Women in their own Words

I took some books on vacation with me last week and found that two of them were memoirs of ordinary women. I don't read a great deal of non-fiction so I was surprised to realize the two memoirs were the best of all the books I brought with me. Meghan Daum wrote about her obsession with houses in Life Would be Perfect if I lived in That House. I love to watch HGTV shows on finding, selling, and redecorating houses so I could relate to her mania, especially when it was presented so amusingly. There was no humor in Saddled by Susan Richards but it was engrossing. Richards finds herself rescued from alcoholism and an abusive marriage by her love for a horse. Both of these books which were fascinating glimpses into the lives of ordinary women reminded by of another book I enjoyed this year, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen. When Rhoda's husband left her for another man and she was badly injured in a car crash she retreated to the safety of her parent's Mennonite home. This book is not so much about the Mennonites but rather what it is like to return home to pull your life together. It is salted with Mennonite trivia and a great deal of humor. I had a hard time putting it down, it read like a novel at times. 

Sometimes ordinary women have extraordinary stories.

Summer Monday Movie Matinees

We will be showing movies this summer during the 5 weeks of our summer reading programs. As always these movies are free and open to the public. Here is the line-up:

• Lightning Thief--Monday, July 12 @ 2:00pm, rated PG.
• Garfield's Pet Force--Monday, July 19 @ 2:00pm, not rated.
• Space Buddies--Monday, July 26 @ 2:00pm, rated G.
• Spongebob Squarepants: the Movie--Monday, August 2 @ 2:00pm, rated PG.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid--Monday, August 9 @ 2:00pm, rated PG.

For descriptions of the movies visit our web site.

Is This Book for Real?

Little Blog on the Prairie? I love book titles that make me laugh. This seems to be the book version of The Frontier House--remember that PBS series where families went back to living Old West style. Here is the description of the book:

Gen's family is more comfortable spending time apart than together. Then Gen's mom signs them up for Camp Frontier—a vacation that promises the "thrill" of living like 1890s pioneers. Forced to give up all of her modern possessions, Gen nevertheless manages to email her friends back home about life at "Little Hell on the Prairie," as she's renamed the camp. It turns out frontier life isn't without its good points—like the cute boy who lives in the next clearing. And when her friends turn her emails into a blog, Gen is happily surprised by the fanbase that springs up. But just when it seems Gen and family might pull through the summer, disaster strikes as a TV crew descends on the camp, intent on discovering the girl behind the nationwide blogging sensation—and perhaps ruining the best vacation Gen has ever had.

Haunted Woods

I have had two residents of Dover come in recently, and ask about the empty house that is at the intersection of route 108 (Durham Rd.), and Back River Road. They had been looking at it for years and just wondering what the story of the house is. The house, which is known as Dunn's Tavern, was included in the The Dover Heritage Walking Tours in the years 1988 and 1995. There is also some interesting information from Mary P. Thompson's book "Landmarks in Ancient Dover." Here are some of the highlights:

"This colonial house is well over 200 years old. In 1780 it was operated as a tavern by Col. Benjamin Titcomb (1743-1799), a Revolutionary War veteran wounded in 3 battles. In 1820, Captain Samuel Dunn (1766 - 1850) bought the tavern. In 1825, Dover dignitaries gathered here to pay tribute to General Lafayette, who was touring New Hampshire. As the general entered from Durham, a thirteen gun salute was fired from atop Pine Hill to the assembly at the tavern."

"The tavern continued operations through the 1840s and the home remained in the Dunn family until Miss Eliza Dunn's death at the age of 80 in 1898. By 1899 the house had been converted to tenement housing for the workers at Sawyer Mills. The house is presently unoccupied due to pending litigation concerning its ownership (remember that was written in 1988)."

"Adjacent to Dunn's Tavern was a reputedly haunted area known as Dunn's Woods. These dark, damp, lonely woods were enclosed by hills and were remote from any dwelling. It was said to be the scene of many a robbery by day and supernatural occurance by night. The ghost stories originated from the phosphorescent lights which on dark nights were often seen to gleam among the bogs and decayed wood, startling the belated and weary traveler."

