We are an Anchor Institution

Did you know that you are a part of an “anchor” institution? You are! This was the term used by Diane Brown, Deputy State Librarian at the State Library of Louisiana, who led a recent disaster training workshop at Williamson County Public Library. With about 17,000 public libraries in the U.S., covering a total of over 3,100 counties, that averages out to five libraries per county in our country. When I thought of this statistic, I thought: “She’s right, we are an anchor institution.”

Brown shared with us about the experiences of Louisiana libraries during several major disasters they’ve endured, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They learned a lot from that experience. One of the most important lessons was that FEMA did not recognize public libraries as “essential services” back in 2005, and thus those facilities which lost buildings due to flooding were not eligible for temporary spaces or Federal funding. (They are now!)

Do you know one reason why FEMA ended up recognizing public libraries as essential? Because when first responders and victims of the disaster needed a safe space to rest and use the internet or computers to file FEMA paperwork, where did they send them? To the public libraries that were still operational! Though public libraries faced their own crises with damage and staff loss of property, they continued to provide services as much as possible to their communities. It was truly awe-inspiring to hear the stories.

The biggest take-away from this meeting was the importance of public libraries to be involved in the community before disaster hits. She said there was a huge difference in an example of two libraries struck by disaster, one of which the librarian was very active in community meetings, the other not. The first was able to get funding and rebuild. The second, is still not back in service. Relationships matter.

Our Director is a wonderful community networker, and I know that she will be able to easily get us a seat at the table among officials and first-responders for future disaster preparedness meetings. This is critical for us to be able to play not only the role we know we can, but be recognized from the beginning by all the services at the time of a disaster as a place for providing help.

All LPLS staff have a role to play in this, as we interact with community members on a daily basis. Take the time to proactively share what we offer as a library, from books to WiFi and computers to the driver’s license kiosk to notary services. All of these are truly critical needs when disaster strikes, whether you see that now or not. Your role in spreading the word helps people to remember when they’re traumatized: “Oh, even though we’ve lost our home, we can go to the library to get on the computer.”

Building relationships benefits everyone in a time of crisis, though I pray we won’t have to face one anytime soon!