Why Librarians Will Be The Last To Unmask

We’re 2.5 years into the Covid outbreak that shocked our world. While the majority of society has decided to move on, libraries across America remain masked and frozen in time. Why is this? What is it about libraries and librarians in general that make them the stronghold for an endless pandemic?

My local library has always taken Covid with the utmost seriousness. They may never get over the initial fear. At the beginning of the pandemic, they took every precaution including doing outdoor pick up for materials, hiring a security guard who checked for masks, and limiting the number of people allowed to gather outside in the plaza area.

The REALM (Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums) provided science based information to libraries across America on how to process materials to create the lowest chance of Covid-19 exposure including quarantining returned books for 72 hours before returning them to the shelves.and even currently gives guidance on proper ventilation. When I called my mom, who lives in a red state, during the pandemic we often talked about our libraries’ very similar covid protocols.

The outdoor service carried on for several months even after many other businesses had already opened. Just like schools,  unions also control libraries. They wanted to make sure all Covid protocol was in place, which included Plexiglass surrounding every desk, air filtration systems, limited customers inside, and strict masking policies.

When the doors finally opened to the public, the library became the location of Covid Zealots. They embraced the rules as deeply as organizing books using the Dewey Decimal System. While employees at local businesses enjoyed seeing my two year old’s beaming smile as his mask slid to his chin the library remained the only place in my city to scold him for “Not putting it over his nose”  They had signs professionally printed and displayed around every corner reminding visitors of their strict masking policy, took away seating to discourage staying longer than necessary, and moved all their community programs online.

Eventually the vaccine became available and Covid restrictions eased earlier this spring in my city. Businesses have since removed the Plexiglass that once stopped wonderful customer interactions and torn down their homemade masking signs that they printed in haste to satisfy county orders. Slowly we all began to unmask and move forward; however, the library remains the same, with a giant Masks Highly Recommended welcome sign. The vast majority of patrons and the entire staff are still embracing this message.

When I talked to my librarian friend, she believes that librarians continue to mask because they come into contact with a lot of different members of the community, thus leaving them in a constant fear of Covid. I also believe after so much effort put into creating a virus-free zone they could not just turn it all off.

In addition to having a difficult time moving on from the Covid panic, librarians are typically left-leaning. If you go into any library, you’re sure to see all the left leaning best sellers proudly on display while they quietly tuck away the conservative books. Librarians usually get their Bachelors Degree in Liberal Arts and then go on to receive their Masters in Library and Information Science, so they spend a lot of time in liberal universities.

In the 2021 annual report by the ALA (American Library Association), they used the current buzzwords of the Democratic Party such as social justice, inequality, and systemic racism and encouraged libraries to focus on providing services and reading materials around these issues.

It was no surprise to me that they continue to fully embrace masks in their attempt to make a Virus Free Utopia and as my librarian friend told me “wearing a mask seems to be the signifier of a very liberal political affiliation.”

Besides enjoying the strict covid rules, Librarians also tend to be introverted. In a small study, Mary Alice Scherdin gave 1,600 librarians a personality test and found that 63 percent were introverted versus 37 percent who were extroverted.

The mask could be a welcome way to reduce social interactions that usually increase anxiety for introverts; however, in a BBC article Kathryn Stamoulis an educational psychologist and mental health counselor in New York quoted “There’s definitely the potential to lose out on social interactions that can be nourishing. We know that social interactions whether it’s a quick chat or mutual smile can release endorphins and reduce cortisol levels. ” It’s hard to tell what the impact of continuing to mask will be, and if at a point they cause more harm than good.

I am beginning to believe that the Plexiglass, masks, and  fear of Covid is now the New Normal at my library and others across the nation. They never fully recovered from the initial Covid panic, it;s a sign of their political leanings, and a comfortable barrier to anxiety-inducing social interaction.

To be honest, as long the state no longer forces me and my children to wear a mask in the library they are free to carry on. As one of my favorite California sayings goes,” You do you and I’ll do me.”