both high school student and the general public."
That building no longer exists. In 1953 funds for a new library were acquired with a bond issue and the present building opened its doors in 1955. Dan Cooley, a 1965 Dover High graduate, became library director in 1980 and retired in 2009. Jim Gill became the library director in January of 2010.
Excerpted with permission from an article by Ed DeGraw printed October 5, 1997.
Video Slideshow Celebrating our 110th Anniversary!
If frame does not work, try going directly to YouTube[3]!
Mission Statement
The Dover Public Library is committed to being the center of community life in Dover. It is our mission to support life-long learning by providing information and opportunities for personal enrichment and enjoyment to people of all ages and from all backgrounds in Dover and throughout the Tuscarawas Valley.
Strategic Plan
The Dover Public Library is currently going through the strategic planning process. The library's strategic plan will be posted as soon as the planning process is complete and the document is approved by the Board of Trustees.
Policies
Internet Access
Internet Access Policy
Dover Public Library
Introduction
The library endeavors to develop collections, resources, and services to meet the needs of the diverse population in our service area. It is within this context that the Dover Public Library offers access to the Internet via the Ohio Public Information Network (OPLIN) and other avenues.
Guidelines for Use
The Internet is a global entity with a highly diverse user population, and library patrons use it at their own risk. As with other library materials, it is the patron, or the parent or legal guardian of minor children, who assumes responsibility for supervising access to Internet and OPLIN resources in the Library. Parents are encouraged to work with children to develop acceptable rules for Internet use.
The Internet will be used for educational, information, and recreational purposes only, not for unauthorized, illegal, or unethical purposes. Users may not send, receive, or display text or graphics that may reasonably be construed as obscene. Users seen accessing such sites will be asked to stop. Failure to do so could result in a loss of Internet and/or library privileges. Library computers are shared resources, and are not for excessive use by any single user nor to support personal, recreational, for-profit, commercial, or other activities.
Users understand that they are responsible for the cost of printing.
Because of the risk of computer viruses, users may not use their own software programs on any library computer connected to the Internet. Dover Public Library is not responsible for any loss of data or damage to a patron's storage device, or liability that may occur from patron use of the library's computers.
Users should respect the privacy of others by not misrepresenting themselves as another user; by not attempting to modify or gain access to files, passwords, or data belonging to others; and by not seeking unauthorized access to any computer system, or damaging or altering software components of any network or database.
Access to Internet and OPLIN is normally available during library hours, subject to periodic maintenance. Users may not always be able to access Internet sites for various reasons that could include: restricted use of certain databases, too many users on the host computer, maintenance or addressing problems on the host computer, or temporary disruption of the library's Internet or OPLIN connection due to technical difficulties or routine maintenance.
Time Limits
The Library has set time limits to ensure that computers are available to as many customers as possible. Customers will be limited as to length of time per log-in; number of log-ins; and total time per day.
Internet Access and Filtering
The Library provides free Internet access for use by authorized persons and for legal activity only.
The Internet is an unregulated medium, and the Library is not responsible for the content or accuracy of information accessed over the Internet, nor can the Library control remote server availability or Internet response time. The Library does not guarantee that any particular website or electronic transaction will work, or be compatible with, library equipment. Anyone using the Library's computer system consents to all of the Library's policies and rules.
Confidentiality and Privacy
The Library does NOT guarantee that any username, password, email, credit card number, financial, or any other information entered is private or secure. The Library recommends that you do NOT use the public work station for any financial, confidential, or private transaction.
Access by Minors
Parents or legal guardians are ultimately responsible for a child's use of the Internet. Library staff is not responsible for monitoring or controlling a child's use of the Internet, except when aware that the child's use violates this policy. At its discretion, the Library reserves the right to deny minors use of the Internet when unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Disclaimer
It is understood by users of the Internet and OPLIN that most of the information available is not generated by Dover Public Library or OPLIN. Through OPLIN and other avenues, the library provides access to reference databases of general and special periodical materials, reader's advisory services, homework centers to assist students with research assignments, and legislative, historical, and archival materials and information.
Information available through the Internet and OPLIN is not warranted by Dover Public Library or by OPLIN to be accurate, authoritative, factual, or complete. The availability of networked information via Dover Public Library does not constitute any endorsement or ratification of that information. Dover Public Library and OPLIN are not responsible for the content of networked information available. The use of the Internet and OPLIN to engage in any activity that constitutes violation of local, state, and/or federal laws is strictly prohibited.
