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Hurricane Update: September 30Here is today’s update on how the 2005 hurricane season has affected libraries. See also AL’s coverage since August 31. Anyone with first-hand information on the situation of librarians, libraries, and collections in the affected region, please email Library Hurricane News at American Libraries.Houston Area Library System, Hurricane Rita damage report, September 29: Alma M. Carpenter Public Library, Sourlake: Damage unknown; the town is closed. Beaumont Public Library System: Library director Maurine Gray reports that the main library was flooded, and there was extensive damage at the Tyrrell Historical branch. No word on the other branches yet. Bridge City Public Library: City is without power or water. Damage to library unknown. Buna Public Library: Director Lena White reports no damage, but will have no electricity for 4–6 weeks. Chambers County Library System, Anahuac: Director A. Lynette Parsons reports the main library is closed and without power; the staff may install a generator to avoid mildew. The West Chambers branch in Mont Belvieu is up and running and serving as temporary headquarters. The Juanita Hargraves Memorial branch in Winnie lost a carport, a brick marquee with a sign, and some brick facing. Fannie Brown Booth Memorial Library, Center: Minor water damage. Groves Public Library: Building untouched, but power may not be on for 4–6 weeks. Groveton Public Library: No structural damage, but no power or water. Harris County Public Library, Houston: One branch is without electricity; another has the air conditioning out. Houston Public Library: No branches sustained any damage. The Lakewood branch was without power until September 29. Jasper Public Library: No known damage, but closed due to no power. Jones Public Library, Dayton: No known damage. Power slowly being restored to the city. Kirbyville Public Library: Director Lisa Brown said the building has only minor damage but the power will be off for at least 4 weeks. Kountze Public Library: No damage to the exterior at least; no power. Kurth Memorial Library, Lufkin: No major damage, but part of the roof peeled off. Library staff helped to answer telephones at the emergency center in city hall. Building reopened September 29. Lumberton Public Library: No power for 4–6 weeks. McMullen Memorial Library, Huntington: Director Debra Bashaw said there was water only on the carpet inside the door. No structural damage. Marion and Ed Hughes Public Library, Nederland: All of Jefferson County is under a lockdown because of power lines down and roads blocked. The library will have no power for 4–6 weeks. It sustained some water damage, minor physical damage, and possibly some roof damage. The director is concerned about mold and mildew. Mickey Reily Public Library, Corrigan: No damage, but no power or water. Director LaDonna Ray has been at the Community Center helping to feed the elderly residents. Montgomery County Memorial Library System, Conroe: Director Jerilynn Williams reports they are having rolling brownouts. Little damage except for the R. F. Meador branch in Willis. The wi-fi antenna is down and they have a minor roof leak. Nacogdoches Public Library: Director Anne Barker says the library is in good condition. However, 60 FEMA personnel and 240 Katrina and Rita evacuees are occupying the library and the building it resides in. The library will be closed for at least two weeks. Onalaska Public Library: Reopened September 29 after being without power. Orange Public Library: Damage unknown; no power. Port Arthur Public Library: Aerial photos from the NOAA website show that the library roof has not sustained serious damage. Rosenberg Library, Galveston: Some roof and wind damage. The building reopened September 28. Shepherd Public Library: No power for 1–2 weeks. Tarkington Community Library, Cleveland: Some roof damage; no electricity or water. Vidor Public Library: Director Diana Hutchinson reports that from the outside it appears the library sustained no structural damage. She is unsure about roof damage or leaks. The library will be closed for 3–4 weeks. Northeast Texas Library System, Hurricane Rita damage report, September 29: New Boston Public Library: Wet carpets. Rusk County Library, Henderson: The main library had a small window leak, and the Tatum branch had a roof leak. Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald, September 29: Mississippi author John Grisham toured Harrison County Library System’s Biloxi Public Library September 28, surveying damage from Hurricane Katrina. Among the water-stained books on the floor were a few of Grisham’s novels, including The Brethren and The Street Lawyer. Accompanied by CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, Grisham said he would use the fund he has set up, Rebuild the Coast Fund, to help libraries in the community, including Biloxi Public Library. BPL Director Charline Longino unexpectedly showed up at the library while Grisham was there and said it could be two years or more before the library could reopen. The Margaret Sherry branch will likely reopen the first week of October, she said, and branches in Orange Grove and West Biloxi soon after that. About 45,000 books in the downtown library were lost or ruined. She smiled widely when Grisham told her he would replace his books that were lost. WLOX-TV, Biloxi, September 29: Jamie Bounds Ellis, local history librarian at Harrison County Library System’s Biloxi Public Library, took reporters on a tour of the damaged building. “There’s a window out here and a window out over here. And basically the water came in. We don’t see much wind damage in here. Things that were on the shelf above the water line are still there. So, it seems it was mostly a water event,” she said. Local History Library Assistant Jane Shambra added, “We had all this census microfilm here. . . . People just depended on this.” All the books that can be salvaged will be sent to Chicago by refrigerated truck for restoration. Alexandria (La.) Town Talk, September 26: The roof peeled back over the Reeves High School library in Allen Parish during Hurricane Rita. Catholic News Service, September 29: Three nonprofit religious organizations have set up a relief fund to rebuild Gulf Coast congregational library ministries damaged by Hurricane Katrina: the Catholic Library Association, the National Church Library Association, and the Church and Synagogue Library Association. The groups said any church, parish, synagogue, academic, or school library damaged by Katrina will be eligible for money from the joint fund, regardless of denomination or affiliation. For details, visit the CLA website. Posted September 30, 2005. |
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