Libraries Save Lives

Libraries Save Lives

Mary McCool Berry August 21, 2022

??“If librarians were honest, they would say, No one spends time here without being changed,”?Joseph Mills wrote.

Recently I spent time at the downtown Cleveland Public Library in their Tech Central Department using their state-of-the-art scanning machine.

Tech Central is a wonderland offering computer and internet access, cell phone charging stations, computer instruction, one-on-one assistance,?and a Maker Space equipped with million-dollar technology, fabrication, equipment, 3D printing, vinyl, and laser fabrication, music, audio, and video production.?

The main branch of the Cleveland Public Library is one of Cleveland’s crown jewels. The famous architectural firm Walter & Weeks designed the building in 1925 for approximately 5 million dollars.

As a classroom teacher, I loved escorting children through the Italian marble-filled building with arched ceilings, grand staircases carved in Italian marble, and embellished rooms with ornate plasterwork and art. The building is transportive.

This Saturday, I noticed a 30-something-year-old man with strawberry blonde hair who was disheveled, sweating profusely, and not looking for books.

He shuffled past me and the scanning machine into the computer room and reappeared with a white styrofoam cup in his hand a few minutes later. Two security guards now followed him. He told the guards, “I have to use the bathroom.”?

As he and the guards walked out of Tech Central, he collapsed to the marble floor, convulsing, and quickly became unconscious. The security guards appeared stunned by the turn of events but promptly tended to the man who appeared in an active stage of overdose.?

I witnessed this tragic life event from the other side of the glass wall behind the scanner. The man’s body began to turn blue, his chest inflated to a concave position, and he seemed dead.?

Joseph Mills was right, “No one spends time in a library without being changed.”

My body was trembling, and I began to pray aloud. I pictured this man as a baby or child and felt only compassion.?

The guards called 911, one guard performed chest compressions using CPR, and the other hustled quickly for the defibrillator and Narcan. Narcan (Naloxone) is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist.?

Almost immediately, the man returned to life like a parched plant that desperately needed water.??

The well-trained security guards in the library saved this man’s life.?

EMS, fire, and police personnel arrived on the scene later, but the security guards are the heroes of this story.

How often do we pay attention to the ‘invisible’- security guards, check-out personnel, book sorters, and the countless people who assist patrons?

My visits to the Cleveland Public Library downtown branch had been limited to class field trips. Typically, I stay in my neighborhood.?

During this visit and one a few weeks earlier, I observed the people who use this library – people whom I would not interact with in my daily life. Some are homeless, mentally ill, poor, and disconnected from the mainstream.

Yet, I witnessed the library staff treating ALL with dignity, patience, and respect. The staff patiently answered my questions about the scanner, showed me how to use the machine, and didn’t snicker when the machine jammed. I observed staff helping a pair of brothers create a skateboarding poster and other staff assisting patrons who needed a myriad of tech support. We were all equals.?

This sacred, accessible public space is the great equalizer.?

Without libraries, where would people go??

Digging deeper into the safety aspect of libraries, I learned about?Safe Place Cleveland. In all Cleveland Public libraries, youth in crisis can access help and resources. What does this mean?

?“Safe Place is a national youth outreach program that educates thousands of young people every year about the dangers of running away or resolving difficult, threatening situations on their own.

According to the national Safe Place program, crises might include abuse, neglect, family troubles, dangerous dating situations, bullying, homelessness, or drug abuse.?

Any child or teen aged 17 and under who needs a place to stay or is experiencing a crisis may enter a Cleveland Public Library branch and ask for help. Staff will take immediate steps to connect the youth to appropriate resources." (Cleveland Public Library/safe space)

I have always loved libraries and books and grew up in the City of Cleveland. Today’s lesson taught me that libraries are much more than books. Their structures live, breathe, and hold a place of sanctuary for all.?

The writer, Anne Lamott, captures the spirit force of libraries with her words, “The world is always going to be dangerous, and people get badly banged up, but how can there be more meaning than helping one another stand up in a wind and stay warm?”

Thank you to the libraries and the workers.?

The two security guards today saved a life and branded me with a different perspective.