Read On! Switching to Libby

Our digital library has long been accessible through two mobile apps – Overdrive and Libby. Now, the Powers That Be (way above our pay grades) have decided to phase out their Overdrive app. I’m both disappointed to lose something I’m used to and excited to learn something new. 

I don’t feel like I’ve gotten over the awkwardness of using a new app yet, but I’m getting more comfortable with Libby’s interface. I still yearn for Overdrive’s dry efficiency, but I’m learning to accept (not quite “like”) Libby’s trendy art and colors.  

Libby is more visual than Overdrive and relies heavily on icons to get you where you need to go. When you open the app, you’re on your “shelf” which is represented in the bottom navigation bar as a stack of two books. Your history, or “Timeline,” is to the right of your shelf and represented by an analog clock face. 

You can find your next read by using the “Search” feature (the magnifying glass) or by going to the online library collection through the icon that looks like a building. Both of these icons are on the left side of the navigation bar. 

The center icon with the three vertical lines is your menu. Libby will have notifications here (like when a hold is ready), information about the library and library card(s) you’re using, and options for help and support. Here, too, is the “Settings” menu where you can “Customize Navigation.” I made Libby label the icons because I kept forgetting whether the stack of books is my shelf or the library and would get lost. This small change has helped me immensely! 

Once you’ve checked out your book, the navigation within is familiar ground. Again, the icons look different, but the functionality is the same. 

As always, if you need help with this, let us know. We would love to help you learn how to use Libby!

Read On! National Library Week

Happy National Library Week! This week, we get to celebrate all things Library and we encourage you to do the same. Whether you love our collection, online resources, or our quirky personalities, take a minute this week to let us know. Here are three ways:

By far, the best way to celebrate this week is to visit and use your library! Mayes County has five amazing public libraries in Pryor, Chouteau, Langley, Locust Grove, and Salina. Make it a point to visit in person or on their website or facebook page. (Don’t forget your Pryor Library has temporarily moved to the Graham Building at 6 N. Adair)  

On Tuesday, National Library Workers Day, please acknowledge your favorite library worker for the hard work they do. Whether your favorite worker is in one of our public libraries or in a school library, they’re doing a great job and would love to hear from you (or your kids). Library workers, like everyone, have been under a tremendous amount of stress and upheaval throughout the pandemic. I can’t speak for the challenges my colleagues in other libraries are facing, but I know the Pryor Library staff is grappling with pandemic changes, new construction, and a recent relocation that has upended their workflow and routines. A nice word from the community we love and strive to serve would do wonders for morale. 

Lastly, on Thursday (or any day you feel inspired to do so), take action for libraries by letting others know how you feel about libraries and the services they provide. Speaking to our funding sources (mayors, city counselors, superintendents, other citizens) goes a long way to helping us maintain our funding and continue to provide amazing services to our communities. If you have a fond memory of the library or a story about how the library helped you, let people know!

Read On! Construction Update

I got to go into the main library building the other day. Things are changing fast! The area that used to house my office, a communal workspace, and the kitchen has been cleared of walls, ceilings, and flooring. I expected the empty space to feel cavernous, but I’m truly amazed we fit all of that in there. 

When the remodel of this space is complete, it will transform into a more functional communal workspace, a staff break room, and a passthrough leading to the hallway for our new kitchen and two new offices. 

Crews have also taken down the walls separating the main library building from our additions and replaced them with temporary coverings. This will let them work on the additions more efficiently. It will also add to the drama effect when the temporary walls come down and BAM! new parts of the building appear! (which is my expectation, not a construction objective) 

The foundation for the art gallery room on the front of the building is now in process. This area of construction will lag a little behind everything else because the gallery was added to the project after the main additions were approved. It should catch up pretty quickly, but supply chain issues have been a complication. 

The ceiling demo has begun as well. Our ceilings are being taken out in order to install the required sprinkler system. This will also clean up a lot of old cabling that has been put in the ceiling and forgotten about. 

In the temporary library news, we’re still getting settled. Your library staff has been through an exceptional number of changes these last two years, so we’re tired and a little scattered, but we’re on the upswing. 

If you haven’t yet, be sure to come check us out at the Graham Community Building (6 N. Adair). Our entrance is through the double doors off the alley.

Read On! Heart of Downtown

The Library has always, technically, been downtown. We’ve just been on the very edge of downtown. Now that we’re in the Graham Community Building, though, we’re in the very heart of downtown! It’s a completely different vibe over here! 

It has been so much fun getting to know our neighbors at Boomarang Diner and Remy’s (good food is pretty important to your Library staff) and to be so close to our friends at the Book Exchange and the Pryor Area Arts and Humanities Council! 

It has also been such a joy to hear stories from our patrons of how they visited the Pryor Library when it was originally upstairs in the Graham Building. Someday, I hope to be remembered half as fondly as Ms. Sifferman. 

We’re slowly getting settled in our space at the Graham, but still occasionally suffer from the universal moving conundrum: “I know we put that in a box that was moved… but where did we put the box?” I’m sure by the time we have located every item in every “I know we packed that” box it’ll be about time to move back. 

It was a surreal feeling to leave the main building knowing it would never look the same as it did on that last day. The building is already drastically changing each day. Demolition has begun in some areas inside and more of the walls are going up on the outside. I can’t wait to have all the pieces come together to make a beautiful building and a major pride point for Pryor! 

After you have lunch or before you shop downtown, come see us at 6 N. Adair. I think you’ll be pleased to see our new arrangement. Our collection is smaller while we’re in the Graham Building, but not much else has changed. We’re still offering the same services and silliness that we always have! Don’t forget our new hours (9 am to 6 pm Mon-Wed and Fri; 9 am to 8 pm Thurs; 9 am to 1 pm Sat). See you soon!