Library closed Labor Day weekend!

The Library will be closed Saturday, September 1 through Monday, September 3 for the Labor Day holiday weekend. Enjoy your holiday and we'll see you at 9am on Tuesday the 4th!

Read Down Your Fines!

Read Down Your Fines!

Is that big fine on your account keeping you from checking out that great new novel or a book for a report?  If you are a student in grades k-12 you can “Read Down Your Fines”. For every 1/2 hour you spend reading in the library we will deduct $1.00 from your fine balance. This applies to fines only, and not fees for lost books.

See a staff member for details.

Calling all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy fans

How well do you know the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series? I am a fan of the detective with titian hair and her chums but I don't know the Hardy Boys that well so this quiz from Mental Floss  was a challenge. How well will you do?

Why Support Your Local Library?

FIND A LIBRARY NEAR YOU

FIND YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
INFORMATION INTEGRATED
WITH GOOGLE MAPS

DATA SOURCE: IMLS

Sources:

• ALA Library Fact Sheet
• Bureau of Labor Statistics - Data
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
• Northwestern University Libraries information
• MIT Library Data
• Institute of Museum and Library Services
• Census.gov - Public Libraries in the U.S. 2009
• ALA - Funding Technology Access Study
• Volunteer Match - Engaging Volunteers
• Pew Internet - Libraries, patrons & ebooks

• ALA Quotable Facts - American Libraries
• Harrison County Library - Facts and Figures
• Stanford University - Library Facts
• Library of Congress - Fascinating Facts
• Libraries for Real Life
• Houston Library - Facts
• Library Journal - Annual Library Budgets Survey
• ALA - State of American Libraries Report - 2012
• NationalService.gov - Benefits of Volunteering
• ALA - Library Operating Expenditures

Thank you to StateStats.org for providing this infographic and other free web guides and tools.

Go Ahead, Cut in Line!

The NH Downloadable Books service (http://nh.lib.overdrive.com) is tremendously popular; who wouldn’t want to download eBooks and audiobooks for free? Unfortunately, this has resulted in lengthy request lists for popular titles as patrons from libraries all around New Hampshire reserve these books.  The Dover Public Library has joined a special program called Overdrive Advantage to cut down your waiting time for popular downloadable books. We are ordering additional copies of popular titles that will be available only to our Dover Public Library patrons. Just make sure to log in to NH Downloadable Books before you begin searching the site. Any titles that are exclusively owned by the Dover Public Library will have an adjacent symbol that indicates Overdrive Advantage. 

 

We are slowly, as we can afford it, building a collection of in-demand titles. Our first purchase of just 10 audio and e-book titles cost us $617 so we know you’ll understand that we can’t order all bestselling books! 

Curious as to what titles we have so far? Here they are:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins audiobook
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins  audiobook
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins  audiobook
Criminal by Karin Slaughter eBook
Defending Jacob by William Landay  eBook
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn  eBook
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen  eBook
Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain eBook
Walflower in Bloom by Claire Cooke audiobook
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed eBook

And did you know you can now search for every eBook and audiobook available through NH Downloadable Books right through our DPL catalog (http://librarycatalog.dover.nh.gov).  When you search for a book in the Library catalog it will say [eBook Download] or [Audiobook Download] in the title, and there is a link that will take you to the right page in Overdrive. Try it!

Subscribe Today

The Library now has over 1,000 subscribers to our eNewsletters!  It's easy to subscribe just follow the link to subscribe to our general Library eNewsletter, Children's Room Newsletter, or to Library News & Events.  Our eNewsletters are a great source of information about lectures, Story Times, movies....that are happening right here at your library.  Many of our Library regulars love getting the eNewsletter right in their inbox--so easy and convenient.  Give it a try I think you'll like it!

Hope Solo

If you are a soccer fan or watched the Olympics Games you are probably familiar with Hope Solo--the amazing goalkeeper for the US women's soccer team.  She is often tauted as the best women's goalkeeper in the WORLD, and has just won her 3rd straight Olympic gold medal with the team--but she also had time to write a  memoir "Solo: a memoir of Hope".  She was recently interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered--take a look for her book @ your library today.

Merriam-Webster's New Words 2012

Among the new entries accepted for the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary are:

Man cave

Aha moment

Sexting

Brain cramp

Bucket list

Earworm

Flexitarian

F-bomb

Cloud computing

Energy drink

Life coach

Mash-up

Craft beer

E-reader

Game changer

Gastropub

Geocaching

Shovel-ready

Tipping point

Is the American language being "dumbed down" or is it just more expressive and reactionary ?

The Library needs Friends!

Can you help us?  

The Dover Public Library has been extremely fortunate to have a very supportive Friends of the Library group for over 35 years. The Friends are an essential fundraising and advocacy arm for the Library, contributing over $15,000 per year for performers' fees, speakers' costs, museum passes, summer reading and poetry contest prizes, and library equipment and technology needs. As none of these items are included in the City's budget, we really would not be able to offer our considerable array of popular programs and vital services without the beneficence of the Friends.

The Friends raise funds partly through membership dues and merchandise sales, but the bulk of their revenues derive from their hugely successful booksales. The Friends of the DPL are a fiscally sound and solvent organization, but due to some recent retirements and relocations, the group has dwindled considerably. The Friends are seeking new, active members who can attend meetings--- just 5 times per year!  

Could you join us for five meetings a year?

