Read On! First Day

I’m writing this while sitting outside on the Library’s front porch monitoring the number of people in each section of the building. I’m lucky that it’s a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and a nice, cool breeze. 

This workstation and the procedures here are new and I feel clumsy and sluggish. I have to remember to ask everyone which area of the building they think they’ll be in most of the time, which is awkward and feels invasive. It’s a necessary question now, though. We have guidelines in place about the number of people in each area, so we have to keep track. I’ve got a tally sheet to help me make sure I’m not letting too many people in, but I keep forgetting who was where so I can cross off the right people when they come out. I know this will get easier. Luckily, I have a great staff who will laugh with me when I ask for the third time how many patrons are in the building. 

As a staff, we decided we would wear masks while we’re open, so I’m trying to get used to having a cloth mask on all the time. It was made by my friend and I love it, but I seriously regret having tuna for lunch. Otherwise, the mask isn’t too bad. I know it’s an added protection for our patrons, which makes it worth a little discomfort.

I will be honest and say I was pretty nervous about opening back up. There is so much we don’t know about this Coronavirus. Not knowing and not being able to find out easily bothers me a lot. Plus, it’s a stressful time for our entire world, which makes people behave differently than they would normally. I’m happy to report that everyone who has come in so far has been delightful and patient. We are so thankful for that! 

For anyone who doesn’t want to come into the building, we still have curbside pickup available. Give us a call and we’ll get you taken care of.

Read On: official reopening

The Pryor Library is officially reopening our doors to the public this week. I have a lot of thoughts about reopening and oscillate between feelings of anxiety and trepidation and hope with a hint of glee.

I feel like our plan to ease into reopening under the guidance of the Governor, the Health Department, and the CDC is a good one. This week, we will limit the number of people in the building to a total of 11 (but with specified numbers for each area) and require appointments for computer and copier use. 

We’re asking everyone to enter the building through the East parking lot doors. There will be a staff member stationed there who can answer questions and let everyone know what to expect when you get inside. We are not requiring patrons to wear masks, but we do encourage it. 

You can return materials to our outside drop box or to the staff person at the door. All materials will be wiped down with a bleach solution and quarantined for 3-4 days before being reshelved or checked back out. We need the meeting room to do this, so we have to cancel all meetings and events (including the summer events) that would have been held in the meeting room.

There is compelling evidence that staying inside a public place for prolonged periods of time with others who may be infected increases the risk of contracting the virus (even with physical distancing and masks), so we will encourage everyone to make their library trips as quick as possible and not to linger. 

We have worked hard to make the library fun and inviting, so limiting access to the building in this way is rough on your library staff. We are confident this is temporary and we’ll be back to our normal shenanigans soon. 

We can’t wait to see your faces (possibly in masks), we just can’t see them for very long yet.

Read On! Social Distancing

We have a new phrase in our national lexicon: “social distancing,” the act of intentionally distancing yourself from others in an effort to “flatten the curve” (another new phrase) of how rapidly COVID-19 (coronavirus) is transmitted. 

As much as we love face-to-face service for our community, your Library has a wealth of options for you as you socially distance! 

We are a member of the OK Virtual Library consortium that subscribes to Overdrive, providing downloadable books, audiobooks, and videos. You can have six Overdrive items at a time for two weeks. Everything automatically returns when due. 

If you’re trying to entertain children at home, be sure to check out Tumblebooks for storybooks, chapter books, games, puzzles, and videos. Tumblebooks even has some books in Spanish and French. 

If you want to use your time learning, we highly recommend our Mango app for language learning. For more traditional learning and practice on almost any standardized test, check out our Learning Express and Job & Career Accelerator resource. 

Our Ancestry.com service isn’t available to anyone outside the Library’s building, but we do have a subscription to Fold3, which can get you started on some genealogical or historical research. It is especially rich in military service information. 

If you don’t want to wade through YouTube ads while learning a new hobby, you should use our Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center. It has written and illustrated instructions on all sorts of creative endeavors. 

To access these resources, grab your library card number and head to our website (pryorlibrary.org). Select the “Use the Library” tab then choose “Research and Resources” to explore. If you have trouble, give us a call or shoot us a message through email (admin@pryorlibrary.org) or Facebook (@thjppl).