Communities Post

Disaster

Katja Greig, Megan Hoppe, Lorena Juarez, & Megan Ramirez

Overview

Topic: Libraries impacted by

Hurricane Katrina
disaster and how they
Hurricane Maria
served their communities
Juana Mateos, PR University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
during and post incident.
Hurricane Sandy

The Cedar Rapids Flood

Blackout in San Juan
 Hurricane Katrina
Statistics
• Main areas affected : Louisiana and
Mississippi
• Over 1800 fatalities
• Over a million people displaced
• $81 billion worth of damage
• 42 libraries completely destroyed or
highly damaged
 Katrina Preparedness
• Louisiana: Professors at LSU and Tulane tried
to warn government officials of the
seriousness of the impending hurricane,
however an order for evacuation was put off
until the last minute
• Mississippi: Government took threat more
seriously and encouraged people to
evacuate, however many citizens decided to
stay and try to "ride out the storm"

• Libraries: In a survey conducted by MLIS

scholars, academic and public libraries
admitted that they felt the disaster plans
their institutions had in place were
insufficient, especially considering that many
of them knew beforehand they were in a
high risk area due to their location in regards
to sea level.
 Libraries in
the Aftermath
of Katrina
• Libraries in the affected areas made
an effort to archive and record this
moment in history
• Hurricane Web Archive: created an internet
repository that documents born-digital
communications, reactions and commentary
on the effects of hurricanes Katrina
• Tulane University invited displaced poets to
attend an event where they could share their
works about their experience with the
hurricane.
• The American Folklife Center of the Library of
Congress created an oral history project that
put academic survivors of the hurricane to
work collecting survivor stories. LC assisted in
the development of a database and recording
archive so that this collection of oral histories
could be usable by historians, journalists and
other researchers.
 Libraries in the
Aftermath of
Katrina
• After the destruction of so many
physical resources, there was a push to digitize
as much information as possible so it would
not be lost should a similar disaster occur in
the future.
• Libraries helped to provide books to schools and
families who lost their resources due to the
hurricane through the Book Relief Project
• Held fundraising events to contribute to
charities assisting in disaster relief

• Two-way street: Communities volunteer to help

out the libraries as well. Library patrons showed
up to aid in the recovery process.
• “If you ever experience a terrible disaster,
you will find that good people pull
together to help and support each other.”
 Puerto Rico
• 2016-2020 Census Records
• Population estimate: 3,725,789
• Households with a computer: 72.6%
• Households with Internet subscription: 64.3%
• Median household income: $21,058
• Persons in poverty: 40.5%
• Education:
• High school graduates 25yrs or older:
77.5%
• Person with a Bachelor Degree 25yrs or
older: 26.7%
• there’s no centralized directory
of Puerto Rican libraries.
 Hurricane Maria - 2017

• September 16, 2017 – October

2nd, 2017
• Impacted the Northeastern
Caribbean: Dominican
Republic, Saint Croix, and Puerto
Juana Mateos, PR University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
Rico
• Category 5 with winds up to 174
mph
• 3,059 fatalities
• 3rd costliest hurricane in record:
$91.6 billion in damages
Blackout in San Juan
Power Outages
• Completely destroyed the power grid
• 3.4 million residents didn't have electricity
• 3 months later 45% still didn't have
electricity
• It took 11 months for all of Puerto Rico to regain
power
• Largest blackout in American history
• 2nd largest in the world
Libraries in the
Aftermath of Maria
• Were among the first to regain
internet access
• Helped provide community get in touch
with:
• Federal Emergency Management
Agency
• Department of Homeland Security
• Red Cross
• Helped fill out FEMA applications
• Held fundraisers (GoFundMe) to raise
financial support for the community
reading room at the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
 • University libraries helped host "mapathons"
• Community members came together to help
restore libraries quicker
Libraries • Books were accessed for mold
through Preservation Self-Assessment
in the Program (PSAP)
• Buildings began to be cleaned and repaired to
Aftermath of allow quick accessibility to patrons