All users of the service agree to hold Dover Public Library and OPLIN harmless from any and all claims, losses, damages, obligations, or liabilities directly or indirectly relating to the use of the Internet and OPLIN, caused thereby or arising therefrom. In no event shall Dover Public Library or OPLIN have any liability for lost profits or for indirect, special, punitive, or consequential damages or any liability to any third party, even if Dover Public Library or OPLIN is advised of the possibility of such damages.
Customers agree to hold the Library harmless from any claims, losses, demands, liabilities, obligations, cause of action, suit, judgment, expense (including attorney's fees), etc. relating to the use of the Library's computer equipment, network, phone lines, wireless service, or Internet connection.
Failure to comply with this policy may result in the loss of Internet and/or library privileges.
Adopted by the Dover Public Library
Board of Trustees
August 19, 2010
Community Room
Community Room Policy
Dover Public Library
The primary purpose of the Dover Public Library's Community is to provide a space for library and library-related activities. The needs of the Library, the needs of the Board of Trustees, and the needs of the Friends of the Dover Public Library will take precedence. The Community Room is for the use of:
Library Board of Trustees meetings
Library staff meetings
Meetings of library-affiliated organizations
Public meetings of general interest to the community held by non-commercial, non-denominational, non-political organizations.
Community groups and sponsors of educational and cultural events are welcome to use the Community Room subject to availability and adherence to the following policies and guidelines.
Those wishing to use the Community Room must complete a Community Room Application. Library-sponsored activities, as stated above, will have first priority. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The room reservation must be made by an individual, over the age of 18, who will be in attendance throughout the meeting, and who will be responsible for returning the room to its original condition.
Use of the Community Room must be approved by the Library Director or designee.
Persons requesting use of the Community Room must have a valid Dover Public Library card.
No admission may be charged for any meeting, except for library-sponsored programs.
Groups or organizations using the Community Room must adhere to maximum capacity standards as specified by the Dover Fire Inspector. Capacity and an evacuation route are posted in the Community Room.
The Community Room is available during normal Library operating hours and is provided free of charge. Meetings must be finished by the time the library closes.
The Community Room is not available for private parties or meetings of a strictly social nature unless sponsored by the Library or the Friends of the Library.
Meetings and programs must be open to the public and free of charge. The person making the room reservation, who must be an adult, is responsible for the orderly conduct of the group, and in the event of any damage to library property and/or equipment that individual will be liable. Young children accompanying adult users of the Community Room shall not be left unattended in the Library.
Smoking and alcoholic beverages are prohibited. Groups serving refreshments are responsible for providing all serving utensils and for cleaning up following their meeting.
Storage of personal property, equipment and/or supplies is not permitted in the library.
The name, address, or telephone number of the Dover Public Library may not be used as the official address or headquarters of any organization other than the Friends of the Dover Public Library.
The name, address, and phone number of the person reserving the room is a matter of public record. Upon request, this information will be shared with anyone seeking to contact that individual or the group he/she represents.
The Dover Public Library reserves the right to deny use of the Community Room to any organization which or individuals who have abused their privileges in the past. The library also reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any meeting or to limit the frequency of use by a single group.
The use of the Community Room by a group does not imply endorsement by the Dover Public Library of the policies or purposes of the group. Community Room use should not be publicized in such a way as to imply library sponsorship.
The Library Board of Trustees and the Library staff do not assume any liability for groups or for individuals attending any meeting or program in the Library.
The Dover Public Library welcomes all patrons, young and old alike, who by their presence acknowledge their responsibility to maintain an atmosphere conducive to the best use of the library and its services. Patrons must be considerate of others while they browse, read, aspire, ponder, research, do homework, discover, photocopy, use computers, and/or attend programs.
Behavior of persons, regardless of age, which is disruptive or detracts from that use, will not be tolerated. Some examples of inappropriate behavior include, but are not limited to:
·Disrespect of staff
·Abusive/vulgar language
·Disorderly conduct
·Use of tobacco, alcohol, or illegal drugs
·Loud talking, crying
·Vandalism
·Sleeping
·Aimless/restless roaming
·Unsuitable dress (no shirt, shoes)
·Loitering
·Theft
·Destruction of library property
·Using public restrooms to bathe or wash clothes
1.Seating at library tables and chairs is limited to the number of persons for whom the furniture was designed.