What was that book called?

I am excited to read Aimee Bender's new book The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake which is due out on June 1. I read Ms. Bender's first book, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, because I was enamored with the title, and I must say the title of her new book appeals to me. A colleague of mine mentioned yesterday that she wanted to read Going Bovine by Libba Bray because of the intriguing qualities of the title and cover. When I invest my time in reading a book I want the title to matter. I recently finished a book, a book I really enjoyed, and every time I tried to tell someone about it I couldn't remember the title (and this is not just because of my flightiness or forgetfulness). Even after reading the book I couldn't figure out the significance of the title, and so it made it highly forgettable, and I have to say that really annoys me. It seems to me to be counterproductive to have an esoteric or just plain silly book title--don't you want the title to be on the tip of everyone's tongue? OK that is my rant for the day, and I still can't remember the name of that book that I really enjoyed.

FYI: Great review of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake on the NPR web site.

More Tattoos

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, there has been a lot of anticipation of Stieg Larsson's third book in the Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, featuring the antiheroine, Lisbeth Salander. I have not read any of Mr. Larsson's books (I don't read a lot of crime thrillers.), and really haven't wanted to until I read Pat Ryan's article in the New York Times Book Review titled Pippi Longstocking with Dragon Tattoo. Lisbeth Salander is being compared to a grown up Pippi Longstocking--I really, really loved Pippi as a young girl, so much so that I dressed up as her for Halloween one year. A colleague of Mr. Larsson's had a conversation with him, obviously prior to his death, about children's book characters and what they would be like as adults. He apparently liked the idea of a grown up Pippi. So the Millennium trilogy will get added to my long list of books to read. FYI--the New York Times Magazine also had an article about Mr. Larsson titled "The Afterlife of Stieg Larsson" which was quite interesting. Long live Pippi!

Anticipation

Two recent conversations that I have had with library users made me smile, because I realized there are people out there still as excited about the release date of a book, and not just the date of the final episode of Lost. (Am I the only one that is really sick of hearing about that?) The first conversation was about the release date of Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This woman came in to put a hold on the book, it is not being released until August 24, and I told her that we couldn't order forthcoming books prior to 17 weeks before their release date. Her response "I know and that is today!" She is really keeping us on our toes. The second incident happened first thing this morning when a patron came in looking for our "fast-read" copy of the The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, because she knew it was being released today. Excitement about books is alive and well at the Dover Public Library!

Great Reads for the Summer

The new Isinglass & Flume Award nominee lists for 2010-2011 have been announced, and they make for great summer reading for teens. The Isinglass list is for 7th & 8th graders, while the Flume list is for 9th - 12th graders. Follow the links above to see the full list, or visit the Teen Loft in the library, and you will find them on display.

Bethumped by Words

I was listening to one of Kerry Greenwood's fabulous Phryne Fisher audiobooks, Death at Victoria Dock,when two things caught my attention. She started the chapter off with a quote from Shakespeare, "Zounds, I was never so bethumpt with words, Since I first called my brother's father Dad". 

First was the narrators pronunciation of zounds. I always assumed it rhymed with mounds, but the the narrator pronounced it to sound like zoonds. Well, I thought, that can't be right. I had a dim memory of an old movie, perhaps starring Errol Flynn, in which the actor clearly pronounced it rhyming with mounds. The movies can't be wrong, can they? I took a look in the dictionary and low and behold, the narrator was correct. Zounds is a euphemism for a 15th century exclamation, "God's Wounds". I shall endeavor to pronounce zounds to rhyme with wounds from now on. 

The second thing that I noticed was the use of the word "Dad" in a Shakespeare quote. No way could "Dad" have been around that long! I thought it came into use in the 1950's. Surely Father and Papa were in use before then. Wrong again. The dictionary said Dad has been in use since at least 1592. 

I must have been thinking of "daddy-o", which did indeed come into use in the mid 1950s. You learn something new every day.

