I believe everyone will reach a breaking point during the coronavirus pandemic. For some, it might be the cancelling of March Madness. Maybe it is Disneyland announcing that it will close. Or perhaps Tom Hanks reporting that he tested positive for the virus and is quarantined in an Australian hospital (That one brought my husband to tears). My personal “day the music died” moment was reading the email yesterday that our public libraries were closed. The news hit me with all the weight of a horcrux around my neck.
I can weather the void in a mature way, but my concern actually reaches beyond my own pain. As a mother and a school librarian I ask, “What about the children?” We close school for at least two weeks and possibly more. We cancel Spring Break vacations and tell kids they have to limit their interaction with friends. And now we close the Library?! Even extremely creative and motivated kids will fall into the trap of endless video games and screen time. Then we make reading only available on screens? I just won’t stand for that.
I'm not going to let a pandemic keep kids from reading. Libby's Little Library is born. More tomorrow...
