News
How to Change your Font in Overdrive
Dyslexic-friendly fonts can make reading easier – and now they’re available for ebooks downloaded through the Library’s online library using Overdrive!
To switch fonts in the Overdrive app, touch the Settings button.
Then touch Font Style. 
Then select the font you want and go back to reading your ebook!
If you’re new to the online library and want help setting up the app on your device, or are having problems using it, stop by and see us – we’ll do our best to help!
Read On! Books & Brews
It’s time for our monthly Books & Brews meeting at the Fat Toad. This month, we’ll discuss Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” a sort of retelling of “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Instead of the main character being raised by a pack of wolves in a jungle, he is raised by a haunt of ghosts in a graveyard.
“The Graveyard Book” was my choice for the group. Mostly because Neil Gaiman may be my favorite author ever. I love the way he begins a story with many disparate threads only to weave them all together into a single fabric and I love the characters he brings to life. “The Graveyard Book” is not my favorite of Gaiman’s works, but I felt like it would be a nice choice for the Books & Brews folks. It begins with murder, then features a boy who finds adventures with graveyard creatures. There’s a lot of discussion material between its covers.
It’s the only book to win both the Newbery in the U.S. and the Carnegie in the U.K. so it is well received among the toughest critics. The Newbery Award is awarded to “the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The Carnegie Award is awarded to “the writer of an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.” Dave McKean’s illustration style enhances Gaiman’s writing incredibly well even though he didn’t win any awards for his contribution.
There’s still time to read “The Graveyard Book” before our meeting on Saturday, April 6th from 1 – 3 PM. Or don’t read it and come anyway. We won’t judge. The first hour we meet is reserved for socializing and the book discussion is in the second hour. No one is required to purchase anything in order to join us and we have a nice mix of men and women of all ages. You don’t even have to be 21 to enter the brewery anymore!
Read On! Improving Your Library
As you may know, the voters of Pryor are allowing the City to extend a bond that will fund a new police/fire station, library additions and renovations, as well as many other projects. Your library staff is so excited about our portion of this bond money! It gives us the unique ability to carry out the vision of the library we helped form in the Comprehensive Plan.
The biggest need we identified is more space for people to gather, study, and be comfortable in the library. The bond money will help us meet that need with the addition of a large meeting room that can be divided into two rooms and will be accessible to groups after hours. We’ll also get four study rooms. The new meeting room will be on the far east side of the building and the study rooms will be on the south side outside the adult computer lab.
As we have been allowed to add staff back, our second need became apparent. We need more space for staff to work behind the scenes, take their breaks and meals, and store their belongings. This need will be met with an addition to and remodel of our current office area. We will get a new, functional kitchen (the current one has plumbing issues), work areas for projects that need uninterrupted attention, and a new break area.
Our third addition will have the potential for dual use. We’re getting a special room that can act as a “Makerspace” – a space for patrons to make things – and additional storage/workspace for staff. The “maker” portion will house equipment for patrons to use. (We’re thinking a sewing machine and 3D printer to start.) The details of this third space are still forming, but we love the potential it has.
If you’d like to see architectural drawings of where the additions will be, we’ve got them at the front desk. We’d love to share them with you!
Read On! Help for Job Seekers
Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash
Much to the dismay of some of my friends and family, my quest to answer questions and promote library resources doesn’t stop when I leave the library. I’ve recommended books to people while standing in the checkout line at Walmart, I’ve researched information for people while at church (never during the sermon, Rev. Hubbard), and I’ve fact-checked many a Facebook post while scrolling in my pjs.
I sing the praises of our Learning Express subscription every chance I get. It’s an amazing resource for anyone who needs to study for a standardized test like the GED, ACT, GRE, etc. and it’s a robust and helpful tool for job-seekers. So when a friend posted on Facebook looking for advice and suggestions for a career change, I sent him the link to our “Research & Resources” page and instructions for how to get to Learning Express.
Learning Express has resources to help explore different career options, quizzes to take to determine what careers best match your interests and skills, and study guides for entrance exams. The Job and Career Accelerator portion of Learning Express also has resume and cover letter help as well as built-in job searching (using Indeed). While Learning Express may not be the one-stop-shop for job seekers, it’s certainly a good first step.
You can access our Learning Express resources anywhere you have an internet connection and your library card number. From our website (pryorlibrary.org) click “Use the Library” and then find the link to “Research & Resources.” On that page, scroll down until you see the light bulb.
Fun fact: This is my 52nd “Read On!” article! I absolutely love writing these and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to share with you the happenings at your Pryor Public Library in this format. Here’s to many more articles and many more weeks!