09/11/2026
A Reflection from Ammon: It was 25 years ago that our world changed. Everyone has the memory of that morning etched in their mind and heart. I was dropping my car off at the shop on my way to work in PIttsburgh. The mechanic told me to look at a small TV in the lobby, and I asked what movie that was. Once he told me it was the morning news, I wandered in a daze to the Health Sciences Library at the University of Pittsburgh. My colleagues and I watched the towers fall. Then we heard a plane hit the Pentagon, and then 'near Pittsburgh.' We did not know when it would stop. I will never forget watching those towers fall in real time. That sense of helplessness. Nearly 3000 people died that day, and some 5000 to 10,000 have died since. People's lives were changed forever. There was a moment of local, regional, national, and global unity after that, which I will also never forget. We seemed to rise to the occasion, to assert that love is stronger than hate. People of all walks of life set aside differences and saw each other's humanity. I don't know why that seems to have unraveled so much in the past 25 years, but I do know that no matter how polarized we are in this societal moment, that love is still stronger than hate. In our library community, people from all walks of life find something that brings them together -- each other. Simple joys of playing or talking or reading together. Creating and dreaming and imagining and problem-solving in a shared community space. People don't want to be stuck at home, fearful and isolated. Humans were born to be in community. It is a joy and an honor to be part of creating a communal space where everyone is welcome and where we feel that sense of togetherness that makes the world a better place. I hope that we as a nation can turn the wheel once again toward love as we reflect on that tragic moment that brought us together 25 years ago.
