ALA volunteers return to support New Orleans rebuilding efforts

Volunteers will convene at 8 a.m. at the Convention Center and depart for 15 work sites including local public and school libraries, Kingsley House and other rebuilding organizations. Library volunteer duties will consist of shelving books, reorganizing and updating collections, and record entering and cataloging. Additional volunteers will assist with landscaping, painting and various construction projects.

“Libraries Build Communities” began in 2006, as the library community came to the aid of local libraries and community groups after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005. Coordinated by the ALA’s Chapter Relations Office, the volunteer effort has become an Annual Conference tradition, as conference attendees continue to volunteer to assist libraries and community groups in conference cities.    

The ALA was the first national organization to hold a conference in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and conference volunteers will continue to support rebuilding efforts.

“When the ALA first came to New Orleans in 2006, there was an unimaginable amount of work that needed to be done throughout the city,” said ALA Chapter Relations Office director Michael Dowling. “In a few short days, the ALA was able to make a difference and illustrate that libraries do in fact build communities. Even now, five years later, we continue to demonstrate the importance of libraries in each city we visit whether it be through community services projects like “Libraries Build Communities” or through the free programs and services we provide.”