Enter the Peeps Show!

The Dover Public Library is looking for some creative peeps to enter our Peeps Show contest. Build a diorama using peeps of any color in a standard size shoe box. The theme is up to you; recreate a favorite scene from a movie or book, re-enact current or historical events, or use your peeps as social commentary.

Harry Peeper and the Deathly Mallows by Erica Perl

Children through age 12 can compete in the Kids Division, peeps, er, people ages 13- 17 can compete in the Teen Division, anyone 18 or older is invited to compete in the Adult Division.


On the back of your shoe box, please include your name, address, phone, age, and e-mail (if applicable), and title of your Peeps Show. The Peeps displays can be dropped off at the Dover Public Library beginning April 1st through April 10th. The Peeps will be displayed during National Library Week, April 12th through April 18th.


Peeps can be picked up Monday, April 20th - Friday, April 24th. All Peeps not picked up by the deadline will be discarded or eaten. Prizes in all categories will be awarded April 17th. The winner in each division will be awarded a $25.00 Target gift card.


Judging will be based on originality and creativity.

Have You Visited A Library Lately?

A front page story in the Sunday, March 15th issue of Foster’s Daily Democrat reported on the fate of the Rollinsford Public Library. Though very pleased about the vision and insight of those residents who voted to keep the town’s fledgling library open, and happy for the volunteers who worked so hard to make this dream come true, I was most distressed by one resident’s comment that a public library is “an institution rendered obsolete by the Internet.” My question is: Have you visited a public library lately?

This fallacy that the Internet would kill the use of libraries arose in the mid-90s, but was quickly dispelled. Tech-savvy librarians rose to the challenge and wisely embraced the Internet’s potential and integrated its use into our core services. Anyone who takes the time to discover the services in today’s modern public library will find things a far cry from the dusty archives of old. The Dover Public Library began to offer free Internet to its patrons beginning in late 1996 and just over 1800 people used the World Wide Web at the library in 1997. Today we have 10 Internet workstations which registered over 30,000 public Internet sessions during 2008. (And this doesn’t even count our Wi-Fi users who also get free Internet here on their own laptops.) Our librarians teach Internet searching skills and email basics; we offer 22 specialized online databases for researchers; there are thousands of free downloadable audio books available through our website (http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/ which had over 1.7 million hits last year). And of the 18,117 patron requests we filled last year in Dover, nearly 13,000 of these were placed online through our electronic card catalog.

So, if everyone is now using the Internet for everything, even in the library, well then book circulation must be down, right? Wrong! Use me as an example: I use the Internet probably as much as the next person, but my reading habits haven’t changed in the slightest. I still read printed books as much as I ever did (although I also admit to loving my Kindle!). Media- and book-related websites also do their part to spur good old-fashioned reading, a wonderful and rewarding pastime that will never be “obsolete”. The Dover Public Library’s circulation in 1998 was 267,785 items; in 2008, we lent 298,956 items, an 11.6% increase---all in the era of the Internet! So while we still fulfill our traditional role as book providers, libraries have managed to incorporate many cutting-edge, web-based services at the same time.

The library plays an even more important role as Americans face tough economic times. Patrons are visiting their library in even greater numbers to borrow free books, CDs, and movies and to attend free programs. Many studies have shown that in economic downturns, libraries become even busier. We are certainly experiencing this phenomenon in Dover as we hear about patrons dropping Netflix subscriptions to borrow our DVDs for free; checking out our paperbacks rather than spending $8 on a one-time read; getting their music and audio downloads from our CD collections for free; or attending our no-cost Saturday afternoon first-run-movie matinees.

Libraries everywhere are meeting the educational, informational and entertainment needs of their communities by providing a broad range of services for people of all ages and backgrounds. The citizens of Rollinsford are to be congratulated for recognizing that they have put in place not just a library, but a brand new community center and a valuable and important contributor to the quality of life in their town. I urge everyone who hasn’t been to their local library lately to come and “check us out”!

Cathleen Beaudoin
Director of the Dover Public Library

Grey Skies and Empty Book Shelves

Things were looking pretty bleak a few weeks ago; the skies were grey and the ground was covered with snow and ice. Worst of all, I was down to one book to read and there were no other novels around that caught my interest. Things are looking up now; the days are sunnier, things are melting, and some of my favorite novelists have released new titles!

