In Katrina's Wake: How to Help Gulf Coast Libraries
Staff -- School Library Journal, 9/7/2005
Like the rest of the nation, the staff of School Library Journal has been horrified and saddened by the devastation and suffering visited upon the Gulf Coast area, especially New Orleans. Focusing attention on the area's schools and libraries may seem frivolous in light of the human tragedies. Yet many of these essential facilities lie in ruins, their staffs dispersed throughout Louisiana and neighboring states.
Clearly, the Gulf Coast's school and public libraries need help. Below is a roll call of organizations that are providing direct and indirect assistance, not just to libraries but to all groups to whom access to books is a paramount concern. Our Web site will continue to carry the names of these and other organizations that deserve support until the emergency in the Gulf Coast has passed.
News
As part of the overall package of telecom aid, schools and libraries in the region can resubmit requests for 2005 and 2006 e-rate funds, which could provide $132 million in assistance. Overseen by the FCC, the program gives schools and libraries discounts of 20 percent to 90 percent for Internet access, telecom infrastructure and internal connections. The nonprofit Universal Service Administrative Co. administers the e-rate program.
Library Relief Organizations
American Booksellers Association has established a relief fund to help affected independent booksellers. Make checks payable to "ABA/Bookseller Relief Fund," 200 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591.
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. The Red Cross is engaged in its largest response to a single natural disaster ever. Its Web site contains donation information and a registry to help individuals locate loved ones.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has compiled a list of organizations that accept donations earmarked for general relief efforts. Among them: the relief fund established by former presidents Bush and Clinton and the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation.
First Book, created to put books in the hands of children from low-income families, hopes to donate a million books to children made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. First Book's Web site explains how to donate.
Geaux Library is a moderated online discussion group open to librarians able to assist with recovery efforts.
International Reading Association has established a fund in support of relief efforts for children and schools in the disaster area. Make checks payable to "International Reading Association" and mail them to IRA Katrina Relief, 800 Barksdale Road, Newark, Delaware 19714.
Katrina Literary Collective, a group of African-American publishers, is asking libraries, authors, publishing houses, and other book-related organizations to donate a total of 30,000 books to evacuees in Houston. For information on how and where to send books, contact Tony Rose at amberbk@aol.com or Heather Covington at Disilgold@aol.com.
Louisiana Department of Education provides news, plans, and a FAQ for employees of New Orleans schools.
Louisiana Library Association has set up a disaster relief fund to help Southeastern Louisiana school, public, and academic libraries. Donations can be sent directly to LLA at 421 South 4th Street, Eunice, LA 70535. Make checks payable to "LLA Disaster Relief." For up-to-date information, visit LLA's Web site. Note: LLA can accept only monetary contributions at this time.
Louisiana State Library offers hurricane assistance links—everything from a missing pets forum to a call for volunteers. It also moderates an online discussion group for Louisiana public librarians. Note: Like LLA above, LSL cannot accept books at this time. However, the state's libraries, says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton, "are in desperate need of computers and printers. We are being inundated with evacuees needing to file FEMA applications, unemployment, search for loved ones, etc., and are coming into our public libraries to use the computers." Specifically, Louisiana libraries need computers with Pentium 3 chips or their equivalent, Windows 2000 software, and laser printers of recent vintage so "you can still get toner for them." Send equipment to State Library of Louisiana, 701 North 4th Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802-5232.
Network for Good, founded in 2001 by the Time Warner Foundation, AOL Inc., Yahoo Inc., and the Cisco Foundation, lists dozens of organizations whose relief efforts need support. The organizations are listed in one of three categories: Emergency Response, Children & Families, and Rebuild & Recover.
New Orleans Public Library blog is dedicated to updates and contact information for past and present staff of NOPL.
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is setting up a fund to provide help to schools and libraries in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. It is also preparing "comfort kits"—books, toys, and toothbrushes, among other things—for children displaced by Katrina.
Texas Library Association's Disaster Relief Fund is collecting donations of money to help Gulf Coast area libraries rebuild and provide support for evacuees. Monetary donations can be made online to the Texas Library Association.
UNICEF is soliciting contributions earmarked for children affected by Hurricane Katrina. Working out of Washington, DC, it is coordinating international support for children, their families, and for the restoration of educational settings—schools, libraries, and other places of learning. This is the first time in its 59-year history that the United Nations Children's Education Fund has been involved in relief efforts in the United States.
Librarian and blogger Rochelle Hartman has compiled an extensive list of links to sites that can help readers find temporary housing for those displaced, consider where to donate funds, and learn how to conserve damaged archival materials, among many other topics. To view the site, click here.
Click here to read an exclusive, day-by-day account from a school librarian's Katrina Journal.
