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What we can learn from the way American libraries responded to the 1918 influenza pandemic
In 1918-19 the wo rid was shaken by a massive influenza pandemic that killed an estimated 50-100 million people, including more than half a million in the United States. Nearly one -quarter of the U.S. population- 25 million people-from all walks of life became ill with what was commonly called the Spanish flu.
Breaking out at the height of World War I, the pandemic fed on the chaos and confusion of wartime. The earliest U.S. outbreak was recorded in March 1918 at Fort Riley outside Junction City, Kansas, where it quickly spread among the soldiers. Troops deployed to Europe spread the disease as they moved to embarkation points. The disease soon entered the general population, and by late August 1918, public outbreaks arose on the East Coast and rapidly spread across the country.
For the next few months, the flu raged. As the situation escalated, Baltimore and Washington, D.G., ran out of coffins. Philadelphia couldn't keep up with the burial of its dead. Quarantines were imposed. The sick and dying were isolated and even abandoned. Food and coal supplies ran low, partly because of the war, but also because farmers and miners were sick too. Public transit schedules were curtailed, and many nones sential businesses were forced to close.
Libraries afflicted with flu, too
In 1918, libraries were already coping with a multitude of issues: the changing needs of users now wanting information on the war; the breakdown in acquisitions of materials, especially from Europe; the demands of new immigrants for services; fuel shortages and the rising costs of supplies; and a commitment to the American Library Association's war effort. When the flu pandemic hit, many libraries imposed limited access in response to quarantine orders. Across the country, circulation statistics dropped an average of 10%. Libraries already strapped by staff enlistment saw employees sickened, worktime lost, and even the death of staff. Library buildings were utilized for projects related to combating the pandemic, including meeting space and work areas for volunteers.
Boston was the first major city to be affected, and it had the least warning. The flu broke out in late August and lasted weeks. Boston Public Library...