Lisa Lutz has written another smile-inducing novel about the lunatic family of detectives, the Spellmans. In Revenge of the Spellmans, Izzy is hiding from her family in her brother's secret apartment, in danger of losing her bartending job, has a car that constantly goes missing, her sister Rae is accused of cheating on the PSATs, her brother David looks unkempt and is missing a lot of work, and Izzy's parents are pressuring her to commit to the family business.

Deanna Raybourn, who is a great favorite with many of the librarians, has written another novel about Lady Julia Grey, Silent on the Moor. The impulsive, strong willed Julia chases down the reclusive Brisbane and confronts him at his decrepit manor house on the isolated moor. My only complaint so far is the perfectly dreadful cover which makes it look like a frothy romance novel, rather than the dark Victorian mystery loaded with undercurrents and fascinating characters that it is really is.

Virgil Flowers is back in John Sandford's Heat Lightning. I have grown to vastly prefer the laconic, cool Flowers to the overblown ego of Sandford's other character, Lucas Davenport. This time Flowers is tracking down a killer who inserts a lemon into his victim's mouths, and has a connection to a disturbing incident during the Vietnam War. The audio book is terrific.

Last, but not least, is another entry in Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series. These are some of the best audio books I have heard. The narrator is wonderful, the opening music sets the mood of the roaring twenties, Australia makes for a vivid backdrop, and the clever, unconventional Phryne Fisher is a joy to follow. In Murder in Montparnasse, Phryne must find out killed two of friend's of Bert and Cec, which leads to events that happened in Paris during the first World War, and some dark memories from Phryne's past.

Things are definitely looking up; Spring is coming and I have a nice comforting stack of books to plow through.

7th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry Contest

The Dover Public Library is pleased to announce the 7th Annual Dover Public Library Poetry contest for grades K-12. Prizes will be awarded in six different categories: Grades K-2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, and 11 &12. Deadline for entry is April 13th. Students may pick up information about the contest at the Dover Public Library, any Dover school library, or at our website at http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/. All participants are invited to attend an “Evening of Poetry” on Tuesday, May 12th at 6:30pm; refreshments will be served. Students are invited to read their poetry at this event, but this will be purely voluntary. For more information about the contest please contact Denise LaFrance at 516-6082.

Another Look at Shakespeare

BBC News reports that the first portrait of Shakespeare painted during his lifetime has been unveiled in London. An art restorer recognized a painting in the National Portrait Gallery as a copy of a painting his family had owned for centuries. He and Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells subjected the painting to a battery of tests; tree-ring-dating to determine the age of the wood panel, X-ray examination, and infrared reflectography, which produced convincing evidence that the panel dated from around 1610 and was the source for the Folger painting of Shakespeare, as well as other portraits.

It is a fascinating story. Don't you think the portrait looks amazingly like Joseph Fiennes as the Bard in Shakespeare in Love?

Are You a Borrower or a Buyer?

"There are two kinds of people in the world, those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world and those who don't." Robert Benchley

I must fall into the first group because I have often thought that one is either of library user or one is not. I have been going to libraries ever since my mother brought me as a small child. We faithfully visited every week, stocking up on all sorts of books from Dr. Seuss to Laura Ingalls Wilder on to Louisa May Alcott. My husband, on the other hand, usually thinks of purchasing books rather than borrowing them from the Library. After years of impassioned pleas he has learned to ask if I can get a specific title for him rather than immediately running to the bookstore. I was interested to read a column in the Denver Post by Barry Osborne called "My Library Year; a Confirmed book-buyer disavows stores to discover the joys and savings of checking out public volumes". I suspect given the difficult economic times we will see many more confirmed book buyers become library borrowers.

What about you; are you a borrower or a buyer?

Antique Bicycle Display

Our art display this month is a little different. Zip Zamarchi is showcasing his antique bicycle collectibles and art collection. The penny farthing bike is well worth the visit and the vintage cycling posters are beautiful. There has been a great deal of discussion on how exactly one would get on this spectacular bicycle. I found a youtube video that gives a neat explanation and demonstration.

