ALA members invited to workshops on disaster and emergency preparedness and recovery
Satia Marshall Orange
Director, OLOS
312-280-4295
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2006
ALA members invited to workshops on disaster and emergency preparedness and recovery
CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) Task Force on the Environment (one of seven task forces comprising the ALA Social Responsibilities Round Table) is sponsoring two workshops - "Preparedness Matters" and "Recovery Matters" - to address the roles librarians and libraries may play in helping the communities they serve in developing community disaster and emergency preparedness programs and assisting in recovery plans and operations in response to an emergency or disaster.
"Preparedness Matters" will be presented as a half-day mini-workshop on Friday, June 23, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Morial Convention Center, Room 271-72. "Recovery Matters" will be on Sunday, June 25, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Loew's Louisiana Hotel, Louisiana Room I.
"This program is of importance to public, academic, and special librarians, who may be called upon to assist local government agencies, nonprofit groups, first responders, and others in developing sound strategies for emergency and disaster planning and recovery operations," said Fred Stoss, co-chair of the Task Force on the Environment and facilitator of these programs.
The speaker for both programs is P. Gayle Alston, Regional Training Manager for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 4, in Atlanta. Alston holds a MLS degree from Emory University. Prior to assuming duties at FEMA, she worked as a contract librarian for the EPA Region 4 Library and as an environmental health information specialist for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
For more information on these programs, contact Fred Stoss by email at
fstoss@buffalo.edu.
