California Libraries Offer Fire-Recovery Assistance

http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2003/alnov2003/californialibraries.cfm

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Posted November 10, 2003.

California Libraries Offer Fire-Recovery Assistance

“Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to all of the fire victims and their families and loved ones,” reads the opening page of the San Bernardino (Calif.) Public Library’s website as the state’s librarians and library staff offered comfort and assistance to those suffering from the effects of the devastating fires that spread throughout southern California.

Several libraries were closed at the height of the fires, but as of November 6 there were no reports of damage to buildings. Meanwhile, librarians and other staff were busy working with local evacuation centers to dole out books to children and help their colleagues who became victims of the blazes.

The wildfire disaster is ranked as among the worst to hit California—a state that has had its share of tragedies. “It’s who we are,” Kevin Starr, California state librarian and a noted historian, said in the November 3 San Diego Union-Tribune. “The landscape of California—the land itself—is volatile, alive.”

The California Preservation Clearinghouse, supported through the state library with LSTA funds, has posted a link to information for libraries assisting the public with soot, char, and smoke damage.

Posted November 10, 2003.