Riverdale and History
walked through the non-fiction bays here at Riverdale branch yesterday, I stopped
for a moment by the 940’s, that is, by the books that cover the history of the twentieth
century.
Lively
times, the twentieth century, if not lovely.
Someone who had lived, say, from 191
of history: world wars, revolutions, rockets, computers, not to mention the
rise and fall of disco.
history”, says someone. “HISTORY is politics and killing people.”
It is
true that “history” is not everything that happened but what happened
that made a difference. History is a
story, history has a plot. And what
matters depends on which story is being told.
So, when
you got your first job, it became part of your (personal) history. It mattered.
The sausages you had for breakfast this morning just…happened.
twentieth century, if you look at it, is not one story but many stories woven
together, like the main wires wound around each other into a thick suspension cable.
Each story supports, and is supported
by, the other strands. Some strands are
countries, some people, and some institutions.
one of those strands. Our branch, too, has a history.
Since
before the Russian revolution right up to the latest stock crash, we, the
staff at Riverdale, have been checking
books in and out, answering questions, holding
programs, updating our collections, talking with patrons and doing all those
day-to-days that go into maintaining a library branch.
Where in all
this is the story, the plot, the History of Riverdale Branch?
Two
things come into mind.
First
that our strand in the cable is itself made up of thousands of narrower threads—individual
stories of those who worked in this branch and those who used it
there is a Riverdale “story,” if there is a “plot,” (and I’m sure there is) we
may not be able to see it.
We are the actors in this play.
Are we in a comedy or an action
thriller?
Only the
audience knows.
And who
is the audience?
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