Silence Is Golden
While being surrounded by books during a pandemic seems like a great idea, being a library where people come in to borrow those books is less than ideal.
In 2020, the Mercantile Library transformed how it brought together its vibrant community of readers, taking lively book discussions and dynamic author online. This once staid institution has a found a way to maintain its strong circle of book lovers while expanding the idea of what that community could be.
John Faherty has been the director of the Mercantile Library for the past six years. During that time membership grew to its largest since the Civil War. With free events ranging from member-led book discussions to musical performances, the Mercantile was a congenial stop for people who love music, history, Cincinnati, and, of course, literature.
Faherty clearly relishes the job. In front of the old numbered volumes of books that line the shelves in his office is a huge frame with several photos possibly taken at the Mill Creek in the 1920s that has mysteriously just appeared. Giant wooden windows open, with binoculars on the sill to watch peregrines, it is the opposite of the sleek modern work space.
In conversation Faherty ricochets between talking about what 2020 was like, his latest favorite Mercantile event, and what the future of the library holds. He is quick to credit the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Mercantile staff to adapt established programs, experiment with new ones, and reinvent what it means to bring readers together.
Mercantile Librarians: Chris Messick, Al Lloyd, Hillary Copsey, John Faherty, Jasmine Griffin, Cedric Rose, and Amy Hunter. © 2019 AES Photography
“People watched TV, they cooked, and they read books,” Faherty says. “Even though we were closed, we had to find a way to be there for them.”
Initially, Hillary Copsey, the Mercantile’s book advisor, missed the simple camaraderie of talking to her co-workers about what they were reading. That grew into discovering new ways to have those conversations.
In those early days of isolation, the librarians found people were gravitating toward comfort reads, revisiting old favorites. The Mercantile experimented with Facebook discussions as way to engage members and fans. While that ultimately wasn’t the best method – they found people didn’t “listen” so much as think about what to type next – they developed other ways to deepen those conversations.
“We found that people were grateful for community,” says Hillary Copsey, the Mercantile’s book advisor. “People were alone in their houses and they wanted to talk about books.”
The Mercantile’s calendar, always crowded, somehow was even more packed in the past year. A few years ago, the Mercantile made all but a few of its programs and events free.
“That was a game changer for us,” Faherty says. This approach diversified their audience, increased accessibility to programs, and made it easier to deal with pandemic-related changes.
Having the unlimited space of the internet allowed the librarians to try new things. Some of those worked and some will be re-worked. Though not all of the new genre discussions – romance, fantasy, YA, etc. – were full, they did reinforce one belief. Each talk was led by a genre enthusiast, and even when sparsely attended, people were excited to be around people who cared about the same things.
Since 2016, the Mercantile has held a discussion group that tackles Big Books–think War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo, and now Anna Karenina. These 800- to 900-page tomes are classics that even the most devoted reader would find intimidating. But during the pandemic the Big Books discussion got too big.
The group grew to 60 people.
To facilitate better interaction, the group was split in half. Moving forward, it’s not hard to imagine keeping the discussion to two distinct group, having one one in-person and one online.
“We found this web of community developed,” Copsey says. One attendee reconnected with a high school friend and a former teacher via an online group. The virtual discussion also allowed members who had taken refuge out of town to still be a part of Mercantile events or invite far-flung family or friends to join discussions.
While going online allowed more people to discover the Mercantile and participate in programs, staying online may be a way to keep that momentum going. Whether people are on vacation, don’t want to bother with driving and parking, or are more comfortable staying home, everyone still has an opportunity for connection and community.
One event that isn’t free is the Niehoff Lecture, the Mercantile’s annual fundraiser. This signature event, begun in 1986, celebrates the most respected contemporary writers, and includes Margaret Atwood, Julia Child, Seamus Heaney, Zadie Smith, and Bob Woodward among its alumni. Erik Larson was tapped to be the 2020 speaker.
But all of that changed and the event was reinvented as Half-Baked: A Virtual Gala. While the evening was still a benefit for the Mercantile it also helped local restaurants. Guests received “half-baked” meals from Abigail Street, Jean-Robert’s Table, Salazar, Sotto/Domo, or Via Vite, finished them at home, then followed an online link to a conversation between Faherty and Curtis Sittenfeld as the guest. Dress was black tie or pajamas, or some combination.
“As a fundraiser, while we got half the pie, the pie was bigger,” Faherty says. “And it made us feel like part of the community.”
“Despite people at being home, it still managed to feel like a party,” he says.
Having a 10,000 year lease at its Walnut Street location and a generous endowment, allowed the Mercantile flexibility during pandemic. Though membership numbers have dropped in the past year, Faherty isn’t worried.
“People renew when they visit,” Faherty says. “And we know they want to come back.”
–Tricia Suit
Find out more about the Mercantile Library at mercantilelibrary.com.