The library anytime, anywhere

This past year, Stillwater Public Library has been working to make it easier for you to use the library when you are outside of it. Several elements have been added so that you can better access the library 24 hours a day, anywhere.

The first change will be a relief to eBook users who have encountered an expired library card at the most inopportune times. The nightmare of being on a long trip with no reading material, then trying to download a book at night, only to find your card is expired, is over! You can now renew your own card anytime and anywhere just by logging into the library catalog. 

When your account appears, you will see an option on the right side of the screen that will allow you to renew your library card. Please keep in mind, that if your contact information has changed, then you must email or later call the library, so that we can update your account. And don’t forget you can also renew your hardcopy library material in the space place. The easiest way to get to your account log-in is to click “RENEW” on our homepage at http://library.stillwater.org.

The second addition will be a big help for mobile device users, especially those who use the library on a phone. While you can certainly see our catalog on a small phone, it hasn’t always been very easy. However, we have now added the BookMyne app, which will display a simple, streamlined view to look up books, check your account, and even download eBooks right from our catalog.

Be sure to check our Apps page which provides information about other library services that can be used through an app. Just scroll to the bottom of our homepage and click the “Apps” link under “Online Tools.” You’ll find apps for magazines, learning a language, car repair and more.

Last, everyone will be excited to hear that we are currently working toward online bill pay! We do not yet have it, but are looking for services that will let us provide that option.

If you have suggestions that would make using the library remotely easier for you, we want to hear them! Just email askalibrarian@stillwater.org, click the “Comments” link on our homepage or call the Help Desk at 405-372-3633 x8106. Your opinions matter to us.

Supernatural Stillwater

Halloween has become one of many people’s favorite holidays, especially over the last ten years. Several suggest that Halloween’s increasing popularity is due to the chaos happening in the world around us. As we perceive the world becoming scarier and more out of control, we escape through the one night when we enjoy being afraid, knowing that our fears will disappear at the end of the night.

Another way of controlling the unknown is to investigate it. Instead of fearing strange occurrences, many people have started investigating them. One of those groups is the Oklahoma Paranormal Investigation Syndicate (OPIS). On Halloween Day, from 2-4 p.m., OPIS founder, Clint Hancock, will be at the library to present “Paranormal Investigation 101.”

Clint will be teaching supernatural enthusiasts how to track ghostly activity, while demonstrating how to accurately collect information using specialized equipment. He and other investigators from various paranormal research teams in Oklahoma will share stories about their scariest experiences in the field.

Obviously, most of us want to know if there is any paranormal activity going on here in Payne County. Clint says there are several “hot spots” right here in the area, including one particular place just outside of town—somewhere that most of us have visited.

If you are interested in these types of phenomena and want to learn more about investigating their origins, then sign up now for the class at http://tinyurl.com/spookyspl, or you can call the Help Desk at (405) 372-3633 x8106.

If you’d like to read more about paranormal investigation, check out our display filled with books on the subject.

“The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult” provides photos from archives and museums across the world that seem to have captured a paranormal presence. Most of the photos are from the 1800s to the mid-1900s. Of course, even then, before Photoshop, photographers were experimenting with ways to alter what was captured on film, but the volume still provides a fascinating chronicle of paranormal photography through history.

Another good choice is “The Oxford Book of the Supernatural,” which provides some of the best writings on ancient and modern phenomena across the world. All items in the displays are available for check out.

When I first started working at the library, one of my colleagues told me that the north building was haunted. It’s true that when we go over to close the meeting room wing, we hear strange creaks and unexplained noises. I don’t believe that any paranormal activity is going on, since the building is, after all, very old. But, when I am alone over there late at night and those clicks, pops and creaks start up….well, let’s just say I don’t mind having my radio with me, just in case. I’ll be interested to see if we can learn a little something about our own library “ghost.” I hope you’ll join us.