There’s no shortage of information currently circulating about the causes of, and cures for, Covid-19. Trouble is, much of it is just plain wrong, being based on ridiculous conspiracy theories – for example, that 5G phone networks are to blame for spreading the virus – or profound ignorance. The latter is exemplified by the recent speculation that ingesting or injecting household disinfectant could cure the infection. Bloody hell, words fail me!
The crisis has only been around a few months, yet already Wikipedia offers a 16,000 word piece on “Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” So the burning question is, just who can you trust to point you in the right direction?
Personally, I would always trust a librarian to do just that. One way or another, I’ve spent most of my life in and around libraries. I always get a buzz of excitement in them. All human knowledge is available in, or accessible via, a properly run library. All you have to do is find it, and there’s no better way to do that than to ask the librarian.
Librarians are information professionals. It’s their job to help us find the information we need, accurate information from reliable sources. Many also have a wicked sense of humour. The image below was sent to Mrs P by one of her friends. Just read the book titles from top left to bottom right, and have a quiet chuckle at the creativity of one immensely knowledgeable librarian, albeit someone who maybe has too much time on his – or her – hands at the moment!
Libraries in the UK – and many other countries, I think – are struggling right now, so when the current crisis has passed why not pop into your local branch and check it out? You may be pleasantly surprised by what’s on offer. Meanwhile, you could try out the library’s digital offer. Various library services are available online these days, and could have been designed for lockdown living!
Now I'm 64 
Yes! What a great post. We need libraries more than ever. 🕊
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you. Libraries made me what I am today, and – in my mind, at least – they remain as important as ever in this digital age.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s too bad all the information on the internet wasn’t as reliable as the information we got from the librarians in days gone by. Now we have to verify everything we see and hear.
We just heard that 400 library workers in our province have been laid off due to the virus. Until now they were kept busy cleaning and sorting, but the work has run out. At least they will be eligible for the government aid.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trouble is, so many people – and not only the younger generation – are naïve, and believe stuff they read on the Internet without questioning it. There’s a lot of garbage out there, and that’s what librarians are trained to help folk detect. I hope your librarians get back to work soon! Thank you for the follow … looking forward to more quirkiness!
LikeLiked by 1 person
How I loved this post – being a community librarian, I can’t tell you how much we welcome this kind of support 🙂 I shall forward it to my team at work. We’re just in the process of reopening our little village library for click-and-collect and are looking forward to July when hopefully we are allowed to open our doors again 🌿
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, and thank you also for the follow. I have a long and close connection with the world of libraries(!) 😉, which, for better of for worse, helped to make me what I am today. I hope your library soon gets back on its feet. I’m sure your regulars will be missing you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We do get heckled in the village as to when we’ll be back – I think a few residents are climbing the walls without fresh books to read 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person