When the library was hacked
The apocalyptic library.
“There are hardly any books,” Violet says. And I’m about to protest, but she’s right, there are hardly any books. The shelves are barren. Little stacks pushed together and then mile of empty shelf. It’s got an apocalyptic feel. Like this is our one last visit to the library before the world ends.
“Hm, yes, we were hacked,” a young librarian says with a smile. She’s taking it in stride. “They wanted ransom and then when the library wouldn’t pay our only choice was to rebuild the entire system.”
The other librarian is more frustrated. I sense that there are levels—the ones handling it and the ones who won’t ever stop talking about the day the library was hacked and how they had to check out books by hand for the next three months.
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The young librarian marks down our ten books. It takes 10 minutes. How did we still find ten books? It’s a miracle. She circles our due date on a little calendar they have printed off and highlights January 6. She’s meticulous with her highlighter. This new (old) system reminds me of my vintage sweater.
I comment on the teen section, which is the only section that seems to be thriving. All the books look brand new and the shelves are full. Maybe because they’re under-utilized. I consider telling them not to call the section “TEENS” but “TIKTOK” if they want actual teen readers. But it doesn’t seem like the time for suggestions.
Violet whispering in Spanish to her Duolingo before bed. Often she starts it too late, so I get annoyed. Tonight she says it in a confessional tone: “I hate to tell you but I still have to do Duolingo.”
Also, this.
Odes to Coco because we respect her excellent contribution to loafing. That’s her job, we all agree: professional loafer. And she's a true expert.
Here are some of the places she loafed this week: on Violet’s presentation poster board about a notable Canadian person, which meant more specially on Sarah Polley’s head; on a hand towel in the bathroom; in Violet’s hanging chair with an extended paw—think cat Renaissance painting.
