Drum Roll Please....

The winners of the 8th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest have just been announced! We had over 300 entries and our judges had some difficult decisions to make. I would like to thank our judges, Janice Alberghene, John Michael Albert, Maria Faskianos & Marsha Pelletier, for all their hard work. Without further ado here are the winners:

Category 1: Grades K-2
1st Place: Logan Rondinone, Grade 1, Horne St. Schcool
2nd Place: Addison Stewart, Grade 1, Woodman Park
3rd Place : Tyler Charnik, Grade 2, Portsmouth Christian Academy
Honorable Mention: Annabel Kossakoski, Grade 1, Garrison School (tie)
Katherine Cornell, Grade 2, Portsmouth Christian Academy (tie)

Category 2: Grades 3&4
1st Place: Joey Thompson, Grade 4, Woodman Park
2nd Place: Libby Hyson, Grade 4, Garrison School
3rd Place : Noah Schwartz, Grade 4, Garrison School
Honorable Mention: Sebastian Karas, Grade 3, Horne St. School

Category 3: Grades 5&6
1st Place: Abigail Steinhauer, Grade 5, Saint Mary Academy
2nd Place: Nicole Meyer, Grade 6, Dover Middle School
3rd Place: Elise Girard, Grade 5, Saint Mary Academy
Honorable Mention: Madeline Setear, Grade 6, Dover Middle School (tie)
Emma Ciereszynski, Grade 6, Dover Middle School (tie)

Category 4: Grades 7&8
1st Place: Ronald Esch, Grade 8, Dover Middle School
2nd Place: Nikolas Van Aken, Grade 8, Dover Middle School
3rd Place: Breanna Gosse, Grade 8, Dover Middle School
Honorable Mention: Michael A. Catanzaro III, Grade 8, Dover Middle School

Category 5: Grades 9&10
1st Place: Chloe White, Grade 10, Cocheco Arts & Technology Academy
2nd Place: Kelly Fitzpatrick, Grade 9, Dover High School
3rd Place: Callista Markham, Grade 9, Dover High School
Honorable Mention: Clare Joyce, Grade 10, Dover High School

Category 6: Grades 11&12
1st Place: Joshua Mudgett, Grade 12, Cocheco Arts & Technology Academy
2nd Place: Shayla Riggs, Grade 11, Cocheco Arts & Technology Academy
3rd Place: Jeremy Korth, Grade 12, Dover High School
Honorable Mention: Josh Tompson, Grade 11, Dover High School

RIVERS: Bringing NH to Life

Last night at Dover's City Council meeting, we were pleased to formally accept a copy of a wonderful new 200+ page curriculum created by staff at The Children's Museum of New Hampshire. Designed for K-5th grade, "RIVERS: Bringing New Hampshire to Life" leads teachers and their students to explore our state's historical and natural story, using lives along the river as a unifying theme.

The Dover Public Library was pleased to be involved in this effort by contributing many historical photographs of the river and mills, as well as some historical essays about 19th century immigrant life and working in the factories.

This curriculum is an important new resource for Dover and New Hampshire history and complements the Museum's extraordinary Cochecosystem exhibit. To see "RIVERS", you may visit the library to examine the printed copy, or you may view it online at:
http://www.childrens-museum.org/cmnh/programs/default.aspx?id=368

We hope this is the first of many such cooperative efforts between the Public Library and The Children's Museum as we have many of the same goals: education, enrichment, enlightenment and entertainment. As many as already said, we are so happy that The Children's Museum of New Hampshire has relocated in Dover and that they welcomed over 130,000 visitors in their first year here! Congratulations!

iPhone App for Downloading Audiobooks

OverDrive has an app for your iPhone so you can download free audiobooks from New Hampshire Downloadable Books anywhere you have wifi access. You won't need to connect to a computer! They also have apps for Windows Mobile, Android and Blackberry.

I can't wait to try this out on my iPod Touch!

The Romance of Shoes

In an interview in the May issue of Vanity Fair Magazine shoe designer Christian Louboutin boasted that his best customer, novelist Danielle Steel, owned a whopping 6,000 pairs of his famous red soled shoes. Since they average $750 per pair that is roughly 4.5 million dollars worth stilettos, peep-toed pumps, and gladiator sandals. Now this may seem like a lot of money tied up in shoes (even to me) but Danielle has sold over 580 million copies of her books since her career began back in 1973 and even if she made only one dollar per book, she is still up to her Thesaurus in disposable income. So, clearly, Danielle can afford to “ step it up” (pun intended). And if she has run out of room in her shoe rack she can always donate a few (hundred) pairs to the Needy Librarians’ Shoe Fund (NLSF).