Listen Up!

Have you looked at the downloadable audiobooks recently? New titles are constantly being added. These are some of the latest titles that were added:

3 Willows Brashares, Ann
A Game of Thrones Martin, George R.R.
Assassination Vacation Vowell, Sarah
Birds of Prey Jance, J. A.
Bloody Jack Meyer, L. A.
Brides of Prairie Gold Osborne, Maggie
Category Five Donlay, Philip S.
Caught Stealing Huston, Charlie
Code Black Donlay, Philip
Curse of the Blue Tattoo Meyer, L. A.
Dark Challenge Feehan, Christine
Dark Fire Feehan, Christine
Dark Gold Feehan, Christine
Dark Magic Feehan, Christine
Defiance Tec, Nechama
Eclipse Patterson, Richard North
Eve Elliott, Elissa
Everlost Shusterman, Neal
Fire and Ice Garwood, Julie
He Comes Next Kerner, Ian
Heroes of the Valley Stroud, Jonathan
Just After Sunset King, Stephen
Lamb Moore, Christopher
Love in the Time of Colic Kerner, Ian
Mr. Timothy Bayard, Louis
Nothing to Fear Cohen, Adam
On the Grind Cannell, Stephen J.
Opening Atlantis Turtledove, Harry
Relic Preston, Douglas
Run for Your Life Patterson, James
Scat Hiaasen, Carl
She Comes First Kerner, Ian
Stonehenge Cornwell, Bernard
The Black Tower Bayard, Louis
The Bodies Left Behind Deaver, Jeffery
The Dante Club Pearl, Matthew
The Dawn Patrol Winslow, Don
The Eye of Jade Liang, Diane Wei
The First Man in Rome McCullough, Colleen
The Lost Witness Ellis, Robert
The Loved Dog Geller, Tamar
The Pluto Files Tyson, Neil deGrasse
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 Krugman, Paul
The Survivors Club Gardner, Lisa
The Unpossessed City Fasman, Jon
The Yankee Years Torre, Joe
Three Weeks to Say Goodbye Box, C. J.
Under the Jolly Roger Meyer, L. A.
With Wings Like Eagles Korda, Michael

A Dog in the Library?

Paws For Reading is designed to allow kids the chance to read to a non-judgmental listener who will accept the story exactly as they read it. This gives kids a chance to experience stress free reading. Children find themselves relaxing and having fun while reading! They come to think of themselves as good readers, which helps their self esteem and makes them eager to read. And eager readers practice their reading more often, leading to improved reading skill.

Dover Public Library is offering Paws For Reading in the Children's Room. Children ages 6 - 10 can read to Goldie, a Certified Therapy Dog, for a fifteen minute session.

Goldie will be available
Saturday, March 7 from 10:30 to 11:30 or
Tuesday, March 17 from 6:30 to 7:30.
Your child can bring a favorite book or choose from some of Goldie's recommended reads.

Sign up in the Children's Room.

Teddy Bear Sleepover

Twenty-eight teddy bears (or favorite stuffed animals) and their owners participated in the library's first "Teddy Bear Sleepover" event. All gathered in the Children's Room 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...

DVDs at the DPL

Did you know that the Library has almost 2000 DVDs ? You can find films for the kids, foreign movies, current releases, documentaries and classics. You can check them out for one week. Because DVDs are under heavy demand you won't be able to renew them; this ensures there will be plenty on the shelves for you to chose from. Be sure to get them back in time, DVD fines are $1.00 per day. You can have 5 DVDs out at a time, and just like checking out a book, its absolutely free with your Dover Public Library Card. Now that's a bargain!

Judge This Book's Cover

It has been a while since I gave a shout out to a book for great cover art, so here I go. Disquiet's cover really grabbed my attention. Doesn't it look intriguing?

The publisher's description reads, "Olivia arrives at her mother's chateau in rural France (the first time in more than a decade) with her two young children in tow. Soon the family is joined by Olivia's brother Marcus and his wife Sophie-but this reunion is far from joyful. After years of desperately wanting a baby, Sophie has just given birth to a stillborn child, and she is struggling to overcome her devastation. Meanwhile, Olivia wrestles with her own secrets about the cruel and violent man she married many years before. Exquisitely written and reminiscent of Ian McEwan and J. M. Coetzee, Disquiet is a darkly beautiful and atmospheric story that will linger in the mind long after the final page is turned."

