ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Though the temperatures may suggest otherwise, winter is upon the region, and the weather looks to soon be turning slightly colder in the near future.
This will find many staying inside with warmer conditions and indoor activities. Some popular winter activities include reading books and watching movies, and recently, the Olive Warner Memorial Library (OWML) in Hooker, Okla., gave patrons a chance to stock up on reading, audio and video materials through the library’s annual book sale.
“For this year’s book sale, we had magazines,” Librarian Carina Roybal said. “We had hard cover and paperback books. We had a few maps available and audiobooks on CD as well.”
Roybal said she feels this year’s sale went quite well.
“We were selling them by the bagful, and we had several bagfuls leave the library, which means we had that much more space, which is always a great thing,” she said.
Traditionally, libraries have been thought of as a haven for books, but modern libraries have added other mediums such as CDs, DVDs and BluRay. Roybal estimated about 20 percent of these mediums made up the purchases at the recent book sale.
“It’s things that are slowly getting pushed out of circulation just like in other libraries – books on CDs,” she said. “Everything’s online nowadays, so they don’t get checked out as much. We put them in our book sale to make sure they at least have a chance of going home with someone.”
Roybal said OWML staff take inventory annually in March to make sure items are accounted for and where they need to be.
“That is the time where we go through and weed out things that are damaged or not read anymore, and they do go down to our storage for the next book sale,” she said. “Also in the book sale are things that get donated in that maybe we already have on the shelf, and we don’t need another, or we do have another, and ours is in better condition. We don’t switch them out.”
Roybal likewise said book sales are a great way for a person to find an inexpensive Christmas present for themselves or someone else.
“We’ve had several people tell us this is a great opportunity to stock up on books for their kids’ bookshelves or for themselves or for a family member where they’re were wanting to find a cheaper alternative, especially with finances being as tight as they are at this time of the year,” she said. “We had people take several bagfuls and come back and say, ‘Thank you so much. That was so helpful in trying to get our kids into reading and also give them a really great gift.’”
With technology making finding music and movies easier these days, one would think libraries would not have older mediums in stock, but Roybal said they are not completely obsolete at this point.
“Things like BluRays and DVDs still do get checked out a couple times a week at least, but it’s other mediums like audiobooks on CDs and self-serving books that are not on CDs that have a battery-powered all in one player don’t get checked out hardly ever,” she said.
Roybal said library workers will review items from time to time to see how often they have been checked out.
“If it’s been a while, we try to bring them up front to see if they can get circulated. More often than not, folks don’t have DVD players anymore,” she said. “They don’t have a CD player anymore. They don’t get out the door very often.”
Just as many libraries have gone to the use of apps for certain services, Roybal said so too has OWML, though only Libby is available at this time at the Hooker library.
“Our patrons are always asking for more books on there or asking if we can add more books on there,” she said. “We always try to accommodate when we can. Luckily, Guymon, which is also in Texas County, has Hoopla, so anyone who lives in Texas County can get a card at either library. They’ll have both bases covered. They can get access to online e-books, audiobooks, music, TV shows, you name it. It’s on one of the two.”
Roybal said she sees many of her younger patrons opting for newer technology for reading rather than the traditional physical book, whereas older people still prefer the paper version.
“That’s fine,” she said. “Everyone has a preference, and we always try to make sure if we have a really popular book, we have it both online where it can get looked at, but also hopefully a physical copy in house for those who prefer it that way. It’s worked out great so far.”
Roybal, who has been the librarian at OWML for about two years, said she has seen an increase in use of the library.
“Our librarian passed a couple years back, so I had to step up to that role,” she said. “There was a period of time where we didn’t have as many folks coming in anymore just to make that transition,”
However, Roybal said part of the increase came from the higher availability of Spanish materials at the library.
“With the new librarian comes a different group of people,” she said. “I’m Hispanic and speak Spanish. I have a lot more Spanish speakers coming in as well who perhaps in the past didn’t feel quite as comfortable coming in because there wasn’t someone speaking their native tongue. I have folks coming in who only come looking for me, and I help them out in any way I can, whether it’s sending off a fax, making a copy, finding a book on a particular subject. I’m always here to help.”
Roybal said the Hooker library does well keeping up with technology trends, and plans are in place to get some updated computers with many of OWML’s younger patrons wanting simply coming to hang out at the library.
“One of the things they like to do is play video games, especially on the computers, so we’re trying to get our computers updated to where they can do that freely when they like and not feel like the computers here are outdated, won’t work or won’t load this game just to encourage teenagers to come in,” she said. “They can game if they like. Libraries are not just books. We try to accommodate for any and all kinds of media.”
The new year is nearly here, and Roybal said OWML has some plans in place for 2026.
“We are looking to expand our Spanish books,” she said. “A lot of ours are currently outdated or not in very good shape. Trying to modernize the collection in the Spanish book sections since Hooker has such a large amount of Spanish speakers. They’re coming in more and more often every week. We are hoping to also looking for newer technology to accommodate our growing patronage. Things like a larger screen for them to use for meetings.”
As with many area communities, Hooker does have a large Spanish speaking population, and while they were hesitant to come to the library in the past and finding other places they felt comfortable in, Roybal they now know they have a place in town they can go for help without feeling awkward about language barriers. She added this has brought more of that population in the library more often in recent years.
“Now, we’re seeing a really direct need to accommodate them a little more with signage, more books in their language, more diversity in that language and trying to help them more with what they need in their community without them having to feel they need to go elsewhere,” she said. “We’re trying to bridge that gap a little more, especially with the coming year.”
