This summer the library ran an essay contest. We proposed the theme What I Have Learned During Quarantine, and asked contestants to write essays of no more than 3,000 words. Prior to announcing the contest, we posed the question to a few local writers groups, whether they would be interested in such a contest. The response was very enthusiastic, with more than forty people in one social media post saying they would love to participate. There were many comments about how there should be a series of essay contests, more ways to encourage people to write essays, and more.
We announced the contest, and we drafted three very qualified people to judge the essays. We posted the announcement on social media, in our newsletter, and directly to the same writers groups whose thoughts about it we had already solicited. The contest ran through the month of July, and judging was planned to take place during August, with the winner and two honorable mentions announced the last week of this month.
We received one entry. One. It was a lovely essay, full of rumination about things learned. The author was very excited to win the prize, regardless of the fact that we were upfront about the lack of any competition. We congratulated her on having the actual persistence to sit down and write an essay. That persistence is something that seems to be in short supply these days.While many people may like the idea of writing an essay, even with the chance of winning a cash prize, once they are presented with the opportunity, they fail to act.
We have been doing curbside service at the library for weeks now. We were even open for people to come in the building and check out for a while. People have requested so many books from our catalog that we have had to set up extra tables all around our circulation desk to accommodate them all. But the flow of people actually coming it to check out the books they have requested is much smaller.
Whether it’s ennui, lethargy, apathy, or simple tiredness, we seem to lack the follow through to get things done. Remember in the early days of the crisis, in March and into April, when everything shut down? We were all full of plans to get things done around the house, clean out the closets and garage, plant a garden, paint that kitchen! And I’m supposing that many of us got those things done.
But a certain lethargy seems to have set in. We want to do things, we mean to read more, we say we’re interested in an essay contest. But no, in the end, we just want to raid the refrigerator and watch TV.
It’s not everybody, many people are still checking out and reading what they order, and I suppose many people are still getting things done. But as time goes on, we just get tired of the loss of daily routine, of worrying about things, of not knowing when it will all end.
This is something we are learning during quarantine.
Webster Groves Public Library 