Back Inside a Library Again!

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October 19 was a big day in my town of Montclair, New Jersey. Was it because of the one-week anniversary of Indigenous Peoples’ Day (aka Columbus Day)? Nope. Was it because of the 208th anniversary of Napoleon starting his retreat from Moscow? Not really. It was…the day my town’s library reopened.

Well, partly reopened. Just the first floor was accessible to visitors, but that was still something considering the entire building had been closed since March due to the pandemic. And the first floor features the fiction section…helpful when one is a literature blogger. 🙂

The library had made curbside pickup available beginning this summer, and I borrowed some novels that way — as discussed in this July 26 post. But the online reservation process could be clunky; I would click on desired books and not always find them in my reserved file. Curbside pickup remains available.

Anyway, I visited my library’s first floor this past Friday, October 23, when I took the photo you see above. Yes, the place was almost empty — perhaps because it was a weekday morning and/or perhaps because people were still hesitant to be there. But no appointment was needed!

First I parked on the street, where more spaces were available than usual. On went a mask — required for library entry. Then I walked toward the front door, wondering whether I’d have to wait in line to enter given that only a few visitors were allowed to browse at a time. But I was waved in immediately, clutching a plastic card I’d been handed with the time I arrived (10:30 a.m.) and knowing I was allowed only 30 minutes amid the shelves.

Turned out that half hour was a bit frantic. Arrows on the floor meant I could enter bookshelf aisles only in one direction — so, instead of zig-zagging here and there as was my pre-pandemic habit, I had to time-consumingly keep circling the corridors to obey the arrows. Next time I visit, I’ll carry an alphabetical-by-author list of the novels I want. 🙂

Many of the 25 or so books I had randomly put on my October 23 list weren’t there. (I planned to go home with only four or five novels, but wanted many options.) So when I couldn’t find one I moved to another possibility, eating up those precious minutes. I eventually found Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, William Kennedy’s Ironweed, Ali Smith’s There But For The, and Fredrik Backman’s My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry. (How’s that for a title from the man who wrote A Man Called Ove?) I’ll discuss those novels in future weeks.

Among the novels on my list not on the shelves were several by James M. Cain, Patrick Dennis’ Auntie Mame, Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book, Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness, Amanda Eyre Ward’s The Same Sky, Tommy Orange’s There There, Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest, James Lee Burke’s The Neon Rain, P.C. Wren’s Beau Geste, Richard Doddridge Blackmore’s Lorna Doone, Ring Lardner’s You Know Me Al, F. Tennyson Jesse’s A Pin to See the Peep Show, and Yaniv Iczkovits’ The Slaughterman’s Daughter.

“Where Have All the (Novels) Gone”? Actually, my local library is excellent; it was just one of those days.

I was only on the hunt for fiction, but patrons seeking nonfiction (on the second floor) or children’s books (third floor) could ask staffers to retrieve specific items.

At the 25-minute mark, I decided to leave with my four novels. But first I wandered around looking for the self-checkout machines — which, like a few other things, had been relocated since March. Then my library card, which I hadn’t pulled from my wallet for more than seven months, wouldn’t work until I finally realized some tape I had on the card to keep it together had folded over and partly obscured the bar code — so I remedied that.

At 29 minutes, I was ready to go outside. I dropped the time-limit plastic card in a tray, and exited from a different door than I had entered. (That was a requirement.) As I did that, I wondered what the penalty might’ve been if I had exceeded the 30 minutes. Would I have had to write this blog post on my smartphone from a secret jail in the library basement? Would I have received three prison meals a day, or just three books that mention food?

Speaking of digital devices, the library’s computers are not yet available for patron use. Also, no meetings or events are allowed in the building for the time being. And people browsing for books can’t sit down. But using the hand-sanitizer stations was allowed. 🙂

Yes, what’s being offered is somewhat minimal, but it was great to be back inside a library again, even for a short time. Sort of my home away from home — whether or not there’s an exceed-the-time-limit jail there.

