Read On! Check your Library account online

When we upgraded our library software in December, our online library catalog gained some neat features. There’s too much for one column, so I’ll focus on the “My Account” features.

When you sign in to your account using your library card number and your last name, you can access the “My Account” area. The default tab is “Account Info” which shows you the contact information we have on record for you, any fines you owe, and how much money you’ve saved this year by using your library.

The “Notifications” tab lets you decide how you want the library to contact you. In addition to a phone call or email, we can text you. And you can text us back! The text-back feature includes the ability to renew books.

The third tab, “Items Out/Renewals” shows you what items you have checked out and gives you the ability to renew your items online.

If you’re looking for an item the library doesn’t own, the “Reserves/Requests” will be your favorite tab. Using the options here, you can request that we purchase an item for the library’s collection (and put you on hold for it) or seek the item from another library through our Inter-Library Loan (ILL).

I use the “Bookmarks” tab as a kind of wish list. I bookmark items I’m interested in, then when I’m ready to find books at the library I use this tab to quickly find what’s checked in.

The last tab is your “History” where you can find what you’ve checked out. This is handy if you want to keep track of what you read, if you forget where you left off on a series, or if you just like lists. You have the ability to opt out of this feature, if you wish.  

If you have questions about the features in our catalog, please let us know. To get to the catalog, go to pryorlibrary.org, then click on the “Use the Library” tab, then the “Search the Library” link. 

Read On! Fitness & Food

This year is going so quickly! Here we are in May. If you’re like many, May means the sudden realization that summer is coming. And summer coming means reevaluating that hastily made New Year’s resolution. You know the one. How’s it going? Yep. Me too.

If you want to reinvigorate a long-term goal of getting healthier, your library has you covered. From books about exercise and nutrition to cookbooks that will get you out of a cooking rut (or inspire you to start cooking with all the fruits and veggies coming into season), our collection is a good place to get inspiration.

Our staff will always help you find what you need, but if you’d like a place to start browsing, head over to the nonfiction collection. Generally speaking, diet and nutrition books are shelved at 613.2 while exercise plans are at 613.7. “Learning to Breathe Fire,” a book about Crossfit, is on my short list of things to check out.

For inspiration in the kitchen, check out 641.5. That’s where the cookbooks live. My spring project is to check out cookbooks and copy recipes for my personal library. “101 One-Dish Dinners” is my current favorite, but I’m pretty sure “300 Slow Cooker Favorites” will move up the list soon.

The above Dewey Decimal numbers will get you started, but it’s worth browsing beyond those general numbers in order to catch books that have a more specific focus. If you’re looking for something particular like the Paleo diet or cooking for diabetes, it’s worth asking staff or checking our catalog to save you some time.

You can access our catalog by going to www.pryorlibrary.org and clicking “Search the Library.” Our ebooks and downloadable audiobooks will come up in your searches too, so don’t forget about Overdrive.

Always remember: the best way to have a beach body is to take your body to the beach.

Read On! Children’s Book Week

Happy Children’s Book Week! This surprisingly little-known literacy initiative is celebrating its 99th year this week. Children’s Book Week is grounded in the idea that “children’s books and literacy are life-changers” and encourages us to spread the joy of reading to young people.

In 1919 when Children’s Book Week started, we didn’t have the studies, data, or technology of today. The founders relied on their own observations as librarians and publishers to assert the life-changing nature of being read to and learning to love reading at a young age. Now, virtually every study verifies what the founders of Children’s Book Week knew almost 100 years ago: Reading to kids and inspiring kids to love reading makes them more successful adults.

It’s never too early to start reading to children – in utero, in the hospital, whenever. And if you missed those early days, it’s never too late to start either. We’ve got lots of books to choose from in our collection (and staff happy to help you find good stuff), but reading magazine articles (or this article!) to your kids also counts. Children are more likely to copy the behaviors they see in the adults in their lives, so it’s important for us to show them that reading is an enjoyable and valuable way to spend time. Plus, talking to kids about what everyone is reading is super fun!

To celebrate Children’s Book Week, the Pryor Library is doing several things. In addition to normal librarian duties, our Youth Services staff made paper fortune tellers for our after-school crowd that are designed as a fun way for them to start thinking of or writing their own stories; we will have a special craft on Wednesday morning for toddlers; and we will celebrate with our 3rd Graders Go To Work class during their visit. Come by and help us celebrate!

The Reader by Traci Chee

 

“The Reader” by Traci Chee is set in an illiterate world full of islands and dangerous seas. Told through intertwining narratives, THIS story centers around Sefia, a young woman running with her aunt Nin from an unknown and terrifying assassin. This assassin is responsible for the brutal killing of Sefia’s father. Among her limited possessions, Sefia is carrying a rectangular object – a BOOK – with a mysterious insignia on the cover. When Nin is captured by the assassin, Sefia vows to follow and rescue Nin. To do this, Sefia HAS to refine her survival skills and begins using the book to teach herself to read. Along her journey, Sefia rescues a stranger being held captive in a box displaying the same insignia as her book. This stranger, who has SECRETS of his own, resolves to help Sefia find her aunt and take revenge on the assassin.

“The Reader” offers a unique reading experience. Not only is the plot compelling, the mysteries within the text make you question whether the titular reader is Sefia or the person holding Sefia’s story. I advise those who follow Sefia on her journey to do so with a notebook and to heed the advice of the preface: “Look Closer.” This book has secrets.

I chose “The Reader” as our first discussion book for the newly created Books & Brews Club. We meet the first Saturday of every month at Fat Toad Brewing from 1 – 3 pm. The first hour of our meeting is devoted to socializing and whatnot. The second hour is devoted to book and other discussions. This is a very relaxed book club in a very relaxed setting. No purchase is necessary to participate in our meetings, but you do have to be 21 or older to attend. We will discuss “The Reader” at our April 7th meeting. You can check out “The Reader” at the library or buy it at The Book Exchange.