Posted on April 3, 2020 at 2:35 PM by Jason Macoviak
The books on the shelves are disquieting. Their titles cry out at me as I walk past their darkened rows; they beg to be picked up, they yearn to be held, they demand to be heard. Their sounds are deafening and confusing and become a cacophony of alarm bells by the time I make it to my office door. I enter and quickly close the door behind me to muffle the sound, take a seat at my desk, let out a big sigh, and then quickly get to work. Yes, there is work to be done: The Library remains essential to our patrons and it is now our responsibility to create new paths for community engagement and conversation and build new bridges to reach our patrons and help fill the gaps that this pandemic has created. Our doors may be shuttered, but our hearts and minds are completely open as we navigate an uncertain future. What is not uncertain, though, is the library’s steadfast commitment to Bisbee. Staff is working on creating new resources to help fulfill our mission and polishing old ideas to make sure that when we do reopen, the library that we all love and cherish will live on for another 137 years, and beyond. And, this library has lived more history and probably knows more than all of us : In 1919, the CQL was closed for 76 days for quarantine for the Spanish Flu, and when it reopened, it did so to a changed world and a new Bisbee. This town has written many stories throughout its years: tales of the first mining claim, the Bisbee Deportation, floods and fires, the closing of the mine and the reopening of our collective imaginations. There’s a reason the library is featured in so many historical photographs of this town: It is the heart of Bisbee. And, even with its doors closed today, it continues to beat and remains a lifeline in these uncertain times.