How to Enjoy eBooks on Your Mac

The talented technology resources Librarian at the New Hampshire State Library has put together a neat slideshow to show you exactly how to download free eBooks from New Hampshire Downloadable Books on to your Mac.

How to Enjoy eBooks on Your Mac

Sandra Bullock sighting at the Library!

Ok not until tomorrow when we will be showing The Blind Side at our Saturday Matinee at 2:00pm in the Lecture Hall. Sandra Bullock won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the film. Based on a true story the movie tells the story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, who is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. Don't forget all of our movie showings are FREE!

Celebrate Earth Day and Help the Library

Today is Earth Day. You can celebrate and help the library by recycling your plastic bags here. If you have plastic grocery store type bags in good condition, the Library could really use them for rainy days or for patrons who find they picked out so many books they need a bag to carry them home in. You can bring your bags in to the Adult Circulation Desk. Thank you!

Teddy Bears Stay up Late at the Library!!!

It's the morning after, and here are some of the twenty teddy bears (or favorite stuffed animals) that spent the night at the library's 2nd annual "Teddy Bear Sleepover" event. After a night of exploring, playing, reading, (and a little bit of sleeping), they're ready to go home! All gathered in the Children's Room last night, for an hour of stories, songs and a movie featuring (you guessed it)--teddy bears! After enjoying a snack and making pillows for their stuffed friends to sleep on, their owners found a comfortable spot in the Children's Room to tuck their "teddies" in for the night. One last good-night kiss later, the children headed home to their own beds with the promise to be back in the morning. Did our stuffed friends stay put in their sleeping spots all night? Our hidden cameras took some very interesting pictures during the night. Just what did happen at the "Teddy Bear Sleepover"? Well, see for yourself....

Best Audiobook of the Year, So Far

I know, we are only in April but I have to say this was the most enjoyable audiobook I have listened to this year. A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper is told from the viewpoint of Sophie FitzOsborne, a young royal of an obscure island Kingdom that lies off the coast of England. The castle is crumbling and the king is mad but Sophie, her tomboy sister, and intellectual cousin Veronica all love their life on the island. Every thing changes when Nazis land invade the isolated island.

"There's nothing to do..."

Are your children complaining about being bored with nothing to do during school vacation week? Why not plan to spend a couple of hours at the library?

The Children's Room has something for everyone! There, you can work or play on the computers, meet up with friends, visit the fish & gerbils, play with the train set, put together a jigsaw puzzle, play a game (or two) of checkers, create a "clothespin zebra" at the craft table, practice reading aloud to our dog friend, "Goldie" or come to the "Teddy Bear Sleepover" on Tuesday evening, and, of course, stop to relax and read a good book anytime!

Just take a look at what our young visitors have been doing...

Best Plants for New Hampshire Landscapes

Tuesday Night at 7PM in the Lecture Hall the Friends of the Library will present The Best Plants for New Hampshire Landscapes with Dr. Cathy Neal.

You can have a great New England landscape by identifying your site and choosing appropriate trees shrubs and perennials that will thrive there. Woodlands, woods edge, sunny borders and water’s-edge gardens are a few of the habitats we will explore with beautiful photos and plant reference lists. Everyone should walk away with at least one new plant in mind for their garden.

And The Winners Are...

The Winners of the 2010 Peeps Show Contest are:

Kids Division: Oobleck Castle by Liam Roach

Youth Division: Lincoln at Peeps Theater by Kyra Bezanker

Teen Division: Mary Peepins: the Carousel Scene by Merranda Donnelly
Adult Division:Phantom of the Opeepra by Joan Barretto

Congratulations, and thank you to all the artists who participated!

Check Out a Pulitzer Prize Winner Today!

Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on Monday and here are the winners in the Letters, Music & Drama category:

Fiction - Tinkers by Paul Harding
Drama - Next to Normal, music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey
History - Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World by Liaquat Ahamed
Biography - The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles
Poetry - Versed by Rae Armantrout (on order)
General Nonfiction - The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman (on order)

We Are Moving Things Again!

