Events
Read On! Books & Brews
It’s time for our monthly Books & Brews meeting at the Fat Toad. This month, we’ll discuss Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book,” a sort of retelling of “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Instead of the main character being raised by a pack of wolves in a jungle, he is raised by a haunt of ghosts in a graveyard.
“The Graveyard Book” was my choice for the group. Mostly because Neil Gaiman may be my favorite author ever. I love the way he begins a story with many disparate threads only to weave them all together into a single fabric and I love the characters he brings to life. “The Graveyard Book” is not my favorite of Gaiman’s works, but I felt like it would be a nice choice for the Books & Brews folks. It begins with murder, then features a boy who finds adventures with graveyard creatures. There’s a lot of discussion material between its covers.
It’s the only book to win both the Newbery in the U.S. and the Carnegie in the U.K. so it is well received among the toughest critics. The Newbery Award is awarded to “the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” The Carnegie Award is awarded to “the writer of an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.” Dave McKean’s illustration style enhances Gaiman’s writing incredibly well even though he didn’t win any awards for his contribution.
There’s still time to read “The Graveyard Book” before our meeting on Saturday, April 6th from 1 – 3 PM. Or don’t read it and come anyway. We won’t judge. The first hour we meet is reserved for socializing and the book discussion is in the second hour. No one is required to purchase anything in order to join us and we have a nice mix of men and women of all ages. You don’t even have to be 21 to enter the brewery anymore!
Read On! Legacy Lab
On the refrigerator in the Library’s kitchen is a sign that reads, “This workplace has proudly been shenanigan free for 0 days.”
I don’t remember what particular shenanigan inspired the sign, but it remains true. From thinking up creative programs to claiming adjacent property through the “cunning use of flags*,” we try to take a light-hearted approach to the very serious job of serving our community.
Our latest shenanigan/project is our Legacy Lab. Haley, our Local History Research Assistant is spending much of her time learning how to use the equipment we purchased with our annual State Aid grant. Each machine was chosen to help convert older media like slides and 8mm film into newer media.
Haley is having a great time experimenting with the equipment and writing up the “How To” documents we’ll use when the lab is fully functional. We’re still discussing the procedure for community members to use the Legacy Lab, but stay tuned! It’ll be available soon!
We’re hopeful our Legacy Lab will be a great way for families to preserve and share memories. Once it’s ready, like all of our services, use of the Legacy Lab equipment will be free of charge.
We’re also in the midst of our strategic planning process. The end result will guide our focus and services through the next few years. The biggest piece of any strategic plan is to get input from the people this plan will affect the most – our community. We’ve conducted a paper and online survey and are in the process of hosting focus group meeting.
Please stop by the library on August 27th or 30th from 6-7 PM to let us know how we can improve our services and what shenanigans you’d like to see us attempt. We’ll have cookies!
*quoted from Eddie Izzard’s “Dress to Kill.” If you like smart stand-up and don’t mind swears, it’s incredibly quotable.
Read On! Audiobooks
We’ve officially kicked off our Summer Reading Program with the 36th Annual Turtle Race, which was a lot of fun. Congratulations to all the winners!
This week, we’re hosting storyteller Robert Lewis for both our adult event (tonight at 7 pm) and our children’s event (tomorrow at 10 am and 2 pm). Robert Lewis is one of our favorite presenters to have at the library. He is engaging, informative, and entertaining. It’s the perfect trifecta! The Cherokee Nation is offering an amazing gift to our community through Robert Lewis and his stories.
Have you picked up your Summer Reading Program supplies yet? It’s not too late! We’ve got something for everyone!
If you’re searching for time to read for yourself or to your kids, I heartily recommend audiobooks. In my family, audiobooks are a staple in the car. For us, they’re a quick way to get a few minutes of reading in while we’re driving around town.
This summer, we’re listening to more kids’ audiobooks (downloaded to my phone from Overdrive) than anything because my son is trying to fill up his Kids’ Reading Record Sheet. Audiobooks, while without some of the mechanics of visual reading, offer the same experiences and hone similar skills. From reading comprehension to language development, audiobooks are a bonafide form of reading (and are perfect to use toward Summer Reading Program time goals). Plus, the whole family can enjoy and discuss the same book at the same time. It’s like a mini book club!
We have a nice selection of audiobooks on CD at the library and an even larger selection of downloadable audiobooks via Overdrive. Head to our website (www.pryorlibrary.org) to search our online catalog for audiobooks – both physical and downloadable. And, as always, if you need some recommendations, we’d love to help with that too!
Read On! Summer Reading
Summer is here and we’re so excited! It’s our busiest time of year with our Summer Reading Program for children, teens, and adults. We have classes and activities almost every day of the week and we have a huge increase in the number of people we see each day. It’s fantastic!
Beyond being super fun for both library staff and, we hope, our community, our Summer Reading Program has a very important purpose: it encourages kids and teens to read all summer long. All the research says that when students read over their summer break, they do better the next school year and avoid the dreaded “Summer Slide” where they forget what they learned the previous year.
We want our Summer Reading Program to be fun for all ages, so we have several different ways to participate. For our youngest participants, grab our Toddlers’ Activity Sheet with listening goals and family-friendly activities. For every five activities completed, the child gets a free book!
For kids entering Kindergarten through sixth grades, our Kids’ Reading Record Sheet is a place to keep track of time spent reading (or listening). For every 10 circles (five hours) completed, the child gets a free book!
For teens entering grades seven through twelve, our Teens’ Reading Record sheet uses lines to keep track of time spent reading. For every two hours of reading, teens get entered into a weekly prize drawing. For every 10 hours, they get a free book!
Because we all know kids mimic what the adults in their lives do (and because kids shouldn’t have all the fun), we have a reading and activity Bingo sheet just for grown-ups. For every Bingo, adults are entered into a weekly prize drawing. When you get a blackout, you’re entered in our grand prize drawing.
Visit the Library to sign up!