DPL Blog

Living Library Returns to Dover

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog Teens on November 8, 2021 by admin

The Dover Public Library hosted their first “Living Library” in November of 2019. Approximately 60 people were able to hold conversations with one of the 14 “living books” available that day. According to Sherrel Rieger, Adult Program Specialist, “It was so successful that we planned to make it an annual event, but the pandemic changed that for the year 2020. We are happy to announce that the “Living Library” will return this year on November 13.”

The Living Library program has been enjoyed for nearly two decades in 84 countries around the world. It is designed to bring the community together through dialogue with people who are different from ourselves. The goal is to challenge prejudices and to help people understand racial and cultural issues, to be inspired by everyday heroes, and to learn more about ourselves through our connection with other people.

How does the “Living Library” work? The “books” (who are real people) will be seated around the library. You come to the library and see which “books” are available. After you “check out” one of “books,” you sit with that person and engage in an honest conversation with him/her for approximately 15 minutes. Then, you can check out another book. You can check out as many books as time and availability allow.

This year’s card catalog includes:

Greta Baker, retired teacher/librarian and fashionista, Just Me!

Gamaliel Bautista, “Dreamer”, Our Dream

Victoria Buss, CEO of Clear Communications, Living the American Dream

Pat Crolley, artist, The Memory Painter

Fred Delphia, retired band director and principal, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t Got that Swing)

Perci Garner, Executive Director of The Rainbow Connection, Dreams and Wishes are Not the Same

Larry Glasgow, Desert Storm veteran, Soldier Survives SCUD Missile Attack

Glen Groh, retired principal and naturalist, It’s Me – GGG!

Linda Kate, former judge, From Juvenile Court to the Deserts of Iraq

Kathy Neal, director of a local women’s shelter, Beneath the Shade

Kathy Neal and Company, Temptation.

You can register ahead of time by calling the library at 330-343-6123. Walk-ins are welcome on the day of the event, which is Saturday, November 13 from 10 AM till noon in the Community Room at the library located at 525 N. Walnut Street.

30-Day Shelf-Care Challenge

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on November 6, 2021 by admin

The Holidays (and stress) are approaching! Take our Shelf-Care Challenge to challenge yourself to take care of yourself this month through reading and other self-care activities. There is no prize for completing this challenge, not from the library anyway. We hope you enjoy taking a moment for yourself or your shelf this month!

Write a Letter
Visit a Library
Read a Poem
Sleep In
Read a Magazine
Read a Biography
Go for a Walk
Suggest a Book to Someone
Go Out on the Town
Spend Time in Nature
Try Something New
Donate Something
Stretch
Try a New Recipe
Say Thank You
Write a Journal
Read a Graphic Novel
Make a Card for Someone
Help Someone
Read a Mystery
Try a DIY project
Read a Book
Visit a Book Shop
Have Your Favorite Food
Take a Nap
Play with a Pet
Hug Someone
Watch the sunrise
Go to a Library Program
Join a Book Club

-The Dover Public Library Staff

Take on the Upside Down at A Stranger Escape!

This entry was posted in DPL Blog Teens on October 23, 2021 by admin

Patrons ages twelve and up are invited to Dover Public Library on Friday, October 29 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM to take part in A Stranger Escape, an escape experience inspired by the Netflix series Stranger Things. At this special event, teams will take turns attempting to solve riddles and escape the Upside Down.

As teams enter the event, they will sign in to get the next available time slot. While participants are waiting their turn to got through the escape room, there will be games, 80’s-inspired crafts, and refreshments in the Community Room and Teen Room. The team with the best time will be awarded a prize package to share. All participants will be entered to win a door prize. Registration is required for this after-hours program. Masks are also required based on current CDC recommendations. Interested patrons can call the library at 330-343-6123 for more information.

This escape room was originally scheduled for March 2020, but was cancelled due to the pandemic. It’s so great to finally be able to reschedule the event.

Teams may consist of one to five players. Parents or guardians are asked to be present or sign a permission slip before leaving minors unattended at the after-hours event. Family teams are encouraged. Adult teams are welcome, but are advised that the escape room was created for teenagers.

