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There have been a lot of changes at the library since we’ve reopened. Some everyone can see: free masks, more hand sanitizer, less computers open so users can spread out. Some are more behind the scenes. One such change is the elimination of the phone tree when you call in so you get to talk to a real person, real quick.

When staffing allows, we have a librarian dedicated to answering the phone in one of our staff work spaces, now affectionately nicknamed “the Switchboard.”

We get a lot of work done in the Switchboard, and we also get a lot of questions. Here are some of the most common:

What are your hours?

Our new hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. We are still closed on Sundays.

How do I return materials?

Due to health and safety guidelines, all materials returned to the Dover Public Library must be placed in our outdoor bookdrops. There is one in the back parking lot as you pull in from 6th Street, and one to the left of the front entrance.

I returned _____ . Why is it still on my card?

All returned items are placed in Quarantine for three days before they are checked in. If you’re getting emails that items are being renewed, are overdue, or notice that items are still on your account, and you know the items were returned, please don’t worry! The items are probably here, just waiting in quarantine.

What are my overdue fines?

You don’t have any! We all have enough to worry about during this crazy time, so the Dover Public Library is fine-free until further notice.

We get some uncommon questions at the Switchboard as well. Here are some of my favorites:

How do I cook shiitake mushrooms?

This one was a challenge. But apparently you… saute them? Check out this blog post from The Kitchen Magpie for more information!

What’s the weather for the week?

For the answer to this one, I like good old Google.

How do I contact the White House?

There’s a handy dandy form on this website!

Where do I send in my Absentee Ballot Application?

The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections: PO Box 69; New Philadelphia, OH 44663

Got Questions? We’ve got answers! Or… we’ll find answers. Call us at 330-343-6123 to talk to a Librarian.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Manager

With everything going on in the world, the library’s copies of the latest Hunger Games novel by Suzanne Collins, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, arrived about two months late. Was it worth the wait?

The short answer, from a Hunger Games fan, is YES! The long answer is… maybe?

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes takes place about sixty years before the original trilogy. The first two parts of the book follow the tenth Hunger Games, the annual competition slash punishment that takes twenty four children from the twelve districts of Panem and puts them in a fight to the death. This year the Capitol is trying something new: mentors. The first class of mentors includes students from the Capitol in their final year of school. Eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is one of those students, and he is assigned the female tribute from District 12.

Weighing in at 528 pages, this book, full of surprises and insights, is not what I would call light reading. It raises a lot of questions about Panem and about future villain Snow. The book tackles war, reformation, poverty, hatred, ambition… It makes you think.

Personally, I like this book. It was a good read. As a Hunger Games fan, I would recommend this to other fans. But fair warning: if you haven’t read The Hunger Games, you’ll need to after reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Then, you’ll probably want to read all four of them again.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Librarian