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02 19, 2019

Life & Legacy of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

By admin|2019-02-19T06:00:03-05:00February 19, 2019|

Our Civil War series continues with the hero of Little Round Top – well, certainly one of the heroes – Brevet Major-General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

Many of us know about the heroics of the 20th Maine at Gettysburg. But what about the injury that nearly killed him during the Siege of Petersburg? His tenure as governor? His troubled marriage?

Learn all about the life and legacy of Chamberlain from the experts at James A. Garfield National Historic Site.

By the way, Chamberlain was a prolific author in his own right, and you can borrow his Passing of the Armies from our library. You can also borrow The Killer Angels, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that renewed Chamberlain’s celebrity and inspired Gettysburg.

Our Civil War series continues at noon on Wednesday, March 13, at our Main Branch. We’ll learn about Cleveland’s Civil War Soldiers & Sailors Monument. As always, the talk is free and open to all.

By the way, if you’re interested in Civil War history, several talks in our Civil War series can be viewed online in their entirety, including:

02 14, 2019

5 fascinating facts about League Park

By admin|2019-02-14T06:00:58-05:00February 14, 2019|

Ken Krsolovic and Bryan Fritz talk about the legendary League Park in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Mentor Public Library.

Local authors and sports fans Ken Krsolovic and Bryan Fritz visited us earlier this week to talk about League Park – the legendary home of the Cleveland Indians for decades.

Here are five fascinating facts that we learned from listening to Krsolovic and Fritz.

1. One of the best pitchers the game has ever seen pitched for the Cleveland Spiders on League Park’s first Opening Day in 1891 – none other than Cy Young.

He’d pitch several more opening day games there before his retirement (and he’d win all but one of them.)

The authors brought artifacts with them, including a piece of League Park’s Great Wall.

2. Nap Lajoie was such a big star that when he came to Cleveland they renamed the team for him. However, when he joined the Cleveland Bronchos in 1902, he was in the midst of a legal kerfuffle with his previous team, the Phillies.

Due to an existing contract with the Phillies, a judge declared that Lajoie could only play baseball for them. However, an enterprising lawyer discovered that the injunction could only be enforced in Pennsylvania.

Consequently, when the Bronchos/Naps played the Athletics in 1902 and most of 1903, Lajoie would visit Atlantic City, instead. Peace wasn’t made between the National and American Leagues until 1903 with an agreement that also created the World Series.

3. League Park was initially constructed entirely of wood. But, by 1909, wood was no good.

More modern stadiums were made of steel and concrete. They could fit more seats, which meant more fans and more money.

For its upgrade, the Cleveland team relied on the legendary Osborn Engineering firm, which also designed Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Comiskey Park.

Most importantly, Osborn was then and still is headquartered in Cleveland.

4. League Park was the site of the Cleveland Indians first World Series victory in 1920. The Indians beat the Brooklyn Robins 5-2, which looks like a typo unless you know that from 1919 to 1921 the World Series was best of nine.

While the Indians won, no Robin had a worse series than Cleveland native Rube Marquard. Not only did his team lose, but he was convicted of ticket scalping (his punishment: $1 fine and $2.80 in court costs) and his wife divorced him the same week.

Marquard got something like the last laugh, seeing as he’s since been inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame.

5. League Park was also the scene of Joe DiMaggio’s 56th and final game in his legendary hitting streak.

The streak ended July 17, 1941 against the Indians in Cleveland Stadium. (The Indians would play weekday or afternoon games in League Park, which they owned. But they’d play weekend games, especially against more popular opponents, at the larger Cleveland Stadium.)

For more fun stories from League Park history, read Krsolovic and Fritz’s League Park: Historic Home of Cleveland Baseball, 1891-1946. You can borrow one of our copies

01 30, 2019

FAQs about CLEVNET

By admin|2019-01-30T06:00:18-05:00January 30, 2019|

Happy children are reading book on the floor with group of books around them

Mentor Public Library is joining CLEVNET this May. And we’re happy to answer any questions that you may have.

You may have already heard the news. Mentor Public Library is joining CLEVNET!

We hope you’re excited, but you may also have questions. When? How? Will I need a new library card? Fortunately, we have answers.

1. Why did we transfer from SearchOhio to CLEVNET?

The library is switching to CLEVNET for a couple of reasons. One, we recently hosted focus groups and surveyed hundreds of our patrons while revising our strategic plan. And one of the most common requests – if not THE most common – was for us to join CLEVNET. (If you’re curious, other popular requests were for private study rooms and more outlets – both of which we’ve added to the Main Branch.)

Two, as more of our neighbors join CLEVNET (both Morley and Geauga Public Libraries joined recently,) it becomes a more convenient and attractive service to our patrons.