Don't you want to read it now?

Cybil Award Winners Announced!

The Cybils are a series of book awards given by children’s and young adult book bloggers. The Cybils have only two criteria: literary merit and kid appeal. We don’t think those two values have to collide. There are books we want kids to read and books kids can’t resist. Somewhere in the middle, they meet.

The 2008-2009 winners are....

Easy Reader: I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems
Fantasy & Science Fiction Middle Grade: Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Fantasy & Science Fiction Young Adult: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I love this one!)
Fiction Picture Books: How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novel: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
Young Adult Graphic Novel: Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki (on order)
Middle Grade Fiction: The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

Young Adult Fiction: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Poetry: Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye

"Dover Reads" Kick-off Celebration

It's that time of year again when Dover reads its way into Spring! All are welcome to join us for the seventh annual "Dover Reads" kick-off celebration on Thursday, February 19th at the Children's Museum of New Hampshire from 4:30-5:30pm. There will be free admission to the museum for the celebration, face painting and materials to make your own bookmark!

"Dover Reads" is a citywide reading project, sponsored by the Dover School District Community Involvement Committee, which encourages everyone to read the same book to promote a sense of community and the joy of reading. This year, the committee has chosen books based on the life of Marley, the Grogan family's dog.

Titles to choose from are:

Marley & Me: life and love with the world's worst dog by John Grogan (adult)
Marley: a dog like no other by John Grogan(grades 3 & up)
Marley & Me: Meet Marley by Natalie Engle(grades 1 & 2)
Bad Dog, Marley! by John Grogan(Picture Book)

Special activities and events, such as the annual essay contest, the "Pennies for Pets" collection drive, a vacation week craft at the "Make-it, Take-it" craft table in the library's Children's Room, and the final celebration and awards ceremony, will be announced.

The Best Deal in Town!

An article entitled “Something for Nothing” in February 10th’s Boston Globe, claims that, in this economy, it’s now cool to be frugal. “Whereas we used to hide our thriftiness for fear of being ridiculed as a cheapskate, now we flaunt it like a badge of honor” says writer Johnny Diaz. One of the examples from the article cites a woman who now borrows all her movies from the public library and picks up museum passes there as well. Well, duh!!

If you’re one of those people trying to stretch every dollar, here’s a passel of excellent reasons to use your public library, the best bargain in town:

1.) Paperbacks now cost about $8 on average. Borrow them for free at the library instead; or, if you really want to own them, shop our booksale where you can purchase recent, like-new paperbacks for just $1 every day!

2.) Had to drop or cut back on your Internet service? Bring your laptop in and use the library’s free Wi-Fi. Or use our PC workstations for 90-minutes of free web access per day (for cardholders; non-cardholders get 20 minutes per day).

3.) Looking for a job? Beef up your test-taking skills by using our free Practice Test database which covers dozens of professions and careers.

4.) Give up Netflix and borrow our DVDs with your free library card. We get all the most popular films for adults and children as soon as they’re released on disk. We also have loads of TV series on DVD too. (In the interest of full disclosure, yes, we do charge fines if they’re late!)

5.) Cutting down on iTunes downloads? Borrow our music CDs instead. We have all the latest Grammy winners (and need I mention it's free?)

6.) An audiobook can cost $40 or more. Borrow our books on CD or download free books to your MP3 player through our website.

7.) Tackling those home repair jobs yourself now? We have all the fix-it books for do-it-yourself plumbers, electricians, gardeners, and remodelers.

8.) Confused about your investments and where to put your hard-earned money these days? We have all the latest financial advice books from Suze Orman to Harry Dent. All free for borrowing.

9.) We don’t have the book you need? We can search out and borrow most any volume you need through our extensive Interlibrary Loan service.

10.) Can’t afford to take your kids to expensive concerts and movies anymore? Our children’s story time programs and weekly film showings are always free. Bring your own popcorn!

11.) Buy softcover books for $2 and hardcovers for just $3 at the Friends’ continuous booksale. Even the bargain carts at Barnes & Noble can’t beat these prices. And you’ll be helping the Friends of the Library at the same time.