2.Bicycles are to be parked in provided racks, and are not permitted in the library public area or entryway. Roller skating, rollerblading and skateboarding are not permitted in the library or its grounds. Wagons and strollers may not be left obstructing a corridor, hallway, aisle, entry or exit.
3.Selling products or services, or soliciting donations is not permitted in the library, except as part of a library-sponsored program, or when authorized by library administration.
4.Taking surveys, circulating petitions, distributing leaflets, and other similar activities are permitted in the library only when authorized by library administration.
5.Animals, except those used to aid persons with disabilities, are not permitted in the library unless they are part of a library-sponsored program.
6.Patrons are responsible for their personal belongings.
7.Patrons are not permitted to loiter in large groups on library property. Library staff can ask loiterers to disperse. Police will be contacted for assistance if need be.
8.Patrons must leave the library promptly at closing.
9.Under the Ohio Revised Code no person shall possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance.
Staff members are well-trained, good natured library professionals who strive to provide excellent service to every patron. However, the staff has authority to ask patrons whose behavior monopolizes their attention and/or restricts others’ use of the library to leave. Security officers and/or off-duty policemen may be present during business hours to aid in maintaining an orderly atmosphere. Patrons involved in criminal behavior against the library will be prosecuted. Chronic offenders will be denied use of the library. Return to the library and reinstatement of privileges are by Director’s permission only.
Adopted by the Dover Public Library
Board of Trustees
July 15, 2010
Confidentiality of Library and Patron Records
Confidentiality of Library and Patron Records Policy
Dover Public Library
The Dover Public Library specifically recognizes that its library records (as defined below) and patron information are confidential in nature. Such records will be made available in the following situations:
1.Parents, guardians, and custodians will have access to their minor children’s records.
2.In accordance with a subpoena, search warrant, or other court order, or to a law enforcement officer who is investigating a matter involving public safety in exigent circumstances.
3.With the consent of the individual who is the subject of the record or information.
4.For library administration purposes.
Library records are defined in this policy as a record in any form that is maintained by a library and that contains any of the following types of information:
1.Information the library requires an individual to provide in order to be eligible to use library services or borrow materials.
2.Information that identifies an individual as having requested or obtained specific materials or materials on a particular subject.
3.Information that is provided by an individual to assist a library staff member to answer a specific question or provide information on a particular subject.
“Library record” does not include information that does not identify any individual and that is retained for the purpose of studying or evaluating the use of a library and its materials and services.
Adopted by the Dover Public Library
Board of Trustees
September 16, 2010
Freedom to Read Statement
The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read.
Most attempts at suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary individual, by exercising critical judgment, will select the good and reject the bad. We trust Americans to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression.
These efforts at suppression are related to a larger pattern of pressures being brought against education, the press, art and images, films, broadcast media, and the Internet. The problem is not only one of actual censorship. The shadow of fear cast by these pressures leads, we suspect, to an even larger voluntary curtailment of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy or unwelcome scrutiny by government officials.
Such pressure toward conformity is perhaps natural to a time of accelerated change. And yet suppression is never more dangerous than in such a time of social tension. Freedom has given the United States the elasticity to endure strain. Freedom keeps open the path of novel and creative solutions, and enables change to come by choice. Every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of our society and leaves it the less able to deal with controversy and difference.
Now as always in our history, reading is among our greatest freedoms. The freedom to read and write is almost the only means for making generally available ideas or manners of expression that can initially command only a small audience. The written word is the natural medium for the new idea and the untried voice from which come the original contributions to social growth. It is essential to the extended discussion that serious thought requires, and to the accumulation of knowledge and ideas into organized collections.
We believe that free communication is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. We believe that these pressures toward conformity present the danger of limiting the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend. We believe that every American community must jealously guard the freedom to publish and to circulate, in order to preserve its own freedom to read. We believe that publishers and librarians have a profound responsibility to give validity to that freedom to read by making it possible for the readers to choose freely from a variety of offerings.
The freedom to read is guaranteed by the Constitution. Those with faith in free people will stand firm on these constitutional guarantees of essential rights and will exercise the responsibilities that accompany these rights.
We therefore affirm these propositions:
It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.
