The Library – An Island in the storm

Courtesy of Sue Hoag:

Where to go when the storm takes out your electricity and the temperature in the house starts to dip? . Diane O’Brien, Director of the Library of the Chathams reported at the Friends of the Library Board meeting that many residents of the Chathams found refuge at the Library. Lucky enough not to have lost power and heat, the library was filled to capacity. All the computers were in constant use, following the protocol of each person using a computer for a maximum of an hour before giving it up to the next person. The WiFi system was filled to capacity and finally crashed for a couple days due to the demand overload . People had cell phones and other electronics recharging in the outlets. Some were sitting on the floor with laptops plugged into an outlet. Residents were coming in to get warm, enjoying a good reading spot, going out for a bit to eat and returning until closing, just to keep warm. Diane also reported that she was pleased with how responsible all the staff was. Even though some had to travel long distances, and others had trees and branches down in their own yards, there was a full complement of staff at the library to assist the residents. The Library is a resource for so many people during the year: some doing research, some job searching, pleasure reading, children’s activities and on and on. Little did we realize how invaluable it would become for so many during a storm.