DVDs and music CDs used to be here in the Reference Room

We are moving things around again in an effort to give more space to growing collections. The Audiobook collection in now in the Addition, to the right of the newspapers, where the Large Print books used to be. The Large Print Books will move to the Reference Room, where the music CDs and DVDs were. Music CDs and DVDs have moved to the Browse Room, where the Audiobooks used to be. Got that?

Toddler Storytime at the Dover Public Library

Have you been looking for an activity for you and your two-yr.-old to share? Are you new to the city, and/or looking to meet some fellow parents-of-toddlers? Come to the Children’s Room, and ask us about Toddler Storytime! With books, puppets, rhymes, and songs, we offer a program specifically targeted to a two-year old’s attention span, interest level, and sense of fun! Time is provided at the beginning of each session for listening to music and reading with mom or dad. There is time at the end of each session for the two of you to complete a simple craft, and for parents to chat and share parenting concerns. We love getting to know our youngest patrons---come and join us! Toddler Storytimes are offered at 9:30am on Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays---decide which day works best for you, and sign up!
Registration for our next 5-week session begins at 6pm on Monday, April 26 in the Children’s Room. Phone registrations taken beginning 6:15. For more information, please call the Children's Room at 516-6052.

Welcome to the Peep-brary

The Peeps entries are in, all 48 of them, as creative as could be. I wish all the talented Peep Artists could see how their creations make people smile and exclaim. If you can't make it in to see the Peeps Show, make sure to take a peep at the slide show. We will be choosing the winners of each division on Friday. It is going to be a really difficult to decide. Which ones would you choose?

How Libraries Stack Up 2010

OCLC, a non-profit library cooperative, has released an amazing 2-page fact sheet entitled "How Libraries Stack Up: 2010". We've made hard copies to hand out in the library but you may also view the document here: http://www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/214109usf_how_libraries_stack_up.pdf

Among the findings:

• 12,000 libraries now offer free Wi-Fi across the USA
• 2/3 of Americans have a library card
• U.S. libraries lend (for free!) 2.1 million DVDs (Netflix lent 2.2 million but you paid them!)
• There were 1.4 billion visits to public libraries (U.S. sporting event attendance was 218 million)
• U.S. public libraries circulate as many manterials as FedEx ships packages worldwide

At 16,600 public libraries, we deliver millions of dollars in resources and support that meet critical needs in our communities every day. Libraries are at the heart of our communities!

The Peepabilities Are Endless

As Peeposterous as it seems, there are only 2 more days to get your Peeps Show contest entry in to the Library! Saturday is the last day to bring them in. Stop eating them and start creating. You have an even better chance of winning this year as there are now four age divisions to compete in.

Poetry Deadling Coming Up Soon!

Just a few more days to submit poems to the 8th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest. The contest is for kids in grades k-12 and we will be accepting submissions through the end of the day on Monday, April 12. Follow this link to download a contest rules sheet and form.

Here is one of last year's winning poems:

Owls’ Flight

Eyes as bright as golden lamps
shifting through the sky.
Silent wings as dark as night,
carry them up high.
Racing with the crisp, cool wind
all through the darkening night.
You see the soaring shadows
during the owls’ midnight flight.

Lilah Cherim, 1st Place
Category 7 & 8, Grade 7

Good luck to all!

READ 'EM AND VOTE!

There is still time to read another book or two on the 2009-10 Great Stone Face Book Award Nominees list before voting for your favorite.

Come to the Children's Room and check out our large display area. There, you will find the nominees and samples of the voting ballots.

During National Library Week, April 12-17, New Hampshire children in grades 4-6 will vote for their favorite book on this year's list. The author whose book receives the most votes will then be given the Great Stone Face Book Award sponsored by the Children's Librarians of NH.

Voting will take place in the school libraries for all public school students and in the Dover Public Library Children's Room for homeschooled children and those attending private schools.

So, read 'em, vote, and watch for the award winner to be announced in May!

The Library in Bloom

Our beautiful Star Magnolias are blooming again on the Library lawn. Make sure to take a walk by the trees before the blooms fall. The delicate fragrance will lift your spirits.

What's popular? Death and Movies!

