The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
The Axe Library opened an exhibit based around 9/11 on Sept. 1, the exhibit will be open until Sept. 24 as well. The exhibit came from the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
“9/11 means different things to different people,” said Learning outreach librarian, Ruth Monnier. “As someone who is slightly older than some of our current students, it’s shocking and feels surprising that it’s been 20 years since it’s happened. And sometimes I feel like the more surprising thing is that there’s current students here at PSU who weren’t born and don’t really have that context of what that meant and in that moment.”
Remembrance is one of the main factors for the library. The posters go over the beginning of the day, how the day continued, all three of the plane crashes, and the passengers who passed.
“So how it has continued to impact our lives,” Monnier said. “It’s beyond just having to go through security at the airport. And I think that’s helpful and important for people when you don’t live through those historical moments. There becomes a point of who cares, it wasn’t a big deal, and continuing to tell the story.”
The exhibit will be open until Sept. 24, allowing guests to look at and see the exhibit as many times as they wish.
“If you need to come do it a couple times rather than going through it all at once, that’s understandable, we have tissues up at the desk,” Monnier said. “Because it’s a lot, a lot of emotions can be experienced depending on what you’re pulling from, and it does talk a lot about individuals on the exhibit. If you see names in bold that means they have passed. So, there’s their stories and their voices and that can be emotional and understandably so.”
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum put the exhibit together and libraries throughout the country were able to take them for their own libraries and display them as they wish.
“It was really nice to see the exhibit and to remember those who have lost their lives,” said Morgan Kastelan, freshman in communication. “It was cool to see our school put something together for what happened.”
On Sept. 12 the library also hosted a 9/11 remembrance video and discussion in the basement of the library. The Student Health Center also had a representative go to show their services.
The Axe Library has a variety of exhibits throughout the year, such as the Women in Stem exhibit in the KTC library. For more information about exhibits, look at the Axe Library website and their social media.