The US Public Library Response to Natural Disasters:
A Whole Community Approach
Christine Hagar, PhD
Abstract
This paper highlights how public libraries in the US increasingly play a central role in communities during natural disasters. It argues that as part of community-wide planning for disaster preparedness and response, public libraries are well situated to partner with emergency management and other agencies to meet community needs pre and post disasters, thereby strengthening community resilience.
Introduction
The world is facing natural disasters on an unprecedented scale. Natural disasters over the last decade — including floods in India, Pakistan and Eastern Europe, droughts in the Amazon Basin and East Africa, major earthquakes in Haiti, Christchurch, Chile, China and one of the worst natural disasters to hit Japan, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the resultant tsunami — have claimed thousands of lives. In recent years the US has witnessed many natural disasters, including the severe tornadoes striking Oklahoma, Joplin and Tuscaloosa; Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, and the Californian wildfires. A recent analysis from the World Meteorological Office (2013) found the period 2001–2010 to be a decade of climate extremes. It seems that further natural disasters as a result of an acceleration in global warming are inevitable. Disasters precipitate an increase in communication and present complex information environments, hence, it is important to examine the roles that libraries can play pre and post disasters.
As natural disasters are often local events, local organizations and individuals are critical in responding to them. This paper highlights how public libraries in the US increasingly play a central role in communities during disasters. It argues that as part of community-wide planning for disaster preparedness and response, public libraries are well situated to partner with the emergency management community [1] and other agencies to meet community needs pre and post disaster, and thereby engage in strengthening community resilience [2] .
Library roles in disasters
Much of the work done to date by LIS scholars and professionals regarding libraries and disasters focuses on the preservation of collections and protecting other physical assets of cultural heritage institutions (McKnight and Zach, 2007). In the US, the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded much of this work in recent years through its Connecting to Collections grant program, helping libraries protect their collections. Also, IFLA’s (2013) Principles of engagement in library-related activities in times of conflict, crisis or disaster focuses on safeguarding cultural property “especially by raising awareness and promoting disaster risk management and to strengthen cooperation and participation in cultural heritage activities through UNESCO, the libraries…” Zach and McKnight (2010a) moved beyond exploring the impact of disasters from a collection preservation perspective. One outcome of their research was to provide professionals with education and guidance in planning for and delivering information services to a wide range of users in response to natural disasters. Thus, they extended the discourse beyond preserving collections to understanding more about how libraries can serve their patrons following a disaster.
The importance of libraries’ involvement in disaster response was highlighted in the US in 2010, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA, 2010) changed its policy to recognize libraries as essential community organizations in areas impacted by a disaster, thus making them eligible for temporary relocation funding in times of disaster or emergency. With this recognition, libraries were acknowledged in the US for their potential to play a major role in disasters. The American Library Association (2013) in its Policy Manual “urges governments at all levels to acknowledge and support the essential role local libraries play in providing e-government and emergency response/recovery services, and to include libraries in relevant legislative or other policy actions…” A leader in introducing new disaster-related policies was the Alabama Public Library Service who, following the 2011 tornadoes, now requires that every public library has a long-range disaster plan (Bishop and Veil, 2013).
In the US regions that have been hardest hit by recent disasters, such as along the Gulf Coast and the north-east coast, librarians have learned valuable lessons regarding disaster preparedness, and libraries are starting to be recognized as essential information resources in responding to a crisis (Bishop and Veil 2013; Miller, 2011; Nevins and Nyberg, 2006 ). As a result of those experiences, libraries have taken on new service roles and employed technology solutions to help their communities prepare for and recover from crises (Queens Library staff members, 2012; Brobst et al., 2012; Zach and McKnight, 2010b).
