March began like any other month. The team at Bookworm was busy with our Library in Schools program, we were in communities reading and interacting with children through our Mobile Outreach Program, activities were being planned at our Library and we had begun preparing for our Library Educators Course which was a little more than a month away. The Corona Virus was something we all spoke about and it was on everyone’s mind. However, not for a moment did we think that it would have such a big impact not only in our life but the very heart of Bookworm – our Library space.
I clearly recall the day, we as a Team struggled with a decision on what we would do, given the circumstances of the pandemic that had suddenly become part of our lives. We discussed if we, Should close the library space completely? Could we still have our members come to borrow books? What would it mean for our programs and the children who visit the library? Working from home, a new concept to all of us within Bookworm seemed something we had to come to terms with. Questions, more questions, and finally a decision, keeping the health and safety of the very community that makes us who we are, we would close the library space for activities, but remain open for book exchange. Team members would come in on different days of the week to the library and the rest would work from home. Within a week of our own decision, the mandate from the State government made it necessary for all of us to stay and work from home.
So, what happens to a Library when it shuts its doors even if for a brief period of time? Each morning as the team greets each other, have conversations of what has transpired between the end of the previous day and the new morning, the physical coming together for discussions and the very fact that we do not see each other’s expressions when we speak to each other is lost. Children and parents going through book shelves to choose a book that had caught their interest or thought that they would enjoy reading, stops .Parents asking for book recommendations or sharing interests of a child for whom we can suggest books is lost. The sound of children, running in through our front door, and then realizing that they need to walk quietly is a sound that is missed. People on a holiday or just passing by curious to know what Bookworm is about and silently moving from one room to another but taking in so much of the books and space, ends. Activities that take place and bring people together, be it story hour, Pre School Morning, Zumba, cooking, play reading which bring learning, laughter and togetherness comes to an abrupt halt.
And what happens to our books that silently sit on shelves? Do they ache to be touched by little hands who pick them up and leaf through their pages? Are they burdened with the dust that slowly settles on their covers? Is the darkness of a room, a bit frightening to bear?
All this made us think about what we would do to deal with this unexpected turn in our life at the library. As we continued to work from home, we could not help but think of how we actually missed the library space and each other.
As restrictions slowly eased and we were able to return to the Library, the space grew alive with the energy of team members and a few children and their parents who come in to the library. In the months to come, we hope that we would be able to make the library space, vibrant and welcoming with library activities which respect the new conditions of our lives. No online space could ever take the place of physically coming together at the library.
In the words of Teresa MacGregor, Director, Library, Carnegie Mellon, Qatar “Libraries have existed through, and overcome, turbulent times. Libraries may be more important during turbulent times as they offer the trifecta of information, escapism and normality.