Much is being written about the September 11th attacks on the fifth anniversary. I hesitate to add to the discussion, but have been thinking about my own experience that day, and it seems appropriate to post it here.
On that Tuesday, I was working at the same library I am now. One of my co-workers arrived for work at around 8 a.m. (Central time- it would have been 9 a.m. in New York) and mentioned that she had heard on her car radio that a small plane had flown into a building in New York City.
I went to my computer and tried to go to CNN.com, but it wouldn’t load for me. I started trying other news sites, but didn’t get anywhere with them, either. I turned on my radio, and heard a reporter stating that a second plane had flown into the other tower of the World Trade Center, and I remember having an understanding at that moment that it was a terrorist attack.
We went to our library classroom and turned on the projector and tuned into the satellite feeds, and saw the sight of the burning towers that is familiar to everyone.
From that point forward this room became a community experience. We told our patrons that the room was available for anyone to watch the events unfold, and the library staff took turns visiting the room to catch up with the horrific events. I recall several times going back to the circulation desk and simply telling people working there to go to the classroom because “it’s gotten worse”. The worst was the collapse of the first tower; I didn’t expect it and to watch it happen was both surreal and sickening.
I didn’t think to put a videotape in the VCR until after both towers had collapsed; I know that I barely had the ability to keep up with the emotional impact of watching everything happen.
There were a lot of people crying in the classroom; the rest were close to tears. I remember telling a co-worker that we were in for a war that was not going to be quickly resolved. I was thinking Afghanistan and the Taliban. I also remember hoping that the administration was up to the task.
It was a chaotic day. I doubt we got much done at work besides keeping the Circ and Reference desks staffed, but as I think back on the day, it seems that we transcended our role as a library that day, and became a place where people were able to experience events in safety, surrounded by people who were going through it at the same time. I wouldn’t have wanted to be alone that day; it was good to share it, especially since we were providing the space and the company to share it with.
I hope that, in the future, we can have a similar reaction to emotionally charged events: the instinct to share what we can with as many people as we can. I feel that it made us stronger, everyone in the room, to share the experience. I know that it made me stronger, and that much of the strength came from the sharing.
