American Library Association, September 20:
ALA has announced the creation of a Hurricane Katrina Library Relief Fund to raise money to help rebuild libraries in Gulf Region. All funds will go supporting the library relief efforts of the state associations. Contributions are tax deductible. To donate, visit ALA’s secure site, or mail checks (payable to ALA and marked for the ALA Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund) to ALA Chapter Relations Office, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. ALA President Michael Gorman writes: “The site allows you to make a donation, large or small, to the reconstruction of libraries in the region, using your Visa or MasterCard credit card. We have attempted to make the process quick and easy. I can assure you that all funds collected will go to three state chapters for immediate relief and long-term reconstruction projects.”
Biloxi Sun-Herald, September 16:
As 14 U.S. senators toured the devastation in Pass Christian, Mississippi, the town’s chief administrative officer, Malcolm Jones, offered them some details about the ordeal that a group of police officers went through in the Harrison County Public Library’s branch during the hurricane: “At the library, Jones paused and told the group how the police made a final stand of sorts against Hurricane Katrina on top of the bookshelves after their station started disintegrating. At one point, Jones said, the policeman had to form a human chain to rescue Chief John Dubeson from the storm surge, who was himself trying to rescue someone else. Jones choked up while telling the story and talking about rebuilding the town.” Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) moved quickly to comfort him. “We’re going to get you what you need to rebuild this town,” Cochran said.
Harrison County (Miss.) Public Library, Gulfport, September 19:
Harrison County Director Robert Lipscomb reported that his 5-year-old grandson and his mother were washed out of their home and rescued amid floating debris. About 30 members of his staff have lost most of what they own, “but as far as I know they are all alive,” he said.
Loyola University, New Orleans, September 20:
Library Director Mary Lee Sweat reported to ACRL: “The Loyola University campus received only minor damage, and the Monroe Library seems to be in good shape. We are very fortunate. Our current challenge is to provide access to our online databases and to support students who are enrolled in online courses.”
Tulane University, New Orleans, September 20:
Government Documents Librarian Eric Wedig reported that some 90% of the documents collection in the lower level of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library has been lost due to flooding. Library Director Lance Query adds: “About seven feet of water was pumped out of the basement of the Howard-Tilton and Jones Hall (across the street where the archives are located). Materials are now in chillers, at least the ones we elected to try to save.”
New Orleans Public Library, September 19:
Library staff have visited several of NOPL’s 13 locations to assess damages. The system’s newest location, the Martin Luther King Jr. branch in the Ninth Ward, is almost completely submerged in the floodwaters. The Rosa Keller branch in the Broadmoor area has three feet of flooding and substantial damage to books, furniture, and the building itself. The Milton H. Latter branch, housed in one of St. Charles Avenue’s historic mansions, will need replanting of trees and relandscaping; there was no damage to the building. The Nix branch, uptown in the Carrollton neighborhood, has only window damage. Inspections of the remaining branches will be conducted as soon as possible.
One of NOPL’s branches will receive help from an adopt-a-library program in Weimar, Germany. The city has volunteered to sponsor the rebuilding of a library branch, modeling the program after one initiated to salvage the Duchess Anna Amalia Library destroyed by fire in September 2004 (American Libraries, Oct. 2004, p. 12). “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to focus on a specific branch location,” said City Librarian Bill Johnson. “We thank the people of Weimar for their generosity to New Orleans Public Library.”
Ron Gauthier, manager of the Martin Luther King Jr. branch, told American Libraries he made the mistake of riding out the storm at one of the city’s hotels. “After the wind blew out all the windows, they moved us all into the ballrooms, where we were stuck for 4–5 days without running water or electricity.” He said the hardest part was watching the water rise in the streets outside and having no way of knowing what was going on. Eventually Gauthier was evacuated to Atlanta, where he set up makeshift storytimes with some other volunteers at Red Cross shelters. “Just seeing the kids there with shocked looks,” he said, “convinced me they needed the magic that storytime can bring.”
St. Tammany Parish Library, Covington, September 19:
Children’s Services Coordinator Tanya DiMaggio writes: “We were hit pretty bad, but not as bad as our neighbors to the south. 99% of our staff are accounted for and most have returned to their homes, although only half of us have electricity (I’m one of the lucky ones). Our towns on the eastern side of the parish got hit with water surges from Lake Pontchartrain and several staff members have lost their homes to flooding. The rest of the parish is suburban and rural and we have a lot of trees. The hundreds-of-years-old live oak trees did well, but the smaller oaks and many of the pine trees snapped in half, many on people’s roofs. Several staff members have severe roof damage.
“The Pontchartrain branch in the south part of Slidell was completely destroyed. Two exterior walls were ripped away. The stacks fell like dominoes. There were DVDs found blocks away. We were all really sad about this because it was our newest branch, just opened a year ago, and it was beautiful. Thankfully, the only other branch that received damage was a small branch in the town of Madisonville, on the lake. It is a two-story building and got quite a bit of water inside, windows blown out. Thankfully, the bulk of the collection is upstairs, with new fiction and reference (very small collection) downstairs.
“The public schools here open October 3 so for the next two weeks we will do a lot of programming for kids of all ages at the three larger branches. We are also showing daily matinees for families at two locations where we have movie licensing.”
Associated Press, September 20:
In an interview with AP reporters to promote the National Book Festival September 24, First Lady Laura Bush emphasized the “Book Relief” project, cosponsored by the Library of Congress and the nonprofit First Book, that will gather 5 million books to give to evacuees, libraries, and schools affected by the hurricane. “It’s going to be really important as we rebuild these schools on the Mississippi Coast and in New Orleans to make sure their libraries are rebuilt better and stocked even better than they were before,” said Mrs. Bush, a former school librarian.
Posted September 20, 2005.