12.) Through April 15, get your taxes done for free at the library through the AARP’s Tax Assistance Program. Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning from 9am to 12Noon. The library also has all the tax forms you’ll need.

The operative word here is FREE! Use the library frequently and we promise you’ll save hundreds of dollars annually! Or use our Library Worth Calculator http://www.dover.lib.nh.us/calculator/DPLcalculator.htm and figure out the savings for yourself!

The Library Will Be Closed Monday

The Library will be closed Monday, February 16, in honor of Presidents' Day.

Mean Librarian Tricks

You come in innocently going straight to your favorite section of the Library, the knitting books, the music books, the art books, the sports books, only to find them all GONE! What could have possibly happened to all those wonderful books leaving only empty shelves? Fear not, we Librarians have moved things on you once again. The books in the 700s have all moved down to the main floor, which is actually much nicer for you. No more dragging yourself up the stairs and hauling armloads of big books downstairs. It will be nicer for our teen readers too, who will finally have a bit more space for their favorite spot in the Library, which has been heavily used and very crowded. Watch this space; more mean Librarian tricks to come.... what will move next?

Happy 200th Birthday, Abe!

How many books have been published about Abraham Lincoln? I tried to find out, but the answers varied widely. The New Yorker mentioned "over 15,000 since his death"; the Library of Congress's catalog gave me over 7,300 books with keyword "Lincoln", and our own library has well over 100 Lincoln titles for all ages.

And it seems there's been at least one new book a week recently in honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth on February 12, 1809. The subject of our 16th president never seems to grow old and Doris Kearns Goodwin's 2005 history, Team of Rivals, has seen a huge resurgence in popularity after President Obama was observed reading it. Also popular has been Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.

Here's some our most recent Lincoln purchases:

Lincoln: the Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan

Lincoln, President-elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860-1861 by Harold Holzer

President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman by William Lee Miller

Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief by James M. McPherson

Lincoln and Douglas: the Debates that Defined America by Allen C. Guelzo

Big Enough to be Inconsistent: Abraham Lincoln Confronts Slavery and Race by George M. Fredrickson

Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War by Craig L. Symonds

PLUS... on Tuesday evening February 17, the Library will host a special appearance by Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln at 7pm. "The Long and the Short of It" by Lincoln presenters Steve and Sharon Wood will re-enact scenes from the 1861 White House and, as the president and First Lady, will reminiscence about their long political journey begun in Springfield, IL. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library, this exciting and timely program is free and refreshments will follow. Please join us!

Chris Benedetto as a Union soldier, Steve Wood as Abe Lincoln, and Sharon Wood as Mary Todd Lincoln, ca. 1861.

Library Hero

Pilot Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger, of Hudson River fame, is now not only a hero to the passengers and crew he saved, but he is a hero in the library world. Apparently Mr. Sullenberger had checked out a book from his local library, and the book was on the plane with him, and might still be floating down the Hudson. Mr. Sullenberger called his library to explain the situation and ask for an extension and a waiver of overdue fines. Wow--now that is a sense of responsibility. I am thinking that he probably had a few things on his mind, besides his library book, like all the requests for interviews and requests for his presence at little things like the inauguration of the President. The book was on the topic of ethics, which Mr. Sullenberger seems to know a few things about. It is nice to see that Mr. Sullenberger not only uses his local library, but respects his privileges. The library not only waived his fines, but they will be replacing the book in his honor.

P.S. I Loathe You

Did that grab your attention? That is #10 in the Clique series of young adult books by Lisi Harrison, and it is being released today. This is my favorite series of books that I have never read. I have no desire to read them, but the snarky book titles always make me chuckle. Here is the complete list for your reading pleasure:

1. The Clique (boring!)
2. Best Friends for Never
3. Revenge of the Wannabes
4. Invasion of the Boy Snatchers
5. The Pretty Committee Strikes Back
6. Dial L for Loser
7. It's Not Easy Being Mean
8. Sealed with a Diss (my personal favorite)
9. Bratfest at Tiffany's
10. P.S. I Loathe You (look for this one on our shelves soon)
11. Boys "R" Us (coming out in July)