Knowledge of the Netflix series may be helpful, but it is not necessary to solve the escape room. There may be spoilers, though! So watch out while you’re exploring the Upside Down!

A Stranger Escape is sponsored in part by a 21st Century Afterschool Learning Grant with Dover High School, which supports educational opportunities outside of classroom walls.

-Liz Strauss, Teen/Outreach Services Manager

Welcome back, October!

This entry was posted in DPL Blog Kids on October 1, 2021 by admin

October is here which means pumpkins, hayrides, apple picking, and Halloween. Fall is the favorite time of the year for so many people here in Ohio. It can be a wonderful season with its cooler nights and gorgeous days. Who doesn’t love to see the leaves changing colors? My family and I already visited a pumpkin patch last weekend. I got to enjoy watching my grandson run around and play in a corn pit and sunflower field, feed the farm animals and ride on the hayride. Such a fun day, and great memories were made!

In the Children’s Department of the library we will celebrate Halloween with a family scarecrow making contest starting the week of October 25th. Families can make a scarecrow together at home and drop it off at the library where we will display the scarecrows and let other patrons vote on their favorite. Saturday, October 30, we will kick the day off with a spooky storytime at 10am and then announce the winner of the scarecrow contest. We will choose a 1st place and 2nd place winner. First place winners will get a basket with a $10 Park Street Pizza gift card, family movies and a family Halloween board game. Second place winners will get a $10 Park Street gift card and a family movie. We will also have trick or treat, crafts and a game following the storytime. It should be a fun time for all. Hope to see you there!

Happy Fall!!

-Jen Gardner, Children’s Department Manager

Celebrate Constitution Week September 17-23

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on September 17, 2021 by admin

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

In 1955, President Eisenhower signed a resolution to adopt September 17-23 as Constitution Week to honor this great document, which is the basis of America’s heritage and the foundation for our way of life.

As we begin Constitution Week, I’d like to reflect on a document that is very important to our American Heritage, and I ask you all to do the same.

Be respectful, kind and helpful to those in need and remember what it means to be good patriots of the United States of America.

Celebrate Constitution Week by picking up a free copy of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Plus, check out a selection of books from our Constitution Week display at the Dover Public Library.

~ Ellen Lint, Library Assistant

Preserving Civil War Heritage through Remembrance

This entry was posted in Adult Services DPL Blog on August 28, 2021 by admin

“Here, in the dread tribunal of last resort, valor contended against valor. Here brave men struggled and died for the right as God gave them to see the right.”

-Adlai E. Stevenson I

One of the best-kept secrets in our community is an organization known as the Tuscarawas Valley Civil War Round Table. Founded over 25 years ago by Dan Cooley, former Dover Public Library Director, and Jeff Schrock of Sugarcreek, the Round Table is committed to educating the community about the American Civil War through the preservation of Civil War heritage and through the remembrance of those who struggled for their cause. Ever since Appomattox, historians, military tacticians and amateur scholars have been fascinated by the Civil War. The Round Table wants you to know that you are welcome! Each month, a different speaker will provide an engaging and informative look at a particular aspect of the War Between the States. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM in the library’s Community Room during the months of January-May and September-December. New members are always welcome, as well as ideas for future presenters and programs. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions. More books have been written about the American Civil War than any other event in history and it is an honor to play a part in the preservation of that story. The Round Table kicks off on Thursday, September 9 at 6:30 PM and features Steve Ball who will present “The Music of the Civil War.” Hope to see you then!

– Jim Gill, Director, director@doverlibrary.org

“Music of the Civil War” Presented by Steve Ball

Thursday, September 9 at 6:30 PM

Community Room at the Dover Public Library

This program shares some of the most popular tunes of the Civil War from both sides of the conflict. The music is presented in a chronological format, with the story of each song, and what is happening in the Civil War at the same time. The program covers some of the popular patriotic tunes, melancholy ballads of home, and a bit of army humor as well. Music of the Civil War shares both music and history with insight to both soldiers and musicians of the period.