Library
Read On! Social Distancing
We have a new phrase in our national lexicon: “social distancing,” the act of intentionally distancing yourself from others in an effort to “flatten the curve” (another new phrase) of how rapidly COVID-19 (coronavirus) is transmitted.
As much as we love face-to-face service for our community, your Library has a wealth of options for you as you socially distance!
We are a member of the OK Virtual Library consortium that subscribes to Overdrive, providing downloadable books, audiobooks, and videos. You can have six Overdrive items at a time for two weeks. Everything automatically returns when due.
If you’re trying to entertain children at home, be sure to check out Tumblebooks for storybooks, chapter books, games, puzzles, and videos. Tumblebooks even has some books in Spanish and French.
If you want to use your time learning, we highly recommend our Mango app for language learning. For more traditional learning and practice on almost any standardized test, check out our Learning Express and Job & Career Accelerator resource.
Our Ancestry.com service isn’t available to anyone outside the Library’s building, but we do have a subscription to Fold3, which can get you started on some genealogical or historical research. It is especially rich in military service information.
If you don’t want to wade through YouTube ads while learning a new hobby, you should use our Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center. It has written and illustrated instructions on all sorts of creative endeavors.
To access these resources, grab your library card number and head to our website (pryorlibrary.org). Select the “Use the Library” tab then choose “Research and Resources” to explore. If you have trouble, give us a call or shoot us a message through email (admin@pryorlibrary.org) or Facebook (@thjppl).
Read On! Career Affirmation
Working in libraries for almost 15 years, I’ve had my fair share of career-affirming experiences on the job. Libraries touch people’s lives in ways many other service industries don’t or can’t. Reading choices and information needs are inherently personal, so it’s easy to build bonds with the people who come through our doors.
My most recent affirming moment was at our March Books & Brews Club meeting. I sat at the table with 15 other people, men and women, ranging in age from mid-thirties to mid-seventies with a homemade casserole, cookies, and other snacks inspired by the book we read (“Red White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston) and realized that somehow our informal book club has become a community.
We function almost like an extended family as we gather around food and beverages (both adult and not) to discuss books and movies and Life. The discussion of March’s book (a fun novel about a romance between the president’s son, Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry of Wales) was open and honest, but mostly filled with fun “Would You Rather” styled questions. We challenged each other, we teased, and we laughed. Boy, did we laugh!
It’s moments like that when I realize how powerful libraries are and how important building community is that I can breathe easy knowing I’m in the right profession. Getting to be part of a community like ours makes the rough parts of librarianship – navigating the excitement and uncertainty of staffing changes, arming people against fake news, grappling with building projects that far exceed the budget, etc. – worth the stress and exhaustion.
If you want to check out our Books & Brews Club, we meet the first Saturday of the month from 1 – 3 pm at the Fat Toad Brewing Company. We’ll discuss “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann in April.
Library Closed Until Further Notice
UPDATED 4/2/2020
Effective immediately, the Thomas J Harrison Pryor Public Library will be closed to the public until further notice, to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. You can see the most recent resolution passed by Pryor City Council here.
We are evaluating what services we can offer while our building is closed – keep an eye on our Facebook page for the latest details (and shenanigans, because even a pandemic can’t stop us from being… well, us!).
While we’re closed, we encourage you to keep all items that are currently checked out. All due dates will be extended, and no late fees will accrue, and the fee limit has been raised to unblock most accounts. You can access ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming movies through the Oklahoma Virtual Library, as well as our other online resources – see them all on our website, www.pryorlibrary.org. If you don’t have a library card, we’ll be doing digital card signups. We’ll also be available to renew accounts, help walk you through using the Virtual Library, and for general reference questions at the contact info listed below!
As the situation continues to evolve, our plans and services may change. Check back often for updates!
How to reach us:
Facebook & facebook messenger: https://www.facebook.com/TJHPPL/
Phone: 918-825-0777
Email: admin@pryorlibrary.org
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!