Maria • WhatsApp used to help digitalize print materials

• Images were taken of moldy books to help
students have access to them once classes
resumed
• Helped with faster disemenation of material
Hurricane Sandy
• Landfall: October 29, 2012
• Category 3 Hurricane

The Community
• Impacted: New York and New
Jersey
• 1.1 Million children unable
to attend school
• Nearly 2 Million people lost
electricity
• 43 deaths
• $19 Billion in damages

Volunteers at the Queens Library in the Far Rockaway section of Queens

hand out coats to people affected by Hurricane Sandy. AFP/Getty Images
 • Offered a safe place to sleep, restrooms,
Shelter electricity and food

Connection
Libraries to Resources
• FEMA Aid, insurance claims, charities, mental
health services and additional resources

Services After
• Provided assistance to FEMA and other
Hurricane Sandy Disaster responders
Response • Reexamined Library based disaster response
plans

Queens • Rebuilt to withstand future disasters. Opened

Library and 3 years later
• "Build back better."
Peninsula
Libraries After Sandy
• Penns Grove–Carneys Point (N.J.) Public
Library
• Permanently Closed
• Jersey City (N.J.) Free Public Library (main
branch)
• Reopened in December
• New York University’s Ehrman Medical
Library
• Moved to digital
• Brooklyn Public Library – 6 branches
impacted
• All reopened
• Queens (N.Y.) Library – 4 branches
impacted
• All reopened fully within 2 years
Pictured is the Penns Grove-Carneys Point Public Library after Superstorm
Sandy moved through Salem County and left the library surrounded
by floodwaters. (Staff Photo by Britney Lillya/South Jersey Times)
Cedar Rapids, IA

2000 Census Records

• Total population 120,563
• 90.1% high school graduate or higher
• 2.9% unemployed
• Median household income $43,704
• Poverty level of individuals 18 years
and over 6.9%

2005 Iowa Department of Education Report-

• CRCSD had 5 pupils/computer
2008 Cedar
River Flood
The New CRPL
"The library is a beacon of hope"
What is the place of libraries and information
professionals in this community?

For communities If you were a librarian in an

experiencing disasters, is it area with an impending
better to save/protect natural disaster, what might
materials or support the be some steps you would
community with resources? take to be prepared?
 • https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db
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• Berry III, John N. “Team
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maria-aftermath-caribbean-libraries/
• Edwards, E. (2019). Disaster Preparedness and Recovery in Libraries:
Bracing for the Worst, Helping the Community Heal. Illinois Library
Association. https://www.ila.org/publications/ila-
eporter/article/102/disaster-preparedness-and-recovery-in-libraries-
bracing-for-the-worst-helping-th
• "Flood of 2008 Facts and Statistics," Cedar Rapids, accessed October
Sources 23, https://www.cedar-
rapids.org/discover_cedar_rapids/flood_of_2008/2008_flood_facts.php
• "History," Cedar Rapids Public Library, accessed
October 23, https://www.crlibrary.org/history
• Jiménez Barrón, Gabriel. (2020). What libraries and librarians could learn
from a Puerto Rico library emergency response Journal of
Electronic Resources Librarianship, 32(3), 230–232.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1941126X.2020.1791455
• Han, Sharon. (2019). Weathering the Twitter Storm: Early Uses of SM as a Disaster Response Tool for Public Libraries
During Hurricane
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AONE&asid=711fe373
• Rose, Joel. (2013). For Disaster Preparedness: Pack a Library Card. National Public
Radio. https://www.npr.org/2013/08/12/210541233/for-disasters-pack-a-first-aid-kit-bottled-water-and-a-library-card
• (2012). The Library as a Lifeline: Getting Past Superstorm Sandy – How Queens Library is stepping up in the Rockaways.
American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2012/12/28/the-library-as-lifeline-getting-past-superstorm-
sandy/
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• (2005) Katrina Relief: Library Resources Assist Hurricane Survivors https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0511/hurricane.html
• Jeffrey Frank (2011) The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast Libraries and Their Disaster
Planning https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4923&context=etd_theses