Although many library patrons are Friends’ members through payment of annual membership dues, there exists a smaller “core group” of Friends (including officers) who attend bi-monthly meetings of the group, plan programs, organize booksales, make decisions on purchases, and actively advocate for the library. It is this “core” group which we are seeking to enlarge at this time. Our core group is presently seeking new, actively-involved Friends who can assist with budgeting, accounting, communications, fundraising, member recruitment, and planning. The Friends of the Dover Public Library meet at 1pm on the 2^nd Wednesday of September, November, January, March, and May. The time commitment is not burdensome, yet much is accomplished at each meeting: plans are laid, goals and directions are set, and events are scheduled.

Why should I join?

Becoming an active Friend of the Library will unite you with other like-minded supporters and lovers of the library. Our Friends group has a strong voice in promoting the vitality of the library to others, and in these days of budget cuts, the need is greater than ever for members of our community to help us sustain library services and programs. Friends’ members believe that any community is a better place in which to live if it supports its library. Download a membership form at http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/Friends2.htm or pick one up at the adult circulation desk. 

When & where should I show up?

The Friends next meeting will be September 11, 2012 at 1pm in the Library Lecture Hall. We’d love to see you there! Please call Cathy Beaudoin, Library Director, 516-6050, or email c.beaudoin@dover.nh.gov if you have any questions about joining the Friends. The Friends need you! The Dover Public Library needs you! Thanks so much!

 

Friends' October booksale

Thank You

The Summer Reading Programs are done for another year, and they were more popular than ever.  We had 774 kids participate--I think that calls for a virtual round of applause! We couldn't have done it without the support of parents, local businesses, and community groups.

Bakers for the Summer Reading Party
Cafe on the Corner
Domino's Pizza
Dos Amigos
Friends of the Dover Public Library
Hilltop Fun Center
Indoor Ascent Climbing Gym
Kendall Pond Pizza
La Festa
Measured Progress
Moe's Italian Sandwiches
Noggin Factory
Papa Jay's Pizza
Pizza Hut
Strafford Farms
Water Country
Weeksie's Pizza
The Works

Fall Films adapted from books!

You’ll, of course, want to read the book before seeing these movies, if only to be able to say, smugly, “The book was SO much better!”

The Paperboy by Pete Dexter (starring Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConnaughey)  Release date: Oct. 5

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon) Release date: Oct. 26

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (starring Kaye Scodelario, James Hewson) Release date: October

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstory (starring Keira Knightley, Jude Law) Release date: Nov. 9

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 by Stephenie Meyer (starring Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson) Release date: Nov. 16

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfhan Khan, Tobey Maguire) Release date: Nov. 21

Rise of the Guardians based on the “Guardians of Childhood” series by William Joyce (Animated: starring voices of Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Chris Pine) Release date: Nov. 21

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe) Release date: Dec. 14

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (starring Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom) Release date: Dec. 14

On the Road by Jack Kerouac (starring Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, Viggo Mortenson) Release date: December

Jack Reacher based on “One Shot” by Lee Child (starring Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall) Release date: Dec. 21

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher) Release date: Dec. 25

Please Don't Go

Chipp Kidd, book designer, was interviewed on NPR about whether or not he believes book covers are a dying art?  I have to say that my heart fell into my stomach when I heard the introduction--I love book covers, they can't disappear!  I'm not saying that I judge a book by its cover, but I can most definitely be drawn to a book by an appealing, tantalizing, or mysterious cover.  Well I am happy to report that Mr. Kidd does not believe covers will go away but just change and evolve with the mediums.  "They need some kind of visual representation, whether you're going to be seeing them the size of a postage stamp on a computer screen or a smartphone, or sitting on a table, or on a shelf, or in a bookstore," he says.  The interview is definitely worth a listen or a read.

eBook Vacation

I am setting off on vacation this weekend and normally this is what my packing would look like, except for the surfboard. This year I am forgoing the giant canvas bag stuffed with books and just bringing an iPad stuffed full of eBooks. It will be an interesting experiment. I hope I don't forget to bring a charger or I will have to make an emergency visit to a bookstore.
I admit I am bringing one paper book; old habits die hard. Anybody else make the switch yet ?

Bedtime Math?

NPR recently interviewed Laura Overdeck a NJ Mom who puts her kids to bed with math.  I know it sounds a bit strange but it is actually very cool.  The US ranks 25th out of 34 countries when it comes to math proficiency, and this worried Ms. Overdeck. When she had children she wanted to make sure that they were comfortable with math so she started giving them a fun math problem each evening along with the bedtime stories.  The idea blossomed into a blog with 5,000 subscribers (prior to the NPR story) to the nightly question sent via email or accessed on the blog.  I am a proud new subscriber and the questions for tonight are :

Wee ones: If your pet anteater eats 5 ants for breakfast, and you decide to try it yourself and you eat 3 ants, how many ants did the two of you eat together?

Little kids: If your anteater flicks its tongue 3 times and picks up 200 ants each time, how many ants did it eat? Bonus: If your anteater flicks its tongue 13 times in the next few seconds, takes a quick break, and then does 9 more tongue flicks, how many times did it flick its tongue?

Big kids: Anteaters visit about 200 bug nests in a day. If an anteater eats 35,000 ants in one day from 100 anthills, how many ants did it score from each nest on average? Bonus:

If your pet anteater flicks its tongue 150 times in one minute, how fast can it flick it 15 times?

Yum ants--can't wait for bedtime!