ALA Lends a Helping Hand

You know a conference is a hit when the pastor of the oldest cathedral in town thanks the conventioneers for coming. It also doesn’t hurt when the local newspaper runs a headline, “Hug a Librarian,” applauding the profession.

For the more than 12,000 librarians attending the American Library Association’s (ALA) conference in New Orleans in June, the gathering certainly was a huge success—and a welcome balm to a beleaguered city.

Fears that New Orleans couldn’t sustain a large gathering (ALA’s was the first since Hurricane Katrina, 10 months earlier) were quickly laid to rest. Cabs were plentiful, hotels were accommodating, restaurants were more than ready for the onslaught, and Thomson Gale’s buses shuttled attendees swiftly among venues. In addition to the many librarians, almost 5,000 vendors were on hand, and overall attendance was nearly 17,000, just 12 percent less than the turnout for ALA’s 2004 Orlando conference, the organization’s last major meeting in the South.

By any measure, this wasn’t your typical ALA conference. Like meetings of yore, sessions were lively and the exhibit floor was well stocked with the latest books and technology (although several vendors said the foot traffic was a little sluggish). But unlike previous annual gatherings, where vendors and librarians clustered in the convention hall, this time many visitors fanned out across the city, ready to roll up their sleeves.

Volunteers Get to Work

Over 900 conference attendees took part in (another 900 were wait-listed) “Libraries Build Communities,” a well-organized volunteer effort which took place at more than 20 sites around the city. Clad in yellow T-shirts, librarians mucked out storm-damaged houses, presented storyhours and puppet shows to local children, and generally tried to make a positive contribution to New Orleans’ recovery.

At the Benjamin Franklin High School, located on the campus of the University of New Orleans, 30 volunteers spent the day moving the library from its temporary digs on the second floor to its original space on the newly renovated first floor. “They did the work of six months in one day,” said Idella Washington, the school’s library media specialist.

Other volunteers, including Luann Toth, managing editor of SLJ’s book review, were bussed to the Algiers Regional Branch, one of the New Orleans Public Library’s (NOPL) busiest locales before Hurricane Katrina. “The branch hadn’t been flooded, but its roof had collapsed and its collection and all of its furnishings were destroyed,” said Toth. The gutted building had been a repository for more than a million books.

“This has really energized us,” said Seale Paterson, manager of NOPL’s Hubbell Branch, lauding the volunteers’ citywide efforts. “I’m thankful that so many people really wanted to know what happened and to see it for themselves. I hope they tell everyone what they saw—how bad it was, and still is, but also how much progress is being made. I hope they can understand why we love this city as much as we do, and why it is important for us to fight for it. And of course, I hope everyone comes back and eats too much and listens to some great music and has a great time here, all over again.” (For more information on how to help rebuild NOPL, visit www.nutrias.org.)

Alvar Street Branch Is Back

Thanks to a three-month, $800,000 renovation project led by Library Journal (LJ), a sister publication of SLJ, and the architectural firm Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd, NOPL’s Alvar Street Branch opened its doors on June 25. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the beautiful art deco library took on 18 inches of water, and its collection and most of its interior space were destroyed. The Alvar Street Branch, a vital community hub since 1940, is in one of the city’s most devastated areas, the Ninth Ward, which is still struggling to recover.

Baker & Taylor processed and shelved donations from 450 publishers, providing 12,000 new books and other much-needed materials. The remodeled branch also received 22 computers—instant magnets for kids—and new furniture, fixtures, signs, and other equipment. CapitalOne, Citadel Builders, and E. Eean McNaughton Architects were also contributors. “It’s the most massive collaboration I’ve seen in the library community,” said LJ Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff. “If we waited for FEMA, we’d be waiting and waiting. An opening-day collection takes nine months to a year. They pulled it off in three months.”

“Alvar Street is important for so many reasons,” added incoming ALA President Leslie Burger. “Besides helping to return some normalcy to local residents, it will give NOPL a chance to demonstrate to funders what a great branch can mean for a community.”

Vendors, Others Pitch In

Numerous other restoration and aid efforts also took place across the city. NOPL’s 1,600-square-foot Children’s Resource Center, located in the Garden District, received a complete makeover courtesy of Highsmith, Inc. ProQuest Information and Learning donated its Shelter Library (a wired, trailer-like facility previously deployed in Baton Rouge, LA, to help evacuees of Hurricane Katrina) to the New Orleans Public Library. The temporary edifice will house the Algiers Branch Library while it’s being rebuilt. H. W. Wilson gave $100,000 to NOPL. And finally, Dollar General announced a major grant program for school libraries in the Gulf region.

The convention sparked other major donations as well. Nearly $18 million was pledged to rebuild post-hurricane library service in Louisiana and Mississippi. Of that amount, $12.2 million was donated by the Gates Foundation, $5 million by the Bush-Katrina fund, and $500,000 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

At “School Libraries Work,” a forum sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians and Scholastic held on June 26, First Lady Laura Bush stressed the significance of strong school libraries to community rebuilding efforts. “Until there are schools, families won’t return home,” said the former school librarian, adding that “each of these schools must have a new school library.” The Laura Bush Foundation established a Gulf Coast School Library Recovery initiative, which in May awarded $500,000 in grants to rebuild school libraries.

During her speech, Bush also announced that the federal IMLS would award 35 grants totaling $20.8 million to universities, libraries, and library organizations nationwide to recruit and educate librarians. The grants are designed to address the dearth of media specialists, library school faculty, and librarians working in underserved communities. In addition, the money will be used to address the looming shortage of supervisory library workers, like directors, many of whom are expected to retire over the next two decades. “The work of recruiting and educating the next generation of librarians here on the Gulf Coast and throughout our country must start now,” Bush said.