Posts by Cari
Read On! Donations
Different libraries have different views on receiving donated materials (everyone loves cash donations). Here at your Pryor Public Library, we are excited about them! They save us money and help supply our sales and free carts.
Generally speaking, when you donate an item (book, DVD, etc), one of three things happens:
- If it meets our selection criteria, we’ll add it to the collection. If it’s a title we already own, we’ll compare the two and keep the one in better condition.
- If we aren’t adding it to the collection, but we think someone might spend a few cents on it, we’ll put it on our sale shelves. Paperbacks are $0.10, everything else is $0.25. (We make about $1,500 from our sale shelves each year, which is awesome!)
- If it’s not something we think someone will spend money on (it’s older, a textbook, a VHS tape, a Reader’s Digest Condensed book, etc.), we’ll put it on our free cart. Those items are for anyone who wants them.
Occasionally, we’ll have to recycle or throw away donations. That usually happens if the items are dirty/moldy, have been outside long enough to attract insects, or are falling apart. (A good rule to follow about donating items: If you don’t want to touch it, we don’t want to touch it.)
We add just under 1,000 donated items every year, which saves us a considerable amount of money (I’d estimate $5,000 to $10,000 a year). We still have to process donations, which takes time and resources (and is the main reason some libraries decide to decline donated items), but we think it’s worth it.
Sometimes, donations help us add entirely new services. Thanks to the generosity of Pryor’s FTW, we are able to loan video games for the first time ever! We only have Xbox 360 games right now, but should get more soon.
Your donations help a lot. Thank you for thinking of us!
Read On! Fake News
Information is power. Unfortunately, false information disguised as truth cons us into giving up that power, so it’s important to fight back. The internet, where those under age 50 get half of their news, is the preferred battlefield for this power struggle.
At the library, we will always help you evaluate the information you find, but here are some things you can do on your own:
Make sure you’re getting information from legitimate sites. Look at the web address. “ABCNews.com” is very different from “ABCNews.com.co.” The “.co” site really wants you to believe it’s legitimate, but it’s not.
Don’t be afraid to read a site’s “About Us” page and look at other stories by that reporter. This is also a good time to make sure you’re not on a satirical news site like The Onion.
Online information tends to be more lax in grammar and punctuation than printed news, but if there are a lot of spelling errors and excessive CAPS or punctuation, you should be suspicious about the information they’re giving you. Journalists and news sources have standards for publications and employ staff who ensure their reporters meet those standards.
In an article, look at who is quoted and whose quotes are missing. Are both sides represented? Was there an attempt to represent both sides?
Can you find the information somewhere else? Have multiple reputable sources reported on this topic? How old is the information? Sometimes fake news sources like to recycle older stories out of context to make them seem more outrageous.
Last, but not least, there are fact-checking sites doing a lot of this work for you. There are several to choose from (factcheck.org, politifact.com, snopes.com, truthorfiction.com, etc.) and it’s a good idea to check more than one.
It’s a lot of work to vet your news, but it’s worth it.
Read On! Tulsa Race Riot/Massacre Exhibit
I remember briefly learning about the Greenwood District and the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot/Massacre in high school. The lessons made an impact, but it wasn’t until the Race Riot/Massacre was mentioned in the HBO show “The Watchmen” that I realized how little I know about that area of Tulsa, its history, and the larger repercussions for our state as a whole.
When the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum reached out to your Pryor Library (and many other libraries in NE Oklahoma) asking if we would be interested in a permanent loan of their “Spirit of Greenwood/1921 Tulsa Race Massacre” exhibit at no cost, we quickly accepted. The exhibit, which is on display now in our lobby, is quite moving.
Learning about events like the 1921 Race Riot/Massacre isn’t comfortable, but it is important. Honestly, that’s true for much of our country’s history. Past events are complicated and difficult to wrap our heads around, especially as we delve into the details. This exhibit doesn’t try to give us an exhaustive lesson on Greenwood or the Race Riot/Massacre, but it does offer a glimpse into what it was like to be there.
With historical photographs from the Greenwood District in its heyday and after its destruction during the riot/massacre (nothing graphic), the exhibit makes the time and place very tangible. It reports some of the findings of the 2001 Tulsa Race Riot Commission Report and discusses the change in terms from “riot” to “massacre.”
After viewing the panels (or before), you should check out the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum’s website (tulsahistory.org) and read the 2001 Tulsa Race Riot Commission’s report through the Oklahoma Historical Society’s website (okhistory.org/research/forms/freport.pdf).
It’s worth the discomfort to learn about this important part of Oklahoma’s history.
Library closed for President’s Day
Our physical building will be closed on February 17th, but we’re open 24/7 online! Check your account, place holds, download ebooks and audiobooks, learn a language, research your family history – all from where ever you are, day or night.