Later, Daddy-o.

Cochecho Readers' Award Winner

The Cochecho Readers' Award is sponsored by the children's librarians of Dover, New Hampshire. This award, named after the Cochecho River which runs through the heart of Dover, is given each year to an author whose book receives the most votes from a list of nominees. Dover children in the third & fourth grades vote for their favorite every Spring.

And the winner for 2009-10 is...Medusa Jones by Ross Collins.

(One dad had told me that he enjoyed reading this book with his children and that it had awakened a real interest in Mythology for all of them!)

Not in My Books, yahoo!

Playing on the NIMBY acronym, I want to advise all Dover Public Library patrons that our library has recently been innundated with over 3000 surreptitiously placed bookmarks in our stacks. Please be aware that blue bookmarks from "Freedomainradio" and the "Schoolsucksproject" that you may find in our books have no connection to the library and are not endorsed by the library. In fact, this distribution violates library rules which cover where and how and what literature may be displayed in the library by outside organizations.

I want to thank the many volunteers and Friends of the Library who've answered the call to help us remove these bookmarks from all the books affected. This is a time-consuming and laborious process and we appreciate their efforts.

I also want to spread the word about this "bookmark project" to other libraries in NH who may be targeted as well. According to my research, there is an organized plan to place such literature inside library books. Needless to say, this is not an indictment of their cause; we would remove bookmarks placed by any organization without our express permission. However, we find it a bit ironic that anti-government literature has been used inside a government-funded institution! Although troublesome to deal with, it does warm our heart just a bit to think that these groups feel there is such power on the shelves of a public library!

Hunger Games Takes the Prize

The Isinglass Award winner for 2009-2010 is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! The Isinglass Award is a list of 20 books, nominated by kids, and voted on by 7th and 8th graders. I love their choice for this year because I have been enjoying the Hunger Games trilogy. The first book in the series is Hunger Games, the second Catching Fire, and the third, Mockingjay, is being published on August 24th (we have it on order already so place your holds now)! The Hunger Games is also being made into a movie, and fans are all abuzz about who the cast will be. I would highly recommend Hunger Games--it is not just for kids.

Stephenie Meyer has a gift for you

Stephenie Meyer has written a 200 page novella about a newborn vampire she introduced in Eclipse, Bree Tanner. It"tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion". For more background on the story, read Stephenie Meyer's March 30th blog posting. The book is going to be available on the web FREE starting at noon on June 7th until July 5th at www.breetanner.com Of course, if you would prefer to read an actual book, you can reserve the Library's copy of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella.

Free Library Concert Tuesday May 18

Come and hear (and sing along with) Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins "Two Old Friends" who will perform at the Library on Tuesday evening May 18 at 7pm. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, this duo will delight with a combination of Irish and Appalachian country music, all performed on banjo, guitar, mandolin, concertina, and bodhran, telling the immigrant experience through song and musical story. Please join us for a rousing good time! FREE!

Award Winner Announced

The Great Stone Face Book Award is sponsored by the Children's Librarians of New Hampshire and is given each year to an author whose book receives the most votes from fourth through sixth graders throughout the state. Each year a committee chooses 25 recently published titles, which children then use as a guide for voting. The vote takes place every April during National Library Week, and the winner is announced in May. The purpose of the award is to promote reading enjoyment, to increase awareness of contemporary writing, and to allow children to honor their favorite author.

And the winner for 2009-10 is...

Swindle by Gordon Korman

The new Great Stone Face nominees list for 2010-11 is now available in the Children's Room and on our website (click here to view).

2010 Evening of Poetry

This past Tuesday the library celebrated the end of the 8th Annual Poetry Contest, with an Evening of Poetry. It was a lovely evening where those in attendance were treated to readings by kids in kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade! We have more photos from the event posted on our web site.

A Fowl Hobby

I was watching NECN's Secret Life of Animals Sunday when they were talking about how popular raising chickens in one's backyard has become. This caught my attention because two of my neighbors began raising chickens this year, a co-worker is currently raising chickens, and another one wants to. Stories are popping up everywhere about"urban farms". If you would like to start your own chicken flock in your backyard be sure to check some of our books on the topic.