One of the roles of a library is to understand the diverse community information needs of local populations. Libraries have responded to natural disasters by providing information services to residents, relief workers, emergency response personnel and medical workers, and bridging information gaps between government and victims of crises (Will, 2007). Libraries can play important roles in crises by directing the many stakeholders in crises -- such as citizens, experts and policy-makers -- to trustworthy sources of information. As trusted information providers, libraries can prepare information strategies to be implemented during a crisis. Partnerships can be created between different types of libraries. For example, between public libraries and health science libraries, as in the project “Are You Prepared? Promoting Disaster Preparedness in Northwest Louisiana through the Public Libraries” (2013). The main purpose of this project is to educate citizens about free information available from the National Library of Medicine. [3].
Other roles identified by The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (2012), who initiated a project to explore ways to support the emergency response of public libraries in the South Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas), are: safe haven, provider of “normal service before and after a storm”, Disaster Recovery Center, information hub, evacuee resource, and cultural liaison between emergency management agencies and the community’s tourist attractions and cultural institutions (Malizia et al., 2012). During Hurricane Sandy libraries distributed food and beverages, acted as distribution centers for emergency supplies, acted as “hoteling stations” to provide an office for displaced business people, and hosted additional children’s programs while schools were closed (Leue, 2012).
Communities can also increase their resilience and responsiveness to disasters through effective deployment of technologies. Public libraries are vital community technology centers and have become essential points of access to the Internet and to computers. During disasters, libraries have provided Internet and Wi-Fi access to citizens (Bayliss, 2012). This public service has enabled victims of crises to connect with missing family members and friends, access relief fund paperwork, and file insurance claims.
In New Jersey, Hurricane Irene left thousands of residents without power or Internet connection. In response, Princeton Public Library (2011) hosted “Plug In and Power Up Day”, providing a place where residents could charge devices and get online. As social media is an important platform to disseminate information locally, the library began tweeting updates about the storm and hooking into bloggers who had community connections (Dowd, 2011).
The hurricane damage that the Gulf Coast of the US sustained over the past decade was a catalyst for a study by Brobst et al. (2012) who explored the service roles public libraries provide in hurricane/disaster preparedness and response. They demonstrated how technology can foster community resilience in a web portal Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries (http://hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu), aimed at sharing information with libraries regarding how to prepare for and respond to hurricanes.
Need for Community-wide Planning
As a trusted community resource, public libraries are in a unique position to engage in community-wide disaster preparedness and response planning efforts, ensuring that partnerships and plans are in place before a disaster strikes, in order to strengthen community resilience. In 2011, FEMA highlighted the importance of engaging all community resources in efforts to improve community resilience and emergency management outcomes. In the document entitled A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action, FEMA (2011) recognized that a government-centric approach to emergency management is not enough to meet the challenges posed by a catastrophic incident. The “Whole Community Approach” framework emphasizes greater empowerment and integration of resources from across the community and the establishment of relationships that facilitate more effective prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery activities.
Following the “Whole Community” approach, FEMA (2012) produced a progress report highlighting the 2010-2011 insights of the Strategic Foresight Initiative (SFI), entitled Crisis Response and Disaster Resilience 2030: Forging Strategic Action in an Age of Uncertainty. FEMA established the SFI to address several questions, including the following: What will the emergency management community look like in 2030? The report argues that the emergency management community needs to have ongoing conversations among diverse stakeholders and needs to form new partnerships that empower communities to play a greater role through all phases of disasters. In addition, they assert that the emergency management community needs to promote information sharing across disciplines and organizations.
Libraries can be part of the ongoing conversation among diverse emergency management stakeholders and can promote information sharing across organizations. Librarians and LIS educators can engage in a culture of “futures thinking” as outlined in the 2030 FEMA report. Today’s emergency management community involves a broad range of stakeholders, including local, state, federal, and tribal emergency managers and those who work in public security, public health, and public safety agencies. First responders, public works, business partners, non-governmental organizations, volunteer relief agencies, and interdisciplinary scholars are all involved in this conversation (FEMA, 2012). The emergency management community is responsible for preparing for, preventing, protecting against, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all threats and hazards (FEMA, 2012).
