Read On! Reading Is Reading

When new people find out I’m a librarian, their response is usually either “I love reading!” or “I’m not really much of a reader…” (I also get plenty of people who say “I didn’t know libraries still existed. The internet…” but that’s a different article) If you fall into the category of people who would tell me “I’m not a reader,” I’m here to tell you that may not be true. Even if you’re not reading a stereotypical format – print novels, you may still be a reader. 

Let’s be clear, reading is reading is reading. Whether you spend hours reading the great tomes of literature, every car ride listening to an audiobook, or 15 minutes every night reading the funny pages in the newspaper, you’re reading. And if you’re enjoying what you read, you definitely get to call yourself a reader if you want to. You don’t even need to qualify it with your preferred reading format. 

Schools, libraries, and even Audible have done studies that continually confirm reading comics/graphic novels, audiobooks, and traditional print all have similar and outstanding benefits. There is not one “real” reading. It’s all reading. It’s just a matter of finding what format is right for you or how to make a particular format work for you. 

Recently, my spouse discovered he likes audiobooks better if he speeds up the narration. It makes it easier for him to pay attention. It seems to be a handy trick for those who struggle to keep their minds from wandering. For me, reading large print or increasing the font size on a digital book makes me feel like I’m reading So Fast! I am a slow reader and get discouraged, so this trick helps me get through longer books. 

Let us know if you want help exploring reading formats or genres. We can even help you fine-tune your digital reading to make it work better for you. 

Read On! Questions as Books Imagery

Before I went back to school to study Library and Information Science, I was working in the mortgage loan department of a credit union. My reasoning for going back to school was, “I don’t want to work with numbers for the rest of my life.” Little did I know how vital working with numbers (specifically statistics) is in the Library world! 

Luckily, spreadsheets will do a lot of the actual number crunching for me. The interpretation of those numbers and telling the story those numbers provide the basis for is the crux of that part of my job. At the suggestion of one of my staff, I did some fun number crunching the other day. Here are the results: 

If we represent every question the Pryor Library staff answered in the last fiscal year as a book, the quick, “Informational/Directional” questions like “What are your hours?” or “Who wrote ‘To Kill a Mockingbird?’” are mass market paperbacks (4.25” tall) and the longer, more involved “Reference” questions like “Can you help me start my family tree research?” or “How do I print from my email?” are hardbacks (9.25” tall). 

In this story of our services, we have 9,222 Info/Directional question paperbacks and 14,076 Reference question hardbacks. If we line each of those 23,298 books flat, top to bottom on the ground, we can place them from the Library on Graham Ave along roadways to Goldies and back (almost 3 miles)! I love the image of books lined up along the street as a path that leads to lunch. 

We keep track of how many questions we answer, in part, to report our Reference numbers to the State, but also so we can tell the Library’s story and let the community know we’re so much more than just a repository for books. So, please keep those questions coming! I can’t wait to do the math to see how far your questions lead us next year! 

Read On! Annual Report and Makerspace Plans

Every year, every library in the state of Oklahoma gives the Oklahoma Department of Libraries (ODL) a detailed report of all our income, expenses, and statistics in the Annual Report. This is a requirement for libraries in Oklahoma to qualify for our annual State Aid grants and to remain in good standing with ODL. 

While the report isn’t difficult, it is nerve-wracking to compile the information, check our budget data with the City’s budget data, and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. Our temporary situation made this year’s report a little more daunting, but it was still submitted before the Aug. 15 deadline!

Generally, we reserve our State Aid grant for technology improvements at the Library. Some years we replace aging computers, but most of the time we add equipment to better our service to the community. We’ve purchased our microfilm reader machines through this grant so we have good, modern equipment for those doing genealogical and local history research. We built our Legacy Lab suite of equipment with State Aid funds so our patrons can convert older media (like slides, 35mm film, and some VHS tapes) to digital media. 

This year, we reserved all of our State Aid grant to buy furnishings for our new Makerspace. “Makerspace” is a fancy, catchall term for a room designated for creating and making things. The things made in a Makerspace can be art, technology, and anything and everything in between. When it’s ready, our Makerspace will have 3D printers, podcasting equipment, a sewing machine, and all of our Legacy Lab equipment. 

We will also, through a generous stipend from MidAmerica way back in 2020 before the pandemic hit, have supplies to host some really fun STEM programming for kids and their adults. Look for details on those after the first of the year! 

Read On! Track Your Reading

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read at least one book each month. My memory for that kind of tracking is pretty terrible, so I also had to decide how I’d keep track of what I read. 

Despite having three million beautiful and useful journals, my consistency for writing things in them leaves a lot to be desired, so I decided to use digital tracking for my reading. There are a whole host of apps and methods to choose from including some tools from the Library. 

When you log into your account on our catalog (pryor.biblionix.com/catalog) using your library card number and last name, you can “opt in” to keeping a history of your checkouts. This is handy if, like me, you forget everything you’ve ever read when you decide to look for something new. Our system default is not to keep your history (this protects your privacy), so if you want your history, select “opt in” or give us a call and we can select it for you on our end. 

The Libby app will keep your digital reading history under the “Timeline” menu (look for the clock icon). The default here is to keep the history, but you can choose not to by selecting “Actions” at the top of the Timeline page. 

Neither of these tracking methods will tell you whether you finished the book or if you liked it. You can leave reviews in our catalog of the materials you read from the Library, but as of now, there’s not a way to look back at all of the books you’ve reviewed. For that level of tracking, you’ll need a third party app or a journal. The most popular reading app is Goodreads, but I prefer Storygraph for my own tracking. 

As always if you need help with any of this (or anything else), give us a call or come in. We’ll walk you through it step-by-step until you’re comfortable with it and confident to use it solo.