We often study usage statistics at the library, in order to better understand our customers and to ensure we can reasonably supply what you're seeking. Today I browsed through the list of 888 items that are currently "on hold" for DPL patrons. It seems, to no surprise really, that mysteries still rule the roost in this library. In my very unscientific survey, I noted that 57 items "on hold" had the words "kill", "dead/death", "evil", "murder" or "demon/witch/devil/vampire" in their titles. And that doesn't count the 28 current holds on Steig Larsson's "Girl" trilogy or new books in popular mystery series like Janet Evanovich's new "Sizzling Sixteen" or John Sandford's upcoming "Storm Prey". Adding all mysteries to the count, I'd estimate that 1/4 to 1/3 of the library's patrons are waiting for a mystery or a thriller.

There were also 25 holds on cookbooks (we like to eat while we read?) and over 90 holds on DVDs, most on popular new releases like The Blind Side and The Hurt Locker. There were also plenty of holds for non-fiction: I can see that school assignments are picking up speed! I can also tell that our patrons watch quite a lot of television. All the authors/pundits/politicos who've appeared lately on the talk shows and news broadcasts also have lots of holds on their books. Our users are really well informed about what new titles and new movies are coming out and you always keep us on our toes to keep up with you! Keep those requests coming and we'll do our best to fill them!

Alien Invasion at the Library

Join us this Saturday, April 10th @ 2:00pm for a FREE screening of Planet 51--rated PG. When Chuck the astronaut lands on a distant planet filled with little green people, he is surprised to discover that we are not alone in the galaxy. But he gets the shock of his life when the residents of Planet 51 mistakenly believe that his presence is the start of an alien invasion of the human kind! Luckily, an alien teenager named Lem quickly realized that Chuck is friendly and the two blast off on an adventure to try and return Chuck safely to his space ship!

This is a great animated adventure for the whole family!

Back by Popular Demand: The Teddy Bear Sleepover

Mark your calendars for April 20th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm when the Children's Room will be hosting the Teddy Bear Sleepover. Would your teddy bear (or favorite stuffed animal) like to spend the night here at the library??? We had such fun last year, we've decided to let your friends sleep here again. Here's what we'll do:

• First, we'll gather in the children's room to introduce ourselves--every teddy (or animal) will get their own nametag.
• Then, we'll have some stories, rhymes and a song or two---featuring, (you guessed it)--TEDDY BEARS!!!
• Next, we'll sit at a table for a quick snack and a project---we'll be making special pillows for our stuffed friends to sleep with!
• When our pillows are finished, it will be time to tuck our teddies in---you choose the spot in the children's room where you think they'll be the most comfortable---will it be in the dollhouse? On the train table? On a bookshelf?
• Then, you give them one last kiss, and head on home to your own beds.
• In the morning come and pick them up, and we're hoping we may be able to get some pictures of just what goes on when teddy bears sleepover at the library.
  
  If you'd like to bring YOUR teddy to the sleepover, please sign up at the Children's Room desk or call 516-6052.

Free Book Review Magazine for Patrons

We're trying out a trial subscription to a monthly book review magazine for our patrons. Multiple free copies of "BookPage", a 32-page round-up of popular and recommended books, are available for the taking in the library. Pick up your free copy to take home and read April's feature story, "18 Novels You Can't Miss This Spring". Tell us how you like the magazine and, if it's popular, we'll get a yearly subscription.

Let the Peeping Begin!

Our very first entry in the 2010 Peeps Show Contest just arrived! It is very creative,featuring Peeps swinging midair with gauzy wings. I can't wait to see what will arrive next.

Read an eBook, free!

Did you know that you can download eBooks free from the Library's downloadable audiobook website? The helpful librarians at the NH State Library have put together a slideshow showing you exactly how to download an eBook. These eBooks will work on your PC, Mac, Nook, or Sony Reader. Unfortunately, they do not work on a Kindle. You will have 14 days to read your eBook. All you need to get started is your library card, a computer with Internet access, and the Adobe Digital Editions software, which you can download for free.

Ebooks: The Newest Addition to NH Downloadable Audiobooks

Change in Library Hours

Due to a budget shortfall in the City of Dover's 2009-2010 budget, the library hours will be reduced on Saturdays to 9am to 1pm. The changes will take effect on May 1. We will continue to show our Saturday Matinees, but the time will now be 10:30am.

Keep Your Barcode Handy

Today the Library is offering free tattoos of your library card barcode. No more fumbling for your card, just show us your tattoo! We recommend placing the tattoo on your arm, neck, or forehead. No tramp stamps please.

Remember, this special service will be offered today, APRIL 1ST, only.