The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 was created to expand voter registration opportunities across the United States of America. This legislation entrusted Ohio libraries with the privilege of assisting citizens with certain voter services.
Whether you need to register to vote, request your absentee ballot, or read about the issues or candidates in an upcoming election, your local library is the place to do it. The Delaware County District Library has resources listed online at www.delawarelibrary.org/vote, and the staff at all locations are ready to help answer your questions this election season.
Any Delaware County District Library, or other public library in Ohio, is a safe location for citizens to complete voter registration forms, fill out absentee ballot request forms, or find reliable information from news sources on issues or candidates that they wish to research.
Local news coverage can be some of the best ways to see what’s happening on your ballot. Did you know that each branch of the Delaware County District Library receives paper copies of local news resources like the Delaware Gazette, ThisWeek Community Newspapers, and the Columbus Dispatch?
A quick visit to www.delawarelibrary.org/research can also connect you to digital archives of these and thousands more newspapers when you click on “Access World News from NewsBank.” Look through any of the quick links to access specific papers or coverage for a geographic area, or follow a link to learn more about a suggested topic of interest under “Politics and Government.”
Early voting and absentee voting are taking place now. Use your library to help you use your voice to vote this election season.
Our newest books on the shelf covering history and current events vary from women’s suffrage and WWII to “America’s Jack the Ripper” and the Titanic. Read through to see if any of these titles should be added to your library requests.
• “The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II” by Buzz Bissinger. Christmas Eve, 1944: Seeking respite from their duties in the Pacific Theater, the 4th and 29th United States Marine Regiments played a game of football to determine which team had the better players. Read it for a richly detailed chronicle of military life on the eve of the Battle of Okinawa. You may know Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Buzz Bissinger as the bestselling author of “Friday Night Lights.”
• “Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920-2020” by Elisabeth Griffith. An inclusive look at a century of women’s achievements and setbacks since the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Don’t miss the profiles of women whose contributions to the fight for equality have been forgotten or overlooked, including Dakota activist Zitkala-Sa and Mexican American labor organizer Dolores Huerta.
• “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis” by Beth Macy. Presenting journalist and Carnegie Medal finalist Beth Macy’s sobering and richly detailed follow-up to her award-winning “Dopesick.” “Raising Lazarus” focuses on frontline workers and communities tirelessly fighting to help those afflicted by opioid addiction.
• “American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper” by Daniel Stashower. Famed lawman Eliot Ness’ thwarted attempts to identify the Cleveland Torso Murderer, who killed and dismembered 12 known victims in the 1930s and was never apprehended. Read it for a nuanced portrait of Ness that illuminates his personal and professional flaws. Cleveland-born Edgar Award winner Daniel Stashower brings an insider’s knowledge to this evocative true crime tale.
• “Sinkable: Obsession, the Deep Sea, and the Shipwreck of the Titanic” by Daniel Stone. Discover the aftermath of the RMS Titanic’s sinking in 1912. Reviewers say the title “will compel even readers who think they already know too much about the Titanic to take a plunge into this fresh narrative” (Booklist).
