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Libraries Find New Ways To Serve The American Public; Questions Surround The Future Of Struggling Retailers; Private Tour Of The Louvre
Aired April 15, 2020 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. We`re going to the library today on CNN 10. But Carl, you might be thinking, the library`s closed.
Yes, but some are still open to the idea of helping others and we`re going to show you how.
As far as reopening businesses to the public goes, a handful of U.S. states are now drawing up plans to do that. Places that are seeing coronavirus
cases and deaths level out or even decrease want to get people back to work and restart the engine of commerce. But as Texas Governor Greg Abbott puts
it, it`s not going to be an everyone is open all at once situation. Slow, steady and planned are the ways governors want to go about this.
We told you how Wuhan, China, the first city where the COVID-19 outbreak was reported, lifted its lockdown last week. In Italy, the lockdown is
still in place but a small number of businesses were allowed to reopen on a trial basis starting Tuesday and these are businesses that are considered
non-essential like bookstores and children`s clothing stores.
Pharmacies and grocery stores are considered essential and have been allowed to stay open during the lockdown. In Spain, around the capital of
Madrid, an estimated 300,000 non-essential workers including some in construction have gotten back to work.
But it`s a different story in France which is extending its restrictions and keeping its borders closed for another month and in India where
coronavirus cases continue to increase, the nationwide lockdown has been extended until May 3rd. Most of the American public is under stay-at-home
orders. This means not being able to go to the library, though many of them are offering books, shows and movies online. But even with their physical
doors closed, they`re still providing a valuable service.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vi Ha, manager of the L.A. Central Library`s Octavia Labs for Do-It-Yourself Projects, was ready to shutdown due to the
coronavirus pandemic and then --
VI HA, MANAGER, L.A. CENTRAL LIBRARY`S OCTAVIA LABS: We got an email right as we were closing from a doctor and saying can you make PPE.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: PPE or personal protective equipment. Vi Ha and her team said yes, partnered with a non-profit called LACY (ph) which develops clean
technologies to make functional face shields. They started with a shipment of 70.
HA: We added foam for comfort. Plastic for it to stay on and what`s nice about this version that it folds all the way to the top and also covers
from droplets entering through the eyes from the top.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: PPE are popping out of libraries 3-D printers across the country. At the University of Utah, library staff tapped campus brain power
to make an estimated 1,200 face shields for hospitals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact is there`s a bit of an emergency going on in a lot of situations and it`s -- it`s really awesome to be able to participate
in a solution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As many libraries are sharing online how to make PPE to defend doctors and nurses, the librarians are showcasing skills that extend
far beyond the reference desk in this pandemic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One that we are adaptable. Two, we believe truly, truly in the public good which is why we get into this work. And number
three, it`s like we`re here to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: The question of when America`s non-essential stores open is a nail biter for businesses. From mom and pop shops to barber shops, clothing
stores to corporate giants, retailers are increasingly desperate to get back to sales and some retail analysts say companies like Sears and J.C.
Penny which survived the "Great Depression" and the "Great Recession" may not survive the coronavirus crisis. J. Crew and Neiman Marcus are in the
same boat. These are companies that were struggling with debt and decreasing sales before COVID-19 arrived in America and while there`s still
a good chance they`ll be around when coronavirus passes, it won`t be easy for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a sea of retail bankruptcy, J.C. Penny`s future looks uncertain. The iconic American retailer known for its low prices and deep
discounts is now billions of dollars in debt and hasn`t been profitable since 2010. But long before sales started sinking and debt started rising,
J.C. Penny helped transform the retail industry. In 1902, James Cash Penny opened up a branch of a dry goods chain called "The Golden Rule" in
Wyoming. At the time Penny`s business practices were revolutionary. To keep prices low, he banned haggling which was a common practice at the time.
That meant every customer paid the same ticketed price.
Penny also encouraged employees to serve customers well. His motto was serve the public to its ultimate satisfaction. He was dedicated to being
ethical applying the store`s name "The Golden Rule" to both customers and employees. A decade and many stores later, Penny incorporated the company
and changed the name to the brand we know today. The company went public in 1929, right before the Stock Market crash and the "Great Depression" began.
Still J.C. Penny found continued success as customers looking for low cost goods filed in and in 1951, the company hit $1 billion in sales for the
first time.
But in recent years, J.C. Penny has struggled. Sales flagged during the recession and the retailer couldn`t bring customers back. The department
store was one of the first to adopt e-commerce in 1994 but overall it has struggled to keep up in the digital era.
A parade of CEOs has tried to turn the company around. Ron Johnson came from Apple and tried to give the brand a fresh look in 2012 including
ending the stores famous coupons. The costly revamp flopped and consumers lost trust in the business. Three other CEOs have followed but they all
have yet to restore the company to its once and former glory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these rulers started building the Louvre in 1546 at the site of an old fortress? Louis XIV, Frances I, Louis XVI, or
Napoleon Bonaparte. It was King Frances I who began work on the Louvre though it was not completed during his lifetime.
Even as an avid art collector, King Frances I probably never imagined the museum the Louvre would become or that it would be shutdown more than four
centuries later because of a disease pandemic. But thanks to our partnership with CNN Travel, we can take you there today for a private tour
with French Actor and Director Mathieu Kassovitz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATHIEU KASSOVITZ, FRENCH ACTOR AND DIRECTOR: The Louvre is a -- is a one of kind museum. It`s one of a kind architecture in the world. It`s -- it`s
the heart of Paris. It`s beautiful everywhere you look. So you cannot really appreciate it if you try to do everything at once. You have to spend
hours in front of one painting to really (inaudible). You will see something that you can really relate to and it`s not -- it has nothing to
do with your story, with your personal story. It`s deeper than that and -- and -- and that`s what art is all about.
Being able to visit the Louvre by yourself, it`s a one of a kind experience. To be able to enjoy any of these painting by yourself at your
own pace, at your own rhythm. There`s nothing between you and the art and it just becomes personal. There is so many amazing paintings all around you
that you wonder why this one? She really became famous after she was stolen from this museum.
So her -- her stardom (ph) is not just because of the quality of the -- the paintings but also the history behind it and the myth that surrounds it.
It`s different. It has a very strong power and feeling to it. To take a step, you step back from your life and look at what other people did just a
moment for reflection.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Calving isn`t just for cows. It`s also the term for when chunks of ice break off from a glacier like this here glacier in Alaska. Susan Haddox
(ph) was there on April 11th when the Portage Glacier was cracking. So she was able to set up her camera to capture this incredible slow motion
footage of the calving which thankfully didn`t hurt anyone. She says, some people were very close so this is a reminder of the dangers out on the ice.
Well that puts today`s show on ice. It was fun "chillin`" with you. I know that when I drop these puns I get some cold or dare I say "glacial" stares.
But it`s fun to unleash a "calvalcade" of them even if they get me a "frosty" reception.
All right. Avon High School is no stranger to the cold. It`s in Cleveland, Ohio and we thank the Eagles for flying high with CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz.
END
