Monday, March 16, 2020

While Everyone Else Stockpiled Toilet Paper, I Stockpiled Library Books

Last Thursday, I stood at a park downtown with a friend of mine, talking about all of the hysteria surrounding COVID-19. As the sun shone and our kids scrambled up and down the hills, we discussed the response of so many people in other parts of the country. The nation was going crazy, but at least Oklahoma wasn't panicking. 

The next morning, my kids and I strolled through the doors of the library, eager for the "parachute play" program. A sign came into view, announcing the cancellation of all library programs. Well, I guess that makes sense-but at least the library is still open! We spent a lovely hour at the library looking at books, playing on the colorful rugs (since all of the toys were taken out) and chatting with the librarians. The whole environment felt like a ghost town, but it was still our beloved library and felt like another home. One of the librarians mentioned to me that she doubted that the system would close, but just in case I decided to grab an extra (thick) novel. My children grabbed book after book after book, and we hauled a huge stack home. On Sunday evening, once the kids were in bed, I sat down at my computer. I'm going to request a bunch more books, just to ensure that I have enough books in case the system closes down, I thought. 


An e-mail announcing the closure of all public libraries ("out of an abundance of caution") blasted my cheery mood. I checked my account to see that two books that I put on hold weeks ago are "in transit"-and thinking about those books sitting in limbo for the next two weeks (at least) when I could be reading them made me even sadder. The chaos that is clutching this culture is getting a little out of hand. After Mass on Sunday, some people mentioned to me that they think a huge contributor to the societal panic is social media. I believe it.

I'm trying to remind myself that in the grand scheme of the world's events, the library's closure will not destroy my life. Yes, this totally wrecks our weekly schedule, but we'll be okay and it's a small sacrifice to make for the sake of helping our community. 


Since I won't be able to check physical books out from the library, I guess I have
a good motivation to get to these books-some of which I haven't read, and some of 
which I really need to pick up again! And if I need more material after these,
I do own a huge Russian novel that I haven't read from college.

I'm not anxious for our household in this time of the virus (we're all very low-risk and there doesn't seem to be much danger here in Oklahoma), but I do know that many people are experiencing health problems (especially those who are elderly and/or have preexisting health conditions) or a complete disruption of school, work, and/or finances during this time. Plus, with the public libraries closed (and terrible weather forecasted for this entire week) I have no idea where some of the homeless people-who ordinarily visit our library-will go.

I did our weekly grocery shopping with the kids, and it was a little mind-boggling to see how much was gone. While there was still plenty of food (and toilet paper, for all the people who are obsessing over that right now), several aisles were missing huge chunks of food. The section of bottled water was cleaned out. The Pillsbury refrigerator rolls were almost cleaned out, and the cereal aisle looked like a tornado had blown through it. I feel like I'm in a dystopian novel or on the set of The Walking Dead (minus the zombies, thankfully). 


Incidentally, I've been thinking of TWD a little bit (even though I stopped watching that show a long time ago). One of the aspects I didn't like was when the characters stopped working together, and instead began fighting and killing each other. How stupid is that? I'd think. There's this mess and tragedy, why can't they keep helping each other? I'm seeing shades of that same thing happening right now, and it's sobering. Especially online, people are being so quick to attack everyone from bishops to government leaders to random people-if they think that these other people aren't being "cautious enough." I think we'd all do a lot of good to take some deep breaths, say a prayer, step away from social media for a moment (or several) and maybe remember that we could try working together in this mess. 

On a final note, I also think it'd do a lot of good if we all took to heart some advice from Elizabeth's recent post on Coronavirus: "keep in mind that laughter is healing and stress is weakening!"

8 comments:

  1. The library being closed is devastating to me as well. Where I live it will be closed until Monday. Thankfully I have a shelf full of many books which I have not read!

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    1. I'm sorry to hear that you've been without a library too! That's great that you'll hopefully be getting it back soon, and that you have plenty of books in the meantime :)

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  2. When things started closing around here I put a ton of books on hold. I went to pick them up today. I saw the sign that the library is closing tomorrow. And, incidentally, found out that there is a limit of 99 items you can check out at a time. Thankfully, I had my daughter's library card, so we were able to get everything. Every single one of our activities is shut down, including all Masses in our diocese. It is just unreal.

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    1. That is good foresight on your part! Haha it's awesome your daughter's card could help you guys get everything checked out :) I feel like our house is swimming in library books right now, it'll be fun to find them all when the libraries eventually reopen!
      I hope you guys are able to find some community and consolation in this time without Mass! Our pastor livestreamed Mass today (and has the intention of doing that every day but Saturday) and it was SO GOOD to pray with him and hear his voice in this challenging time. One of the parishes up here is even exploring the possibility of doing Mass in the parking lot, where parishioners stay in their cars (and won't be able to receive the Eucharist) but can at least be there in person if they wish. I don't think anyone ever imagined that this scenario would happen. I'm so grateful that we can cling to God in this time!

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    2. I saw on Instagram that a church that had a glass wall set up Adoration. Everyone parked in the parking lot, facing the church and stayed in their cars; they could see the monstrance through the window. If you flashed your car lights, the priest would come to your car for confession. These are strange times.

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    3. Wow, that is so creative! What a cool idea.

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  3. We got a bunch of books a week and a half ago (I left them in the garage for a week to make sure any virus on them was dead). Now our libraries are closed, so I'm glad I have them.
    Our library also has several apps that allow you to borrow ebooks and audio books. It is not the same as having a print book, but it definitely helps in a time like this!

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    1. That's awesome that you were able to get a lot of books before the library closed! Yes, the e-books and audio books are a great resource. I haven't used them myself, since I can only use them by pulling out my laptop, but if I get desperate I may go to the e-books.

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