What’s the reopening status of your local library? What has been your experience if you’ve been able to enter the building again?

My literary-trivia book is described and can be purchased here: Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time.

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started, award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column for Baristanet.com. The latest piece — about school reopenings, rent control, my daughter’s travel softball team, and more — is here.

96 thoughts on “Back Inside a Library Again!”

  1. Thank you for this trip to your local library. I tend to order books using our regional online network which are then — blessedly — delivered to my local branch for pick up. But sometimes I enjoy browsing the stacks… Usually I read biographies about — and autobiographies by — songwriters. Libraries are such vital community resources! And I very much admire the work done by our librarians to inspire and support a love of reading as well as a sense of connectedness via readings, discussion groups, sing-alongs, etc. Hurrah for public libraries!!!

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    • Thank you for the comment, willedare!

      Regional online network are great things. And biographies/autobiographies of songwriters can be very interesting reads. While I mostly focus on novels these days, in the past I’ve read biographies of U2, The Clash, Neil Young, and other bands/musicians/songwriters.

      Last but not least, I share your enthusiasm for libraries and librarians. Well said! They are indeed wonderful.

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  3. Borrowed the book from the library, “A Minute To Midnight” by David Baldacci , going well then I went out of town to WI beginning of the month. It is a plenty big hardcover to carry, as I was having limited luggage, like a carryon suitcase.

    Therein WI I found a Novel, ” Disclaimer” a best seller a British author Renée Knight .So I started reading the novel,  a little confusing , two people talking in separate chapters , no relation to one another.
    Then I started getting creeped out by the super mystery of the book, there were other characters. I flipped through some pages, toward the end the book started making sense.

    This is the format to make a best seller I suppose…don’t know Dave.
    Keep everything in suspense , then make some sense of everything.

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  4. I am not a library patron, probably because of over-covetousness: I want to keep what I read, or even mean to read. Result? Tottering shoals of books all over. Most of which sit solidly in the ‘mean to read’ column.

    If I ever lived up to my readerly good intentions, I’d probably have as many books around, but less guilt over what I read instead of what I should read. From time to time, after a run of books for pleasure, I force myself onto one of my piles of literature and pick out something I’d like to say I have read. And occasionally, I even enjoy it, or at least, am happy to have read it, such as recently was the case with “Wuthering Heights”. Amazing what an English major can get through school without reading.

    I only occasionally buy books from bookstores, and like your trip to the library, many of the books on my list go unfound and thus unbought, which discourages me from more than infrequent visits. But I am constantly acquiring books from the men who set up card tables on Broadway near my apartment.

    It’s an urban equivalent to beach-combing– I never know what I’m going to find, and there’s little point in telling the sellers what I’m in the market for, since most of their wares come to them by way of building superintendents who are left with the task of clearing out apartments. It helps to keep reading up about books and authors, because, like learning a new word and then seemingly seeing it all over, an author read about often appears on a table soon after.

    Strangely, I’ve worked in libraries in my past, as has my mother. My father’s collection of books in his field is now a kind of memorial to him, taking up 2 rooms in his university’s library. I must be the victim of something similar, yet distinct from the experience of the fellow who worked at an ice cream factory– after so much of the stuff surrounding him at all hours, he hated the sight of it and ate cake for dessert always. Me, I like the contents of libraries– the ice cream– but care but little for the container.

    A plus: My booksellers never shut up shop, but were throughout the worst of the pandemic (so far), ready to do business, masked yet unbowed.

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    • Thank you, jhNY! You may not be a library patron, but you’re in a very good situation when it comes to obtaining books. Nice to be in just the right place, near Broadway in Manhattan!

      And, yes, whether getting books from a library, a bookstore, or a sidewalk seller, some desired titles are not going to be there. Frustrating in a way, appealingly serendipitous in another. And sidewalk sellers indeed have the Covid-time benefit of being outside.

      Interesting to have that family history of library connections, despite not being a library user now!

