ALL LIBRARIES CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Mind you, I have my own books, and I don’t go to the public library often. But I wish I had made it to a university library before the Covid-19 outbreak. There are some books I NEED which are too expensive to buy. Occasionally I check the university library websites to see if they are open. Still closed. They’re not CRAZY.
Some people complain that they can’t get their books on reserve. I empathize. There the books are, in a building a mile or two away, and they can’t pick them up. We cannot even return books here, because apparently the books have to be quarantined.
The governor has declared libraries can reopen, but they’re not doing it here–yet. I read an essay in Book Riot about the frustrations of Chicago librarians, who have been ordered to return to work. According to the writer of the article, the planning is pretty hazy. Employees will not be given protective gear and have been told that patrons will automatically practice social distancing. In Chicago???!!!
Speaking of which, are your social distancing standards rigorous?. Six feet? That’s for amateurs. I like a good ten, twelve feet distance. First, I was a crazy person hopping into the street. Then everybody was doing it! I was a role model. Back to crazy person now that the state has reopened, I suppose.
If only things were normal this Memorial Day weekend, we would go to a park, have a picnic, take a walk…but there are huge crowds.
It’s one big Jane Austen novel these days. Take a walk, take another walk, take another walk–and if only we could go to Bath, like Anne in Persuasion.