Read On! Tough Topics

Life is full of tough topics. At the library, we specialize in finding the resources you need and we are non-judgemental about what those resources are. That said, we also understand that asking a stranger or (sometimes worse) someone you know for help with a very personal topic is uncomfortable. We’re working on several Tough Topics Finders in the building, but I’d like to give a preview now.

Our official finders will include more topics and the dewey decimal numbers in this list are not exhaustive, but this will get you started. If you would rather use the catalog to find your own materials, the labels for each topic are also good search terms.

Abuse: 362.7

Abusive Relationships: 616.85

Death and/or Grief: 155.9; 248.8

Depression: 616.85

Grief and/or Death: 155.9; 248.8

LGBT and/or LGBTQ+: 306.76

Relationships: 306.7

Suicide: 362.28

Trauma: 616.85

Using our catalog will also yield fiction books, which can be a lot to slog through. One way to narrow down your search results is to use the menu on the left-hand side of your results. If you can’t find it, look for a “Refine Search” tab on the left side of your screen.

There you can choose whether you want downloadable materials, what collection or dewey range you’d like (“material type”), and whether to show only checked in (“availability”) items. You can also limit by subject.

When one of our staff experienced the loss of her husband, she found good books on grief that we don’t own. Like we did with her, we will track down books in other libraries if you need us to. This is our Inter-Library Loan or ILL (pronounced “eye-ell-ell”) service.

Our goal is to help you find resources. We are bound by professional ethics and state law to keep your library use private, so if you feel comfortable asking, we’ll do all we can and it will stay between us.

 

Read On! Interlibrary Loan

We try to always have what our patrons are looking for, but with the amount of works being published it’s an impossible goal to achieve. Luckily, hope is not lost when the book or movie you’re looking for is not in our collection! We have two options for you: 1) you can request that we purchase the item and add it to the collection; or 2) you can request an inter-library loan (ILL).

The decision on whether to purchase items our patrons request is made based on whether other patrons will want to check the items out in addition to consideration for expense and availability. We like to get what our patrons want, so requesting items is a good way to make sure your needs are met.

There is no decision to be made on our part about an ILL. For this process (which does have a postage fee of $3 per item), we simply ask another library to loan us the item you’ve requested so that we can loan it to you. If it is possible for us to get the item you want or need from another library, we will do everything in our power to do so.

Jacinda is our inter-library loan guru and has doggedly tracked down many items that our patrons thought were unfindable. Self-published books often difficult to find, but beyond those we have really great luck getting what you need from another library. We even had a loan come to us from the Library of Congress. We do about 100 ILLs per year, most of them are borrowing items for our patrons. Occasionally, another library will ask us for something, but because our collection is relatively small that doesn’t happen too often.

Requesting an ILL is fairly easy. Once you know the item you need is not in our collection, you can come in or call us to request that we look for it in another library. You can also log into your account online and request it through there.

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!

 

Read On: Better Than Amazon

I learned this weekend that Amazon has a subscription book box available for the kids in your life. For the low-low price of $20 per box, you can order books (four board books or two hardbacks) for children ages 0 to 12. The big bonuses for the subscription are that you’re getting the books at 40% discount and the boxes are “curated.”

I have two counter-offers to this deal.

First, if you’d like to get print books in the home of a child under five years old, I highly recommend the free Imagination Library subscription available through our Friends of the Library group. Children with this subscription receive one age-appropriate book each month that includes suggestions for how can teach their children vital early literacy skills. This subscription is free for the families who sign up. If you have a child under five you’d like to sign up, ask us about it at the library. We’ll get you the form and we’ll even turn it in for you!

My second counter-offer is also free, and ever more impressive than Amazon’s. Using only your library card, you or your child can have up to 20 books each month! Granted, you need to bring them back after 4 – 8 weeks, but still! 20 books! For free! You can even upgrade your selections to include audiobooks or DVDs at no extra charge. Our trained staff can help you curate the selections at any time. We’ll simply need to ask a few questions to understand your interests or the interests of your child, then we’ll offer helpful suggestions designed to give you the best reading experience possible.

Don’t have time to come to the library? No problem! Simply download the Overdrive app on your smartphone, tablet, or computer and check out up to six books, audiobooks, or videos for two weeks at a time. Overdrive even works for free on Amazon’s Kindle devices.