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  5. Dave, so much fun to read all these comments and your responses on this topic. I must confess there were anger management issues to overcome when the libraries ceased operation, and then when only a few in our city began to offer curbside. I had completely given up and then was surprised a couple months agree when our library offered curbside. We’re open now for all services, except BROWSING THE STACKS!! Sorry, see what I mean? They weren’t kidding when they used the term “borrowing privileges” were they? 🙂 It seems we’re all ecstatic to have them restored!

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    • Thank you, Mary Jo! I’ve really enjoyed the interesting comments as well!

      Yes, it was frustrating — albeit understandable — when libraries closed, and a big relief when services were expanded to allow the borrowing of physical books and other physical items. Great that your library has mostly reopened, and I hope browsing the stacks will be part of that in the not-too-distant future. Of course, who knows with Covid cases increasing once again? 😦

      I enjoyed your droll reference to “borrowing PRIVILEGES.” 🙂

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  6. Still only in dreams – library open only three morning hours, Mon – Fri. WFH, 24 mile round trip, 12 of those single track corkscrew, car park a 10 minute sprint,
    Upside ? Buying books !
    And reading all the unread books around the house.
    Not the same though…

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    • Thank you, Esther! Sounds like going to your area’s library is not an easy thing. 😦

      Buying books and reading unread books you already have is indeed some consolation. (In my case, I can’t buy too many more books because my apartment is already too crowded. 🙂 )

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  7. My library is still pick-up only, but I haven’t had too much trouble reserving online and picking up. Honestly, my trips to the library were rare in the first place, being homebound. I recently read ‘Bear Town’ by Backman. I enjoyed it and feel like it had an important message over all. I look forward to your review on his and the other books you chose.

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    • Thank you, Michelle! Great that your library’s online system has been working well. 🙂

      Glad you liked Fredrik Backman’s “Bear Town”! I’m about 40 pages into “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” (my second Backman novel after “A Man Called Ove”) and I’m very impressed with how quirky and heartfelt his approach is. And, yes, Backman offers important messages, including that it’s okay to be different.

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  8. Hi Dave,

    Thank you so much for sharing this rollercoaster of a ride through your local library! I’m very glad you didn’t end up in jail, but I’m also glad that if you were confined to this fictional prison, you could still post your blog, and you’d get three square books a day.

    Thanks to electronic books, and buying a lot of cheap used books, I haven’t used the library very much over the last few years. And more often than not, when I did want to borrow from the library, I would put in a request so that it was waiting for me when I got there. It’s been a really long time since I just wandered the aisles of a library. Also, I found that I didn’t read a huge amount during our two months of lockdown, preferring to binge some TV. And if I did read, I was more than happy to re-read comforting favourites that I could take from my own shelves.

    So I guess I was lucky that when I was ready to go back to the library, they were open and waiting for me. I think there were some time restrictions in the beginning, but I think we’re almost back to normal. Separate entrance and exit doors, and we need to leave our details for contact tracing, but we can browse in any haphazard way we want, and I believe computer usage is also back to normal.

    Dave, I know you rely quite heavily on your local library, so it makes me so very happy that you’re able to visit again. I look forward to hearing all about the wonderful books that you’re about to read.

    As for me, I just finished an absolutely charming and delightful YA book called The Trials of Morrigan Crow and I’m about to start a second or third re-read of Gone with the Wind.

    Sue

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    • Hi Sue! Thank you! “…three square books a day” — LOL! 🙂 Or maybe they’re sort of rectangular…

      Yes, going through a library these days can be rollercoaster-like. And there are of course the alternatives, as you mentioned, of things like reading eBooks and buying used novels and rereading favorites.

      All that said, glad your library is almost back to normal! Australia certainly is in a better place with Covid than the U.S.

      Great that you enjoyed “The Trials of Morrigan Crow.” An excellent YA book is a pleasure to read here and there before returning to “grown-up” novels. 🙂

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  9. Oh, my!!! How exciting!!! Also so disappointing that you didn’t find Auntie Mame or Lorna Doone!

    Can’t wait until you get to read Auntie Mame! I may have a copy around somewhere. I’ll see if I can find it!