CLEVNET is a consortium of 45 library systems (soon to be 46) across 12 counties with more than 12 million items available for borrowing. All of the public libraries in Lake and Geauga County participate, which means you’ll only need one card for every library in the county. Additionally, once we join CLEVNET, you’ll be able to return items at all of these libraries, as well.

2. When will you get access to CLEVNET?

We will join CLEVNET on Monday, May 6. There’s nothing you need to do. Your card will automatically continue to work both here and at every other CLEVNET library.

3. When will I lose access to SearchOhio and OhioLINK?

The cutoff date is March 17. You will be able to receive your requested item as long as you order it by then.

4. Will access to OverDrive, Hoopla, Freegal or other digital media change?

Generally speaking, no. You’ll still be able to stream music and video with Hoopla, Freegal and Kanopy, borrow digital magazines with Flipster, and use ebooks and e-audiobooks like you did before.

However, you may notice one subtle change with OverDrive – that you have more options than ever. You’ll now have access to the shared CLEVNET ebook collection, one of the largest in the country. But you’ll still get first priority on digital materials that Mentor Public Library purchases.

5. What will happen if I already have a Mentor Public Library card and a card with another CLEVNET library?

You will have to choose which card you want to keep as your “home library.”

And there are some distinct advantages to sticking with Mentor. You’ll keep access to all of our digital services, including:

Hoopla for streaming music, video and audiobooks, as well as ebooks and comics
Freegal for music
Kanopy for top-shelf movies and documentaries from around the world
Flipster for digital editions of your favorite magazine
Niche Academy for video tutorials on how to use digital resources, including social media

If you choose to make another library your “home,” you’ll lose access to these services unless the other library also offers them.

6. Will I have to wait longer for items I request?

Wait time for any item depends on copies available and demand. Consequently, you’ll sometimes get items more quickly with CLEVNET and sometimes there may be a longer wait. However, Mentor Public Library patrons will always get first priority for requests on items owned by Mentor Public Library.

7. What if I prefer SearchOhio?

We realize that there’s no perfect collection out there. There’s always going to be some book or film missing from CLEVNET, SearchOhio… any library consortium.

The good news is that you don’t really have to choose. The library at Lakeland Community College and Lake Erie College are part of SearchOhio and OhioLink. And you don’t need to be a student at either college to get a library card there. At Lakeland, you can get a Community Borrower card, which lets you check out up to five items at a time, for free. All you need is a photo ID with a current address. (If your ID doesn’t have your current address, just bring a utility bill that does.)

8. Any additional benefits of joining CLEVNET?

Using CLEVNET is simple. As a card holder, you can:

borrow materials, place holds and have items delivered to any of the participating CLEVNET libraries in 12 counties using one library card.
return CLEVNET materials to any library in the consortium. Items will automatically be checked in at the returning CLEVNET library and sent back to the owning library.
access to new Research Databases you’ll have FREE access to, including Morningstar Investments and Reference USA.
connect to its eMedia services. Once again, Clevnet offers one of the largest and most extensive collection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and streaming video.

Also, through resource sharing and with additional negotiating power, joining CLEVNET will save the library money in the long run.

If you have additional questions about CLEVNET, feel free to ask our staff.

01 29, 2019

Take Holden Home with You

By admin|2019-01-29T06:00:23-05:00January 29, 2019|

Mentor Public Library now has books from Holden's Corning Library that you can borrow.

Mentor Public Library now has horticulture, gardening and books from Holden Forests & Gardens’ Corning Library that you can borrow with your library card.

Library lovers and green thumbs alike can take a piece of Holden Forests & Gardens home with them.

In addition to a gorgeous arboretum in Kirtland, Holden Forests & Gardens also has a spectacular collection of gardening, horticulture, environmental and botany books at Corning Library within Holden Arboretum.

Dozens of Corning Library’s books are now available to borrow at our Main Branch. Thanks to a partnership between libraries, you can use your cards to check out books from this special collection. Our typical lending rules apply.

01 27, 2019

International Holocaust Remembrance Day: The Infamous Auschwitz

By admin|2019-01-27T06:00:14-05:00January 27, 2019|

Each year, our resident historian Dr. John Foster hosts a special program for International Holocaust Day.

In past years, he’s discussed the Nuremberg Trials, rise of National Socialism in Germany, and origins of the Nazi’s Final Solution.

This year, his topic was Auschwitz, the most notorious of Nazi Germany’s death camps. He discussed its grisly purpose, some of its most famous survivors, and the overwhelming evidence that it served as a death camp.

By the way, each year Foster gives a series of lectures about American history. His previous topics include the Battles of World War II and US Presidents of the 20th Century. This year, he’ll discuss the American Revolution.

The series begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, at our Main Branch. The topic is the origins of the Revolution.

Finally, if you’re interested, most of Foster’s previous historical talks can be viewed in their entirety on our YouTube channel.

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