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I am in the Mitchell Library reading room writing this and am so very glad to be back in this precious place. I was also here on Monday, 1 June 2020, during the morning session, which was the first day that the library had been allowed to open since March 2020. Understanding that services within the library would be limited did not deter me from attending as part of a privileged first group of people that were able to book and secure a place at the first open session at the SLNSW since is was abruptly closed as a part of the government' response to Corona virus. I am deeply grateful to all SLNSW staff for their dedication and care in making it possible for me and others to access their much loved library, even if under strict conditions.
From the beginning of the Government's response to the Corona virus back in March, I have been angry about what seemed to be a one size fits all approach to shutting down institutions and places that could have safely and easily remained open. I see the SLNSW as such a place. I suffered from the loss of ordinary society, culture, and freedoms. 1 June 2020 was the best day of 2020 for me so far. I felt a sense of elation during my journey to the library, which included travelling by train, walking through Hyde Park, and proceeding along Macquarie Street, where I could see that many others like me were as eager as I to participate in city life once more. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to all at the library who have made the easing of isolation, and its negative effects, possible.
From the beginning of the Government's response to the Corona virus back in March, I have been angry about what seemed to be a one size fits all approach to shutting down institutions and places that could have safely and easily remained open. I see the SLNSW as such a place. I suffered from the loss of ordinary society, culture, and freedoms. 1 June 2020 was the best day of 2020 for me so far. I felt a sense of elation during my journey to the library, which included travelling by train, walking through Hyde Park, and proceeding along Macquarie Street, where I could see that many others like me were as eager as I to participate in city life once more. I feel a deep sense of gratitude to all at the library who have made the easing of isolation, and its negative effects, possible.