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    • Thank you, lulabelle! I’m sure my local library will eventually have “Auntie Mame” and “Lorna Doone.” One advantage of having a huge to-read list (on which many novels are recommendations of people here) is that when some books aren’t at the library I can look for others. 🙂

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  10. It must be quite difficult to find the books you want, with a 30 minute time restriction. I’m sure people have been reading many more novels than usual whilst mostly confined to home. I imagine that travel books would also be popular. My son lives in Montclair NJ. It’s a beautiful place.

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    • Thank you, anotherday2paradise! Yes, it was definitely a bit of a rush given that some novels on my list weren’t there. Plus I bounced a couple times from the “main” fiction section to the paperback and large-print sections in a different area of the floor. 🙂

      I’m sure you’re right that more people have been reading more novels during the pandemic while at home more. And, yes, travel books as wish-fulfillment until we can all travel more easily again…

      Great that your son lives in Montclair! It IS a beautiful-looking suburb with many old trees, many old houses with attractive architecture, etc.!

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  11. Oh my lord. My Mr went down the road yesterday to the library…jstu reopened .. and yep, sounds much the same. Also they had a rule that if you picked up then decided not to take that book, it had to go in the tub at the end of each row. I had this vision where every book was in these tubs by the end of the day but I gather the place was empty. I see many fine books on your list…And some favs. The important thing is it was open.

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    • Thank you, Shehanne! Your husband’s library experience yesterday DOES sound similar, and my local library also has that “tub” rule. I avoided that by only touching the four novels I ended up borrowing, but I hear you about wondering whether some libraries might be a mosaic of filled tubs at the end of the day. 🙂 If I’m remembering right, “tubbed” and returned books are kept in my local library’s not-otherwise-used-at-the-moment auditorium for several days until they “decontaminate.”

      Yes, very glad the library was open, and I hope to eventually read all the not-there novels at some point. 🙂

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  12. Congratulations for your re-opened library! One of the libraries in my place was totally destroyed, I mean, the whole building, seems like it has disappeared. Hope it will be renewed, because the previous building was really old:)

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  13. Good news, Dave! But sorry to hear that not all books on your list were there. In line with the general library system, I’d say that there’s probably a fine if you stay longer than 30 minutes 😄
    Here in Finland the libraries reopened some months ago and our local library operates almost as normal; there is hand sanitizer and plexiglass, and book clubs are suspended or online. But you can still have a nice coffee and cake in the cafeteria while reading magazines or newspapers and you can stay until they close 😊

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  14. My library has been offering curbside pickup a few months,so I’ve been able to happily reserve a few books,the latest was the enchanting novel by Elizabeth Gilbert called, “City of Girls.” I didn’t want this book to end,was extremely engaged,a truly beautiful story of a life well lived.

    Two weeks ago, the library began allowing by appointment only use of computers,one hour limit. It’s been I’d say 2 months since browsing by appointment commenced on first floor. Any books on 2nd floor need to be reserved or a library worker will bring to lower level.

    Must have had that “normal” feeling again,Dave,to browse the shelves of your local library! I will make a note of some of the books on your list. The next book I’m waiting for from my library is a popular one called, “The Vanishing Half.”

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    • Thank you, Michele! Your local library seems to have been making careful moves to reopen for a while now. Sounds like a well-run place!

      “City of Girls” sounds wonderful; I just put it on my to-read list.

      Yes, nice to experience a “normal” (or semi-“normal”) feeling here and there!

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    • Thank you, Bill! Sounds like the set-up of curbside pickup at my library. It must be frustrating not to be able to go inside your local branch.

      It was definitely a weird feeling to finally enter my library again. Looked so familiar, yet so different — some things moved, barriers to create a separate entrance and exit, staffers in different places than they used to be, etc.

