A Quandary in Quarantine

Chapter Seven

Luce and I had gotten back to Elsewhere pretty late the night before, so I had done nothing but fall into my bed and immediately go to sleep when we finally got home. In the morning, when my alarm went off, I got ready quickly, opting for a quick messy bun in my hair, my tinted moisturizer and a rich colored lip gloss. Then, I headed to the library a bit early. I hoped that if I could poke around a bit before everyone else got there, it would shake that feeling I’d had the last time - that I was going to get caught doing something I should not be doing.

Irene’s office was still basically as she had left it. I worried that it would turn into a bit of a shrine to her, if it stayed that way much longer. I resolved to ask Maggie what she would like me to do. I did not want to make any assumptions about line of succession for her job - that was exactly what Deputy James had done after all, and that apparently gave me a motive. I shuddered to think what he’d make of it if he heard I was asking after Irene’s job.

So, clearly, that was a task for another day.

I did, however, take a quick look through Irene’s files for any information about up and coming programs she’d been planning. I knew she had a few things scheduled, and I wanted to be prepared to take them over if Maggie wanted me to.

The first program I knew she’d has planned was a Women’s History Month presentation on the history surrounding the Women’s Suffrage Movement and how the echoes of those women’s work still affected us today.

I know she had planned to highlight the digital collection from the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which consisted of scanned books and pamphlets from the suffrage campaigns between 1890 and 1938. It was a truly fascinating collection, but like many collections from various eras - it contained an implicitly biased view of the events. Most of NAWSA’s members were well-educated, white, and came from the middle and upper classes of society. Therefore the collection contained little to document the role of women from poorer families, or women of color. What Irene had planned to do to balance her presentation was invite a speaker from the University of Wisconsin to help fill in those gaps a bit through a talk on the subject.

From the notes Irene had left, it was going to be a truly wonderful program, and one I was sure would be well attended by our community.

I found her program plan, and the contact information for the professor who was going to be giving the talk. I proactively emailed her to let her know I would be taking over as her point of contact here at the library. I did not share the details as to why exactly, as I did not really want to have to field the inevitable questions that would prompt.

But, at least the program would still go on, and our community would still be able to benefit from all the work Irene had done.

After that, she’d scheduled a series built around Money Smart Week. Money Smart Week is a national public education program coordinated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and many libraries and schools across the country offer coordinated programs. Elsewhere Public Library had ‘celebrated’ every year, and shared tips on money management and planning for education and more with adult patrons as well as teens.

By the time I finished going through Irene’s program plans and made notes to bring to my next one-on-one with Maggie, it was nearly time for the rest of the library staff to arrive. I figured I had made a pretty good dent in the extra work I made for myself, so I got up to go grab the book drop and go through my usual opening routine. I realize that the only way I was going to make it through was to keep busy and not let my mind wander too much.

Which was easier said than done.

*****

Well, this was it. The email we had all been waiting for, and also dreading, had finally come. As if there wasn’t enough to deal with after the suspicious death of Irene and everything else I had found out…

It was mid afternoon on Thursday March 12th, and I was covering a shift on the circulation desk. I could not quite bring myself to sit at my normal spot at the reference desk for more than a few minutes. It wasn’t like you could tell someone had died there, exactly - there was no crime scene tape or anything really marking the area, but I just could not do it. Maggie had understood completely, and suggested the move at least temporarily.

Luckily, the circulation desk was large enough to accommodate two computer terminals, and we often had two staff people working that desk when the library was busy, so it also did not raise any flags to our patrons. Irene had lived alone, and though she had acquaintances in town, apparently no one outside the library was especially close to her, so it was heartbreakingly easy to cover her absence with a sign directing all questions be asked at the circulation desk.

I had just helped a man and his young daughter check out a huge stack of books on Saturn when I heard the chime indicating a new email had arrived sound from the minimized window on my computer screen. Ava, our part time circulation staff person, received an email at exactly the same time - so we braced ourselves and opened it together. With mounting concern, we read the email Maggie had sent:

To the amazing staff of the Elsewhere Public Library:

Due to the rapid rise of Coronavirus cases in Wisconsin, Elsewhere School District will be sending children home a week early for Spring Break. Their last day of school will be tomorrow, and they’ll tentatively plan to return the week of March 30th.

Effective at 5:00 pm tomorrow, Elsewhere Public Library will be physically closed to community members and visitors. Please, start letting patrons know right away. There will be a bulletin posted soon on the Pubic Notices Board outside Town Hall, and an announcement will be made along with information from the school district on the news tonight.

I have already changed the recording on the library’s answering machine. We will direct all reference and collection related questions through Libby’s AskElsewhere platform for now, and we’ll all pitch in with shifts covering that and the Reference Department’s email.

Because I know all of you will want to know my expectations during this hopefully brief disruption to our lives, I expect that in addition to helping Libby with the questions that come in through the AskElsewhere platforms, I ask that you keep yourself busy, and use the time to become more effective at your jobs. I’ve included a list of professional development webinars and courses. Please view these as suggestions, not requirements at this time.

I also encourage you to read outside you usual genres, try something new, and just remember to practice self-care.

Remember: We’re all in this together!

Yours,

Maggie