Creative thought is by definition new, and what is new is different. The bearer of every new thought is a rebel until that idea is refined and tested. Totalitarian systems attempt to maintain themselves in power by the ruthless suppression of any concept that challenges the established orthodoxy. The power of a democratic system to adapt to change is vastly strengthened by the freedom of its citizens to choose widely from among conflicting opinions offered freely to them. To stifle every nonconformist idea at birth would mark the end of the democratic process. Furthermore, only through the constant activity of weighing and selecting can the democratic mind attain the strength demanded by times like these. We need to know not only what we believe but why we believe it.
Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.
Publishers and librarians serve the educational process by helping to make available knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. They do not foster education by imposing as mentors the patterns of their own thought. The people should have the freedom to read and consider a broader range of ideas than those that may be held by any single librarian or publisher or government or church. It is wrong that what one can read should be confined to what another thinks proper.
It is contrary to the public interest for publishers or librarians to bar access to writings on the basis of the personal history or political affiliations of the author.
No art or literature can flourish if it is to be measured by the political views or private lives of its creators. No society of free people can flourish that draws up lists of writers to whom it will not listen, whatever they may have to say.
There is no place in our society for efforts to coerce the taste of others, to confine adults to the reading matter deemed suitable for adolescents, or to inhibit the efforts of writers to achieve artistic expression.
To some, much of modern expression is shocking. But is not much of life itself shocking? We cut off literature at the source if we prevent writers from dealing with the stuff of life. Parents and teachers have a responsibility to prepare the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life to which they will be exposed, as they have a responsibility to help them learn to think critically for themselves. These are affirmative responsibilities, not to be discharged simply by preventing them from reading works for which they are not yet prepared. In these matters values differ, and values cannot be legislated; nor can machinery be devised that will suit the demands of one group without limiting the freedom of others.
It is not in the public interest to force a reader to accept the prejudgment of a label characterizing any expression or its author as subversive or dangerous.
The ideal of labeling presupposes the existence of individuals or groups with wisdom to determine by authority what is good or bad for others. It presupposes that individuals must be directed in making up their minds about the ideas they examine. But Americans do not need others to do their thinking for them.
It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians, as guardians of the people's freedom to read, to contest encroachments upon that freedom by individuals or groups seeking to impose their own standards or tastes upon the community at large; and by the government whenever it seeks to reduce or deny public access to public information.
It is inevitable in the give and take of the democratic process that the political, the moral, or the aesthetic concepts of an individual or group will occasionally collide with those of another individual or group. In a free society individuals are free to determine for themselves what they wish to read, and each group is free to determine what it will recommend to its freely associated members. But no group has the right to take the law into its own hands, and to impose its own concept of politics or morality upon other members of a democratic society. Freedom is no freedom if it is accorded only to the accepted and the inoffensive. Further, democratic societies are more safe, free, and creative when the free flow of public information is not restricted by governmental prerogative or self-censorship.
It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression. By the exercise of this affirmative responsibility, they can demonstrate that the answer to a "bad" book is a good one, the answer to a "bad" idea is a good one.
The freedom to read is of little consequence when the reader cannot obtain matter fit for that reader's purpose. What is needed is not only the absence of restraint, but the positive provision of opportunity for the people to read the best that has been thought and said. Books are the major channel by which the intellectual inheritance is handed down, and the principal means of its testing and growth. The defense of the freedom to read requires of all publishers and librarians the utmost of their faculties, and deserves of all Americans the fullest of their support.
We state these propositions neither lightly nor as easy generalizations. We here stake out a lofty claim for the value of the written word. We do so because we believe that it is possessed of enormous variety and usefulness, worthy of cherishing and keeping free. We realize that the application of these propositions may mean the dissemination of ideas and manners of expression that are repugnant to many persons. We do not state these propositions in the comfortable belief that what people read is unimportant. We believe rather that what people read is deeply important; that ideas can be dangerous; but that the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.
This statement was originally issued in May of 1953 by the Westchester Conference of the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers Council, which in 1970 consolidated with the American Educational Publishers Institute to become the Association of American Publishers.
Adopted June 25, 1953; revised January 28, 1972, January 16, 1991, July 12, 2000, June 30, 2004, by the ALA Council and the AAP Freedom to Read Committee.
Library Bill of Rights
The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
VI. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.
Adopted June 18, 1948, by the ALA Council; amended February 2, 1961; amended June 28, 1967; amended January 23, 1980; inclusion of “age” reaffirmed January 24, 1996.