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  16. Mine was open Dave sometime ago with limited patrons, someone was counting the patrons getting in..
    First the sad news, Jack Reacher was out as always in October and although I am on an automatic list…I am hundreds behind. That means it will take months for me to get hold of the book
    Of course buying is not an option

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    • Thank you, bebe! Seems like many local libraries are counting/limiting the number of patrons inside at one time. Makes sense.

      Just read the review you kindly linked to. It sounds as if the latest Reacher book is more different than I expected. I figured with Lee Child still involved as co-author the approach to the series wouldn’t change THAT much. Oh well. I certainly won’t buy “The Sentinel,” either; I might take it out of the library eventually. Or might not. Sorry your library’s waiting list for it is so long. 😦

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  17. My local library (in Victoria, British Columbia) is now open with restrictions. I think there are limits on numbers allowed inside the buildings, but no time cards. I’ve only been to the branch nearest me to pick up books I put in requests for. I hear that the electronic resources (ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming services) are getting a lot of use, and more have been added since the pandemic started. I do miss the meeting rooms, as my writers’ groups now must meet via Zoom, which isn’t the same. Still, it’s good to know libraries are opening up.

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    • Thank you, Audrey! Yes, a number of libraries seem to be reopening with restrictions this fall. I hope that continues, though unfortunately Covid rates are rising again in a number of countries (certainly including the U.S.).

      You’re right that electronic resources (ebooks, audiobooks, and streaming services) are doing quite well these days. Glad they’re available!

      I agree that meeting via Zoom just can’t replicate meeting in person. 😦

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  18. I hadn’t been to the library since the pandemic hit, but I went today. It’s got a 15 minute time frame but not set in stone. As to the aisles, there were no restrictions. I’m in Erie PA and the library isn’t too far away from me, and it sits along the bayfront. Good sized I’ll add. the books you mentioned, I hadn’t heard of. However, I’ll eventually be getting William Kennedy’s – Ironweed, and Radcliffe Hall’s – The Will Of Loneliness. Two great titles I say. I did walk out with a few other books, but one, in particular, is Upton Sinclairs – The Jungle. Just getting started with it, but it does have quite the story of how it came to be in the two versions. Now I’ve got some reading to do. I tend to binge read in stretches

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    • Thank you, Don! Great that you visited your library today after so many pandemic months! Fifteen minutes seems like a fairly small window, but glad there’s some flexibility there. And wonderful to have a library along a bay!

      I haven’t read “The Jungle” in years (maybe in college?), but I remember it having a big impact on me. And it’s rare when a novel is influential enough to actually lead to legislation, as it did in (slightly) reforming the awful meatpacking industry during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration.

      Good luck with your latest bout of binge reading!

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  19. Hurray that you were able to get back to your library! I see a few books on your list that I will be very interested in hearing about. My local library has opened back up with reduced hours and lots of restrictions. As for me, I still have stacks of books I’ve purchased and received as gifts that I need to read. Happy reading!

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  20. Squeeeee!!! How exciting for you! And 30 minutes hey that’s enough time to get in there and do some damage to the shelves – although I’m sorry to hear There, There was checked out. I think you’ll love that book 🙂 Our library has not opened yet, nor do I think it will anytime soon. However, curbside is available and some materials have finally freed up, so I was able to go pick some up on Saturday!

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  21. I held my breath when read this, Dave: “clutching a plastic card I’d been handed with the time I arrived (10:30 a.m.) and knowing I was allowed only 30 minutes amid the shelves.” The countdown started and I was with you every step of the way, Dave, figuring out the arrows, feeling my mask and breathing steaming my glass (Canada is getting colder these days), looking at the shelves to see if the books were available, checking my time and calculating how long it would take to check out and wondering what the penalty was if I was two minutes late. What an adventure!! But that is what libraries are all about, I tell myself. Challenging us to change, to be flexible, to learn new ways of engaging within a community. I especially am grateful to the librarians who continue to work diligently to bring us books, information, music, videos – they are magicians that conjure up possibilities. Thank you so much for letting me tag along on your first foray into the Montclair library. I confess I breathed a sigh of relief when you dropped the card just as the 30 minute arrived. We made it!!