There is evidence that a number of US public libraries have collaborated with local emergency response agencies to provide services during a crisis, including staffing emergency information centers and providing access to the Internet (Zach, 2011; Bishop and Veil, 2013). However, little is known about how public libraries may be proactively engaging in community-wide disaster planning. Despite findings that few libraries play a formal role in their communities’ emergency response plans, many library leaders believe their resources need to be “promoted more broadly to emergency responders of all types” (Malizia et al., 2012). Through their interviews with librarians involved in responding to disasters, Featherstone et al. (2008) learned that librarians are “willing and eager collaborators” (p. 349), and many of them already have community connections that can be more fully developed during proactive planning efforts. Hamilton (2011) asserted that librarians should be proactive about engaging in collaborative planning with other stakeholders, and would benefit from advice and tools that can help them better understand the range of opportunities available to them as partners in local disaster planning efforts.
The findings of a study by Zach (2011), which examined whether public libraries in Maryland and Alabama were involved in local disaster planning efforts with other agencies, revealed that the libraries were not incorporated into local emergency management plans, and libraries were “rarely considered when emergency planning took place” (p. 407). Zach suggested that libraries need guidance regarding how they can play a broader role in planning for responses to community crises.
From a non-US perspective, researchers from the Technology and Social Change Group at the University of Washington Information School (2012) reported on the critical role that libraries played in the 2010 Chilean earthquake. They recommended that governments at all levels should incorporate libraries into emergency planning; create tools and provide training to make it easier to organize and communicate in emergency situations; and that libraries advocate to be included in government planning processes.
Bishop and Veil's (2013) study of twelve communities affected by recent tornadoes highlighted that public libraries need to take systematic steps to ensure that their disaster-response roles are essential, coordinated with other agencies, and well known among disaster responders and other prominent community leaders.
There are many benefits to library involvement in community-wide disaster planning. Libraries can develop collaborative, information-sharing practices with the emergency management community; create information repositories; be part of the educational experience to empower individuals to assume more responsibility for disaster preparedness and response; be involved with scenario planning with the community, and be a hub for digital volunteers aggregating information from social media. The organization of “big data” was one of the themes that emerged from the recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Virtual Social Media Working Group (2013) "Lessons Learned: Social Media and Hurricane Sandy" - an area where libraries can play an important role. The need for standardizing nomenclature, validating and vetting information was also mentioned in the report; all activities for library participation.
Library leaders need to engage in these types of collaborations, encourage and proactively engage in dialogue, plan with their local emergency management community, and motivate other local agencies to include public libraries in local disaster planning efforts.
Conclusion
Libraries are catalysts in connecting and building community relationships and partnerships and supporting existing community initiatives. They are in a key position to bring together local leaders from community organizations, support emergency operations centers, raise an awareness of local emergency response capability, and to support government, local businesses, and volunteer programs in efforts to build community resilience and prepare for crises. Librarians can add to the on-going conversation among the diverse group of emergency management stakeholders and consider how LIS professionals and educators can engage in a culture of “futures thinking” as outlined in the FEMA 2030 Report.
EndNotes
1.
Emergency management community
As defined by FEMA: “The broad community of practice involved in emergency management. This community includes, but is not limited to the following: traditional state, local, federal, and tribal emergency managers; those in public security, public health, and public safety agencies; first responders; public works; business partners; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); federal agencies with equities in emergency management; and academicians who have studied or published on the topic of emergency management.”
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=4995(accessed July 5 2013).
2.
Community resilience
The Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report identified “Ensuring Resilience to Disasters” as one of five missions of the Department of Homeland Security.
Department of Homeland Security. (2010). Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report: A Strategic Framework for a Secure Homeland
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/qhsr_report.pdf (accessed July 5 2013).
3. For example TOXNET - a toxicology, environmental health, and chemical database http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov
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About the author
Christine Hagar, PhD is an Assistant Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, San Jose State University, California.
E–mail: christine [dot] hagar [at] sjsu [dot] edu
© 2014 Christine Hagar, PhD