Unattended Minor
Unattended Minor Policy
Dover Public Library
The Dover Public Library welcomes children to use its facilities and services. However, the responsibility for the care, safety, and behavior of children using the Library rests with the parent, legal guardian, or designated caregiver.The safety of children left alone in a library building is a serious concern of the Library staff. The Library is a public building, open to all. In order to create an environment of safety and maintain an atmosphere where reading and study can be encouraged, the following policy has been established.
The care and behavior of minor children visiting the Dover Public Library is the responsibility of the parent/guardian. While the Library welcomes minor children to enjoy the Library and library materials, staff cannot accept responsibility for the safety and supervision of children left in the building without a parent/guardian present. Preschool children are not permitted to be left unattended in any part of the Library.
Parents should be aware of the Library's hours and keep in mind that those hours may change due to holiday schedules, inclement weather, or other unforeseen emergencies. Parents must make contingency plans for the child's immediate pick-up due to unexpected closings. To avoid having your child become anxious or frightened, please inform him/her of your whereabouts and how to contact you in an emergency.
Teachers, daycare providers, or other youth leaders are responsible for any groups of children they may have in the Library.
When a situation develops that warrants the attention of a minor's parent/guardian (e.g. personal illness/injury; minor child left alone when the building closes) but that individual is not present, Library staff will attempt to contact the parent/guardian. (This will not necessarily be the case when a minor is asked to leave library property for violating the "Patron Code of Conduct Policy.") In the event that the parent or legal guardian cannot be contacted, the Dover Police Department will be called. Two staff members will wait with the child until law enforcement officers arrive. A note will be placed on the door notifying the parent, legal guardian, or designated caregiver that the child is in the care of the Dover Police Department.
Under no circumstances shall a Library staff member transport or take a child away from the Library building.
Adopted by the Dover Public Library
Board of Trustees
March 10, 2011
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees typically meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:00 AM at the library.
The Dover Public Library is always looking for professional, energetic individuals to join our library team! We strive to provide a pleasant, positive working environment for our staff. Applications are available at the Front Desk and may be picked up during regular library hours of operation. Open positions are posted on this page.
"The Mission of the Friends of the Library is to enhance the Dover Public Library so that it may fulfill its literary, educational, technological, community and cultural purposes."
Do you love your library? Make a difference by joining the Friends! The Friends of the Library meet the first Thursday of every month in the library's Community Room at 7:00 PM. Printable membership application is available below.
The Friends also staff The Book Cellar in the library's basement on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of every month from 9 AM-12 PM. The Book Cellar is a small bookshop stocked with new and gently used titles. Cleaning out at home? The Friends can use your donations of new or gently used books. If you are interested in volunteering in the Book Cellar, contact the library at 330-343-6123.
History of Dover
History of Dover
Dover was founded by two brothers-in-law who took a horseback trip from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1802 and liked the fertile plateau they found at the confluence of the Tuscarawas River and Sugarcreek. They were Jesse Slingluff and Christian Deardorff who found the site where they later started Dover, which was owned by Col. James Morrison of Kentucky, who had received it from the federal government for Revolutionary War services. They returned in 1805 and in 1806 purchased 2,175 acres for $4,622. Dover was laid out in 1807 and Deardorff and Slingluff families were prominent citizens of the town through its growth from a grist mill at a Tuscarawas River ford to a thriving industrial city. The town's first prosperity was stimulated by the construction of the Ohio and Erie canal in the late 1820's. Warehouses were built and flour mills constructed. The only toll collecting office in the county was situated in Dover.
Local industries included a woolen mill, blast furnaces, saw mills and tanneries. The City was always called Dover but the post office was called Canal Dover for many years because of other Dover, Ohio, post offices that were later abolished, after which the Canal Dover Post Office became Dover. This change was made December 18, 1915. The town was incorporated in 1842 and Joseph Slingluff was its first Mayor. The charter was permitted to lapse after a few years and it was not restored until 1867. The importance of the canal began to decline in the 1880's under the impact of the railroads. The Tuscarawas branch of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh and the Marietta and Wheeling, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio, were built. Steel mills were constructed and clay manufacturing was developed, which, with other diversified industries attracted a cosmopolitan population.
