Strafford News

Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on September 1.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month and Dover Public Library wants to see a card in your hands! We also want our name on a trophy, but more on that later.

If you live, work or go to school in Dover then you can get a library card for FREE. Just bring in a photo ID and proof of Dover residency, employment or school enrollment and a librarian can set you up with a card that same day. You can also sign up for a library card online by visiting tinyurl.com/DoverPLCard.

If you do not live, work or go to school in Dover there is a fee associated with the card, but we do have discounts for seniors and veterans. We also offer free temporary cards for those in transitional housing or without homes (please see a librarian for more information). 

Phew. Now that’s out of the way we can talk more about the trophy and why your librarians are being extra competitive this September.

Last year the libraries of New Hampshire were introduced to the annual Granite State Library Card Challenge. All libraries in New Hampshire compete to see who has the largest increase of library card holders by the end of September. If you win, your library’s name gets put on the illustrious Granite State Library Card Challenge Trophy. We REALLY want our name on that trophy. That’s why we’re upping our game this month. 

If you already have a library card, we love you. You’re the best! But that won’t help us so we want to offer you a little incentive. For EVERY friend or family member you bring in to get a library card, we will give you a FREE book from our October book sale (and you know how awesome that book sale is.) 

If you don’t have a library card yet, we’re not going to preach about why reading is so great for you because we’re positive you’ve heard that enough. Instead we want you to know about all the wonderful things you can do at the library – aside from reading! Are you shocked that we are saying that? Good! 

Blockbusters may be a thing of the past, but you know who still has DVDs to check out? Dover Public Library does! Save your $2 renting a movie from Redbox and instead take out a movie from your library for FREE. We’re always adding to our collection, getting new movies and TV series. We even have an app called Hoopla Digital that allows you to stream movies from home! If you can’t find what you want, we have a wonderful service called Inter-Library Loan where we can get it lent from another library in the state. This means your movie rental possibilities are endless! (Or at least as endless as the number of movies available in all the New Hampshire libraries.) 

Lose your ring in the grass again? Have no fear, the library is here! Use our metal detector to track it down. Does your bike have a flat tire? We have a pump for that! Does that intricate woodworking project need a brad nail gun? You’re in luck! We even have the tools you need to screen print your own t-shirts, learn rug hooking and make jewelry in our Makerspace Tools collection. You’re going to hear this word a lot, but with your library card it’s all FREE to take out. We even have a subscription to Creativebug that allows you to take over 1,000 Art and Craft classes online!

If genealogy is more your thing, you’ve come to the right place. We not only have a wonderful Historical Room full of original documents from Dover history, but also access to Ancestry and Heritage Quest, two wonderful databases that allow you to search through census records, birth and death certificates, family history books, vital statistics, and military records. Dover Public Library even has historical maps, and newspapers on microfilm dating back to 1796. We’re a great place to start your research!

Still not convinced? We’re sure somewhere on your bucket list you’ve put “learn a new language” and we have a database to help you with that! Mango uses fun games to teach you how to read and speak Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, and more in no time! You can even learn our favorite language of all – Pirate! Arrrg Matey!  If you’ve already learned all there is to know and just need to pass the next test, we’ve got you covered there too. Learning Express has over 300 practice tests including SAT, GED, Firefighter, Real Estate Sales, Paramedic and ASVAB. 

Libraries are no longer just about books, but if the traditional fare is what you’re looking for we have over 80,000 for you to check out. 

And, once again, all this and more can be yours for FREE with a library card! 

Have we persuaded you to get a card yet? We don’t have any sad looking puppies with Sarah McLachlan playing in the background, but we can tell you every time a card goes unsigned somewhere in the world a librarian sheds a single tear. You don’t want the tears of the world’s librarians on your hands, do you? 

Sorry, drastic times call for drastic measures. Also, we still really want to win that trophy.

If we have finally broken you and you’d like to sign up for a card, remember to speak to a librarian at the Dover Public Library or sign up online at tinyurl.com/DoverPLCard. You’ll be glad you did!

For more information on Dover Public Library, visit library.dover.nh.gov or call (603) 516-6050. Fall library hours begin September 7 and are Monday-Thursday 9 AM-8:30 PM, Friday-Saturday 9 AM-5 PM, and Sunday 1 PM to 5 PM. The library will be closed for Labor Day weekend September 4-6.

Original source can be found here.