The Thomas J. Harrison Pryor Public Library has received new genealogical information and research materials.

Librarian Carolyn Shaver said the late Jerri Chasteen gave an extensive collection of historical research to the library.

Chasteen, Claremore, was a genealogist for over 20 years. Though she lived in Claremore at the time of her death, Chasteen was born and raised in Pryor. Her genealogy information includes an in-depth research into the Cherokee ancestry.

Chasteen assisted Cherokee Nation with establishing accuracy in their rolls. She worked with the National Archives and the Mormon Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, collecting historical records for all five civilized tribes.

Shaver said Chasteen’s collections include information from the surrounding states of Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Kansas.

In donating her research materials to

the library, Chasteen requested the books and information be displayed and accessible to the

public.

Shaver is working to go through boxes of microfilm and books. She said she “is inventorying everything.” As of Tuesday afternoon she had inventoried 274 books.

“I’ve just started,” she said.

Shaver advised the new research archives will not be available for some time.

Summer programs at the library were a success. Librarians Brett Swofford and Pat Edwards gave a report on summer camps to library board members in the July meeting.

Swofford, who conducted the teen summer camps, said the first camp was a poetry camp. Seven teens signed up for the poetry camp. They made shadow boxes for a project and had a chocolate party as the final event.

In the second camp, Swofford said teens made paper mache puppets. The teens selected a children’s book to go with their puppet story. A tie-dye party wrapped up the puppet camp.

The third teen camp was a chess camp, where one adult signed up with the teens. Pizza Hut donated coupons for the participants in the chess camp.

Edwards said children’s programs were held the first and third weeks in June. The children were separated into kindergarten through third grade in the

morning and fourth through sixth grade in the afternoon.

Edwards had crafts and sno-cones for the children. The camps were limited to 30 kids. Edwards said both morning camps were full.

Thunderbird Youth Academy cadets helped both weeks. Edwards said the children decorated cookies, which they donated to the cadets.

“I think they enjoyed the camp,” Edwards said.

She said the library might do the camps differently next year and hold one camp in July and another in August.

Edwards held the regular pre-K story time in July in addition to the summer programs. Librarian Lauren Dewey was in charge of the pre-K program in June.

“We hit every age group,” Risner said. “Except adult.”

Risner added she plans to have an adult program next year.

Risner gave board members the final number of checkouts and computer hours for the fiscal year 2008-2009.

Computer hours were 33,000. Adult checkouts were 52,888 and juvenile checkouts were 23,753, making the total checkouts 76,641 for the year.

Materials added in the month of June were 308 adult materials and 182 juvenile materials. The library received 213 donations in June.

Library cards issued were 2,765. Offsite outreach programs involved 3,585 people.

Risner reported the library is down on staff.

The final report of the 08-09 budget showed 94.5 percent of the budget was expended. Risner said she made all the cuts requested by the mayor. Fourteen thousand dollars remains unexpended in the capital outlay

budget.

Risner is planning to apply for a grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council. The grant will be for a Smithsonian traveling institution called The Key Ingredients. The exhibit, coming up in 2011, will be about food and its history.

Risner said the library will have to create its own exhibit to go with the Smithsonian show. She said the library may display local cookbooks as an exhibit. If she decides to use her idea, the cookbooks could be gathered from area organizations, clubs and churches.

Risner is waiting to apply for the grant until after the city’s bond election for capital improvements. In the application she must specify where the exhibit will be held. If the bond does not pass, the library will not be expanded and she will have to find another location to hold the traveling institution.

The library is nominating local artist Bill Rabbit for the Oklahoma Humanities Council Award.

“His artwork tells a story,” Risner said of Rabbit, who is considered a renowned artist. “He’s as good a candidate as any, or better,” she added.

The library board approved changes to the library policy. Added to the policy was a

patron library policy questionnaire.