Library

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! 

I’m writing this article on Day 1 of the Library being in the Graham Community Building. So far, we’ve had at least a dozen patrons find us here amidst the chaos of our move. 

The biggest confusion so far is where are doors are. We’re in the banquet hall room that you get to through the doors in the alley. We should have signs and banners soon to make navigating much easier. 

The Pryor Area Arts and Humanities Council is through the front doors. They’re worth checking out too!

Our materials should be totally shelved when you get here. They start with picture books in the first shelving unit and get progressively more advanced as you travel West. Our dvds and audiobooks separate the Youth Services collection from the Adult collection and then we have large print followed by adult nonfiction and adult fiction. 

Because our collection in this location is so much smaller, we’ve changed the number of items you can have checked out. Unless you’re checking out picture books or paperbacks, you’re limited to five items on your card at a time. Two of those items can be DVDs and two of those items can be audiobooks. Our limits for picture books and paperbacks stay at 20 total. 

We have three patron laptops set up and ready for use. Their interface is as close to the one in the other building as I could make it and they print to the same printer/copier that you’re used to. Prices remain $0.15 for a black & white print and $0.50 for a color print. 

We brought our microfilm to the Graham Building, so if you’re in the midst of research involving old newspapers, you can pick up where you left off. 

We changed our hours when we moved over here. Now, we’re open 51 hours a week instead of 43. Those hours are:

Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri – 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Thurs – 9:00 am to 8:00 pm

Sat – 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Sometimes Life gets in the way of “good” parenting. Between work, dinner, and bedtime my kids only get to spend about an hour with their dad and me each night. I’ll be honest, both of my kids would rather spend that hour playing with their friends or watching TV than engaging in any of the quality time activities I see in parenting books or websites.

Reminding myself that doing the best I can is good enough helps, but I still feel guilty for not being able to check off the laundry list of things parents “should” do. Luckily, every once in a while, I get a reminder that they’re going to be just fine despite my lack of star parenting.

One such reminder came last weekend. My son is reading “The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate in class. I tried to talk to him about it – does he like that it’s narrated by a gorilla? What does he think about a gorilla being best friends with an elephant and a dog? – but got nowhere. Finally, I decided to download the audiobook from the library and listen to the same section he was assigned to read.

When I mentioned that I’d started the book, he looked up from his video game and said, “Really?” and then, miraculously, we had a conversation about the book! My son is a pretty reluctant reader, so having this conversation made my heart full! Not only did he read, he talked to me about it! Parenting win!

I’m not holding my breath that this will repeat itself, but you bet I’m going to keep reading what he’s reading in the hopes that we can make a connection again!

Our selection of materials in the Graham Community Building (opening March 1) is about a quarter of what we had on Graham Ave, but our entire digital collection is still available on the Libby/Overdrive app. If you need help using it, stop by and we’ll walk you through it.

The week we’ve been waiting for at your library has finally arrived! Moving week!

We’re closed February 21 – 28th to get everything moved from our current location on Graham Avenue to the temporary location of the Graham Community Building (6 N. Adair). We will take about a quarter of the collection with us and will not have access to the remaining materials. We’re doing our best to make sure your favorites are going to be available, but we know we’re bound to disappoint someone. We are sorry in advance.

Because our collection will be so much smaller, the number of items you can check out at a time will be smaller. At this writing, the Library Board hasn’t made that decision yet, but my guess is we’ll be limited to five items total.

We will not have an outside book drop at the GCB, which is a bummer. If you can’t make it inside the building to return your items, you’re welcome to call us and we’ll come out to collect them. Of course, that’s when we’re open. There won’t be any way to drop items off after hours.

Speaking of hours, we will also have new hours. We’re transitioning to our extended hours a little earlier than planned and adding eight hours to our week. Our new hours are:

Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri: 9 am to 6 pm

Thursday: 9 am to 8 pm

Saturday: 9 am to 1 pm

Sunday: Closed

We have internet set up and should be able to provide a scaled-down version of all our services in the temporary location. We won’t have much room for programs or events, but Summer Reading activities are being planned. They should begin in June.

It’s a complicated process to move a portion of the library, so we’re bound to have some things to iron out once we reopen on March 1. Please be patient with us and come see us in the Graham Building!

We’re hoping to be back in our permanent location this Fall.