Dover today is a prosperous and progressive Ohio city with a almost perfect balance of industrial, commercial and agricultural activity. The 18 industrial plants of the city have employed an average of more than 2,500 workers over a five year period. Dover has been conspicuous for the dependability and skill of its workers, and its industrial plants boast a low turnover of employees, who because of diversity of manufacture in the area are skilled in all modern industrial techniques. From Tuscarawas County come most of the raw materials that go into the manufactured products of Dover. Included are coal, clay, limestone, shale, molding, sand, petroleum, natural gas and rock sale. Among the products of Dover industrial plants are brick and allied clay products, electric appliances, manufactured screw products, tanks, boilers, steel fabrication, drawn tungsten wire, cold rolled strip and stainless steel, a wide range of chemical products, plastic moldings, wire, stone, steel sheets, roofing, stove and furnace pipe, buckets, tubs, wood stoves, castings - both ferrous and non ferrous. The City has municipal light plant and water systems, maintains a park, stadium, modern public and parochial high schools, four new public grade schools and a parochial grade school, a new YMCA, Legion Memorial Hall, a park system and has 14 churches and a Salvation Army Building. The Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds and Union Hospital are located in the City. Points of tourist interest includes Dover Dam, key dam of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, and the Warther Museum and the J. E. Reeves Home and Museum.
-Courtesy of the Historic Canal Dover Association
One Book, One Community
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The One Book, One Community Project[13] is a grassroots reading movement that aims to bring people together by giving them a shared experience! When we all read the same book we all have something to talk about. The One Book, One Community's goal is break down the barriers between different groups of people to strengthen Tuscarawas County! One Book, One Community is sponsored by the Tuscarawas County Literacy Coalition[14].
Past Projects
2008: The Man Who Created Paradise, by Gene Logsdon
2009: Friday Night Lights, by H.G. Bissinger
2010: The Good, Good Pig, by Sy Montgomery
2011: Look Me in the Eye, by John Elder Robison
2012: Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
2013: The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, by Terry Ryan
Support the Library
The Dover Public Library is a great community library because of its many supporters. Here are some ways to get involved:
Bestow a Book
Honor the memory of a friend or relative by purchasing a book in his/her memory for the library's collection. Select a category that reflects the loved one's interest or allow the library to purchase a book in our area of greatest need. The chosen book(s) will carry a bookplate inscribed with both your names; the family of the deceased will receive a card that notifies them of your memorial gift. The donations are also recognized in the library's newsletter.
Designated Gifts
You may wish to make a donation to support a particular department, service, portion of the collection or need of the library. Your gift, for example, can be directed to pay for a program or speaker, purchase meeting room equipment, or buy storytime supplies for the Children's Department. Let us know what area you would like to provide financial help for and we'll find a project that matches your level of contribution. Your contribution will be recognized in the library's newsletter. Contact Jim Gill at 330-343-6123 for more information.
Planned Giving and Legacy Gifts
Many of the most significant legacy gifts to the Dover Public Library come from individuals who include a bequest in a will or through a trust. Some legacy gifts are started with a current gift and concluded with a bequest. Bequests can take several forms:
Residual: You can choose to donate all, a part or a percentage share of the balance of your estate to the library after disbursements to your family and other beneficiaries.
Specific amount: You can give a specific dollar amount or specific assets such as books or a special collection to the library.
Contingent: You can designate that the library will receive all or part of your estate if your named beneficiaries predecease you.
A trust with a remainder bequest: You may choose to create a trust that provides income to named beneficiaries. Upon the death of the named beneficiaries, all or part of the trust assets are donated to the library.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Dover Public Library has a variety of volunteer opportunities. The Library works to place Volunteers in a position that reflects their interests and/or skills. Volunteer placement is based on the qualifications of applicants and the needs of the library at any given time. Volunteer opportunities exist in every department, such as:
Preparing for children’s craft times Maintaining the discarded book sale shelf; Shelving library materials; Assisting in Summer Reading preparation; Copying and distributing brochures and signs.
How to Apply
It’s easy! Volunteer applications are available at the Circulation Desk
Volunteers must be Dover Public Library card holders. Return completed applications to the Information Desk or mail to:
Volunteer Coordinator
Dover Public Library
525 N. Walnut St.
Dover, Ohio 44622
Once you’ve turned in your application, you will be contacted by the Volunteer Coordinator about the possibility of volunteering with us. Working with you, the Library can match you with the right volunteer opportunity.
We’ll Work with You
Whether you have a few hours a week or would only like to volunteer on an occasional basis, the library will work with you. Weekly Volunteers are requested to work a minimum of 2 hours per week. Special Project Volunteers will be called on an “as needed” basis. Short term volunteer opportunities are available for individuals who are seeking to fulfill volunteer requirements for school or other organizations.
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