04/28/2021
This article has some interesting historical facts about libraries and the pandemic of 1918. The parallels between then and now may surprise you.
The mandates of masks, the importance of social distancing, and the closing of public spaces were all health guidelines drafted in 1921, in the wake of the 1918 flu pandemic, and libraries shifted from their focus on classic literature to “useful information.”
One thing remains the same; libraries will always adapt to the needs of their patrons.
Over the past year, we have all had to change the way we do things. It was a challenge, but it has also brought about some new and exciting options we may not have initiated otherwise.
As we approach the end of the spring semester, don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you need assistance.
“But perhaps one of the biggest roles libraries played was in asking them to do what they do best: To connect people to the information they need. The 1918 flu pandemic was the first in which libraries were central to disseminating public health information, spurred by health officials’ struggles to share updates with communities during the 1916 Polio epidemic. This new library role in educating the public, combined with shifts in library focuses towards usable information, made libraries partners in many public awareness campaigns, from public health to nuclear safety, in the coming decades. In 2020, libraries offered everything from parking lot hot spots to curbside pickup to distance educational programming and online resources. Tutwiler looks back with pride, noting how hard the library’s staff worked when they ‘were given an impossible task, serving the public without interacting with the public.’ ”
The 1918 influenza pandemic had a profound impact on how librarians do their work, transforming libraries into centers of community care.