Oklahoma

Your library system has a virtually limitless number of resources, materials and tools under its belt to build and maintain strong, independent minds. No longer bound by the concrete and framework of your local branch, the library’s services reach well beyond its walls to the communities it serves and your library card is your key to access it all.

Ah, summer – the highly anticipated season of freedom from responsibility.  Hectic day schedules are set aside to master new skills. The best form for cannonball splashes?  You’re practically an expert already.  The intricacies of mixing flavors for the perfect snow cone?  Yeah, you’ve got that covered too.  Easy stuff.  But as laziness fully sets in with the realization that an entire month of your vacation time still lies ahead of you, remember in these fleeting days of midsummer relaxation that there is something much more frightening to contend with in August than the giant mosquitos at Grandad’s house…the dreaded Summer Slide, or the tendency to forget everything you’ve learned during the previous school year.

Our Summer Reading program has everything you need to keep your brain tuned up while you continue your adventures for a few more weeks.  Entire families have the opportunity to participate. Children have access to experiences that further their sense of discovery.  Teens can prepare for the higher levels of literacy needed for college education and future employment.  Even adults can challenge themselves with new goals to improve their brainpower and wellbeing.  The knowledge you gain should be rewarding enough, but your library has plenty of other incentives to sweeten the deal.  Readers completing each goal can win fine waivers, books and more. Each week, participate in activities to win drawing prizes. Complete Goals 1 and 2 and be eligible to win larger drawing prizes such as tablets and eReaders.

Free books, free knowledge, free prizes, free free free!  What’s not to love about that?  Celebrate your freedom this month at the freest place of all, your library.

A is for April and advocacy. On April 12, librarians, library leaders and library supporters join the Oklahoma Library Association to mobilize at the state capitol and meet with Oklahoma legislators about of the importance of having libraries in our communities. Our goal as a library system is to build our communities. We want to impact citizens throughout their entire lifespans. That’s why we continue to morph, stretch and combine our resources with other community organizations to meet the growing needs of a diverse and intelligent community.

In a New York Times article, San Francisco librarian Luis Herrera wrote, “The public library is a true American invention. Perhaps no other place captures the values of freedom of expression and democracy like this venerable institution. Libraries represent what we should never take for granted: the freedom to read, the freedom to choose and the freedom to share our ideas. The library’s mission to provide free and open access to information in all its myriad formats remains constant.