Posts by Cari
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.
Read On! Friends of the Library
Last week, the Friends of the Pryor Creek Library held their first fundraiser – a murder mystery party where each ticket holder was assigned a character and attended a party in honor of the fictional bed & breakfast, “The Harrison House.” Of course murder ensued and then the guests were tasked with solving the crime. (If you missed this year, they promise to do it again next year, so stay tuned!)
The Friends group has two primary goals: to support the Pryor Public Library and to support increased literacy in Pryor and Mayes County. The Friends group’s primary literacy initiative is enrolling Mayes County children under 5 years old to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. This program sends age appropriate books through the mail to enrolled children at no cost. It’s a fantastic way to get good books into the homes of children.
Each book is chosen with the child’s age in mind and the inside cover offers suggestions for ways parents and caregivers can interact with their child while reading the book. These suggestions help adults teach young children the vital early literacy skills they need so that they are ready to learn to read when they start school.
When my children were younger, we enrolled them in the Imagination Library. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of books. I was impressed to see familiar characters (like Llama Llama) and books that were recently published. It was a great program for our family and it seems to be just as beneficial to Mayes County families. In fact, as of this writing, we have 150 readers!
While the program is free for the families enrolled, it does cost the Friends group $25 per child per year (which is an amazing bargain for 12 books). All of the money raised at the murder mystery party will support the Imagination Library program.
Read On! Parental Guidance
A legislator in Missouri is causing quite the kerfuffle in the library world. The proposed “Parental Oversight of Libraries Act” would require public libraries in Missouri to have a board in addition to their regular Board of Trustees to ensure libraries aren’t providing children access to materials the new panels find age-inappropriate. Loss of state funding for the libraries and fines and/or jail time for the librarians are the proposed penalties in this legislation.
There’s a lot to unpack here. There’s a lot wrong with this bill and a lot of good reasons for librarians and library users to be appalled by it. At its core, this legislation fails to understand the relationship public libraries have with parents, guardians, and caregivers. Parental oversight already exists in public libraries. In fact, public libraries rely on parents and caregivers to help the children in their lives choose materials and activities that are appropriate for them and in line with the values of their families.
In Pryor, parents/guardians are required to sign children up for library cards. They also need to grant permission before any minor can access an internet computer. We assume any minor in the building has permission to be there. We also assume that any materials a child wants to check out have been vetted by their parents.
Your library staff would never presume to step between a child and their parent by telling a child they are not allowed to read or watch something because of its content. As a parent, I would have some very serious words coupled with a fairly harsh tone for anyone who tries to override my parenting in such a way. Especially if that interference came from an institution whose role is to provide access to materials and information for a diverse and vibrant community.
Read On! Libraries are growing organisms
I have been a library user my whole life. My first library was the Vinita Public Library, then Claremore, then the massive Tulsa City-County system, not to mention various school and university libraries. As a library user, I understood how libraries work – I want or need a resource, the library either has it or the staff helps me get it. Pretty simple.
Once I started Library School and began working in libraries, I discovered the simple experiences I had as a library patron are not quite as simple for the staff to deliver. At its core, every library and every job inside the library is focused on customer/patron service. The entire institution exists to provide our patrons with the simple experience of getting information and resources they need.
This requires a whole host of decisions behind the scenes. Beginning with the materials and resources we purchase – what will our community want? What will benefit the community most? Then, we have to decide how to catalog and promote what we purchase – what subject headings make the most sense? Where will people be most likely to find the item on the shelf? Where should we put the labels and barcode stickers?
In order to make these decisions well, we have to know our community and keep learning our community as it changes. I feel thankful that the staff at the library takes this responsibility seriously. I am even more thankful that our patrons are not shy about communicating with us what you want and need.
If you’re ever curious about a decision we’ve made, please ask! (you might want to do so when you’ve got a few minutes. I tend to get passionate about this stuff) Also, if you have a suggestion for how we can do something better, please let us know. We are not afraid to examine our practices and try new things if it makes sense to do so.