Although we may be reminded lately of the dystopian novel, The Stand by Stephen King, the world has been here before. The 1918 H1N1 flu pandemic (also called the Spanish flu) was the deadliest epidemic of the 20th Century. It spread worldwide during 1918-1919 and was ameliorated by World War I and the crowded conditions in the trenches on the battlefields of the Western Front. “The virus traveled with military personnel from camp to camp.”[i] In addition, returning soldiers brought the epidemic across the Atlantic. More American military personnel died of influenza and pneumonia during the war than they did from the enemies’ weapons.

One-third of the world’s population (or 500 million people) were infected with this virus. 50 – 60 million people died across the globe. 675,000 of those occurred in the United States. Norwood’s own historian, Patricia Fanning, wrote about Norwood’s involvement during the pandemic (see From the Library Column Influenza and Inequality, September 13, 2018). Over 100 of the 12,000 citizens of Norwood perished from that flu.

To put this into perspective, the U.S. population in 1918 was about 103.3 million people. 6.5% of the population died in the United States. The population now is more than three times higher.

During the pandemic of 1918, the Board of Library Trustees wrote in the 1918 Town of Norwood Annual Report that the total circulation (books checked out) for the year was down by over 5,000 items. “The decrease … due to the war work activities and also the closing down of the circulation department of the library during the severe influenza epidemic.” Due to the war, the hours of the Library after January 13 were 12:30 pm – 8:00 pm. To conserve fuel and electricity, there were no Sunday hours, as well.

Regular hours resumed in December after World War I had ended on November 11, 1918.

As many library users in Norwood know, our library closed to the public on Sunday, March 13, due to the Covid-19, a virus that causes a respiratory infection, sometimes deadly. Library staff members were sent home – and expected to work from their homes, while minimal staff took care of technology and network issues. Very quickly, library staff began manning a chat-with-a-librarian feature prominent on our website. Reference and other professional librarians became available for instant answers to questions from 9-5 every day that week. (On off hours, the Chat application sends an email to staff who answer those questions as soon as they can.)

Delivery between all Massachusetts libraries ended on Monday of that week, and on Thursday and Friday, a staff of no more than six people telephoned or emailed library users who had books waiting on the hold shelf. A curbside delivery service was implemented for those two days, according to Norwood’s Public Health Department guidelines. 175 users were contacted, and 94 of them received their items – 308 in total. 

Upon Governor Baker’s stay-at-home order given on Monday, March 23, all library staff have been at home communicating online through Zoom, on phones, text, and email. Programming librarians quickly began presenting both children’s and adult events – StoryTime with our children’s staff – Miss Kate Tigue, Miss Nicole Coon, and Miss Dina Delic on Facebook Live at 12:30 pm in the afternoon. Liz Reed, Adult Services librarian, held the first Craft Connection, and Patty Bailey, the library’s book discussion leader, held the monthly Turn-the-Page event in the evening. Both events were held on Zoom, a free remote conferencing service that combines video conferencing, online meetings, chat, and mobile collaboration. Nancy Ling, Outreach Librarian and author, and Kate Tigue, Children’s Services Librarian, conducted a Google Meet split-screen interview. A Together-Apart book discussion was held on Thursday night, March 26 and it was a huge success. Many more programs are being developed as I write this.

Library staff began Zoom conferencing each evening, to coordinate programs, solve problems and share ideas. In between meetings, group texts have provided instant communication and feedback.

Unlike 1918, libraries are more equipped than ever to provide free digital services to library users. While we have had digital audiobooks since 2005, and digital eBooks, movies, and music since 2010, we have been investing in both the media AND staff training since that time. 

Libraries in the Minuteman Library Network have been investing nearly a million dollars a year in the OverDrive platform, also known as the Libby application. More and more readers have found reading and listening on their personal devices (tablets and phones) for the past decade. All OverDrive books and audiobooks are easily accessible through the Minuteman Library catalog. In addition, there are many titles of popular magazines available for download.

The Morrill Memorial Library has been offering magazines on the Flipster app for the past few years and adding more and more titles. Flipster is a user-friendly app – magazines appear much like they do in the paper version, flipping through the actual pages. The Atlantic, Oprah, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Men’s Health, G.Q., Real Simple, and Bon Appetit are a few of the many free titles available. 

Hoopla provides Norwood residents free and easy access to stream and temporarily download thousands of movies, T.V. shows, music albums, audiobooks, e-books, and comics. Kanopy is an online streaming service, much like Netflix or Hulu. It provides access to excellent movies (many from the Criterion Collection), independent films, foreign language content, and award-winning documentaries.

Of course, in addition to all of the terrific streaming and downloadable options, library users still have all of our database resources that have always been available from home – Britannica, Boston Globe, the Chilton Library, NewsBank – America’s Newspapers, Heritage Quest Online, and Mango Languages.

If you need a library card to access all of these tremendous digital library collections, you can quickly sign up online on our website. Check the How Do I? drop-down menu for Library Cards. As soon as you are registered, the library will open your world to a wealth of possibilities during this time at home. And make sure you click on the link to chat with a librarian – he or she will attempt to solve any problem you encounter.

[i] The U.S. Military and the Influenza Pandemic of 1918-1919. PMC (Pub Med Central), Carol R. Byerly, PhD. Public Health Report, 125. 2010.

Charlotte Canelli is the Director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for her article in the April 2, 2o20 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.