Backyard Poultry raising by John F. Adams
Joy of Keeping Chickens by Jennifer Megyesi
Homemade Living keeping chickens with Ashley English : all you need to know to care for a happy, healthy flock by Ashley English

The Children's Room Staff Gets Some Respect

I was reading a book to my son last night that had a librarian in it. I asked him "who do you know that is a librarian?", his first response was Miss Karin (FYI this is not my name, or any kind of a nickname). I asked "who else?" his response was Miss Sarah (again not my name). When my husband piped in with "how about Mama?" my son gave him a perplexed look and said--why? For those of you who are not familiar with Miss Karin or Miss Sarah they are part of the children's room staff. I think the moral of this story is that children's librarians are the only ones that count to little kids. Ahhhhhh.

My apologies to the rest of the children's room staff, apparently you have to work the Monday night shift to count.

Library Budget Presentation Notes

Notes from the Library Director’s FY11 Budget Presentation to the Dover City Council May 5, 2010

THE UPSIDE:
Ø The Library is busiest it’s ever been: set records in circulation, program attendance, public Internet hours, holds filled, and website use.
Ø 76% of Dover resident visited the library in the past year, higher than national benchmark.
Ø 86% of visitors surveyed rated us “Excellent” or ‘Good”.
Ø Library’s FY’11 book budget is proposed to increase by $2,792, 1st increase in 7 years!
Ø $12,500 has been allotted for badly needed interior woodwork and ceiling repairs.
Ø Library is just 1.2% of General Fund budget ($70.55 in taxes per avg household) yet we have over 27,000 cardholders and an average of 627 customers per day. A great bang for the buck!

THE DOWNSIDE:
Ø Library’s proposed FY’11 budget is only $4,600 higher than it was in FY’05.
Ø Staffing has decreased by 146.5 hours weekly since FY’07.
Ø Reduced staffing = loss of 3.66 people over 4 years (-22%)
Ø Saturday hours now reduced from 9-5 to 9-1.
Ø Already lost Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon hours in the current FY’10 budget.
Ø Library previously open 63.5 hrs/wk; FY’11 proposal is 52.5 hrs/wk.
Ø 17% reduction in hours over past two years.
Ø Library budget decreased by $110,000 since FY’07
Ø With 13FTEs, we are, by far, the least-staffed library among NH cities our size.

The gist of our plea to the Dover City Council on May 5 was to restore $30,000 to the library’s FY’11 operating budget. This would allow us to maintain full-day Saturdays and restore 32 hours of part-time staffing weekly.

Members of the City Council would appreciate hearing from any and all Dover citizens about the FY’11 proposed municipal budget. All City Departmental budget presentations are currently running on Channel 22 for further information.

Don't Miss this DVD

I took home the library's DVD The Young Victoria this week. I was not excited about it due to Queen Victoria's usual depiction as a stuffy, pompous, grumpy old lady. I found myself swept away by the portrayal of the young Victoria as passionate, fun loving, yet determined to rule in her own right despite numerous people trying their best to manipulate and control her. It is a true feast for the eyes, and a must for anyone interested in English history. Don't let your perception of Queen Victoria dissuade you, as I almost did.

An Evening of Poetry

The Dover Public Library's Evening of Poetry will be held on Tuesday, May 11th @ 6:30pm in the Library Lecture Hall. We invite all students that participated in our 8th Annual Poetry Contest to come and share their poetry, and we encourage the general public to come and enjoy the readings. This is a really wonderful community event, and it is a pleasure to hear kids of all ages reciting their poems. Please join us in encouraging and supporting these young poets!

If You Like Alice Hoffman

If you enjoy the magical realism of Alice Hoffman, you may want to pick up the latest bookmark we have created for DPL readers called "If You like Alice Hoffman, Try".

A few of the titles we recommend are:

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb

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!