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    • Thank you, Clanmother, for enjoying the tiny bit of dramatic tension in my post. 🙂 Much appreciated!

      And, oh yes, glasses getting steamed while wearing a mask. 😦 I had to take them off a few times to more easily see book titles. Also a hazard when walking outside and doing other things. I try pinching the mask’s top strip just right, but that doesn’t always work.

      I totally agree with what you said in the second half of your comment about libraries and librarians. Both to be greatly admired.

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  22. So great to hear that your library has opened, Dave, if in a limited way. It is curbside-pickup only where I am. I just checked the website and it still says “closed until further notice.” But I have had no problems with curbside pickup–and an appointment is no longer required, which is a great improvement. I haven’t had great success with new fiction titles in the past few months–in fact, my last request from the library consisted of a book on knitting sweaters and another called New Cottage Style. Eye candy, in other words!

    I did pick up a copy of Where the Crawdads Sing from a neighborhood little free library. I’m somewhat intrigued by the sound of it. I hope you enjoy your haul–I’d like to try a book by Fredrik Backman sometime. And if you’ve never seen the film adaptation of The Remains of the Day, I highly recommend it!

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    • Thank you, Sheila! So glad that if it’s still curbside-pickup-only where you are that the curbside pickup has worked well and that no pickup appointment is required! As I noted in my post, the process has been at times problematic in Montclair.

      “Eye candy” can be worth a library borrow. 🙂

      I’ve heard very good things about “Where the Crawdads Sing” from commenters here and in general.

      Fredrik Backman’s “A Man Called Ove” is a wonderful novel. I loved it. I also thought “The Remains of the Day” was great, and would enjoy seeing the movie version one day.

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  25. Good evening Dave,
    reading your description of the visit to your library made me feel a little bit as if was there myself and I must admit that for me it would be, at least at the moment, to hectic! I thank you, however, for the many book titles you are proposing and I would go for the Kazuo Ishiguro title or “Never Let Me Go”
    Stay health and enjoy your books.
    Very best regards Martina

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  27. Dave:

    I made a comment on this edition but failed to mention my name. That anonymous was me.

    Doug

    On Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 11:49 AM Dave Astor on Literature wrote:

    > Dave Astor posted: ” October 19 was a big day in my town of Montclair, New > Jersey. Was it because of the one-week anniversary of Indigenous Peoples’ > Day (aka Columbus Day)? Nope. Was it because of the 208th anniversary of > Napoleon starting his retreat from Moscow? ” >

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  28. Good to hear your library has reopened, Dave! Mine here in North Texas has been open for several months, now, all except for the children’s floor. I have stuck mainly with the curbside pickup but did go inside once to drop off a book and retrieve one being held for me. Several staff members man the doors, asking about your intended business, and I know they are limiting the number of patrons. The floor held many arrows, as well. No public meetings are taking place. Surely not the leisurely location of the past, but they’re doing the best they can in a bad situation. Stay healthy!

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    • Thank you, Becky! Reopened for several months? Definitely earlier than many other places. I can understand about the children’s floor — not as easy to social-distance and so on when kids are involved.

      Yes, so true that libraries, even when partly reopened, are not the same leisurely/enjoyable place as they were pre-pandemic. But still a place to want to be.

      Stay healthy, too!

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  29. Not only is our library dealing with the pandemic, but it’s also being remodeled, and the remodeling is so extensive the library has had to relocate temporarily to a strip mall—much stress on both staff and partons. The air conditioning is being replaced, asbestos removed, and many structural changes made, one of which I hesitate to mention to Dave – they are relocating the stairway. It’s a beautiful thing but its middle of the interior location takes precious space. So, to an exterior wall, it goes. A big project for which my fellow taxpayers and I approved a millage. It’s going to be beautiful when finished.

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    • Wow — that’s some major stuff going on! Sounds like it will all be worth it in the long run, but a hassle for now. And the thought of a library in a strip mall is a bit depressing, but, heck, wherever books are is a good place. 🙂

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