Initial Grant Recipients

July 16, 2007. The following libraries have been selected by Libraries for the Future (LFF) to receive grant awards in the following amounts:

- Hancock County Libraries (Mississippi) - $600,000
- Harrison County Libraries (Mississippi) - $600,000
- Jefferson Parish Library (Louisiana) - $1.2 Million
- New Orleans Public Library (Louisiana) - $1.2 Million

The awards are made possible by the generosity of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund (BCKF), which selected LFF to oversee grants to libraries in the Gulf Coast. These first four awards are part of a larger package of support to renew libraries -- and communities -- in the Gulf Coast.

• Press release (PDF)
• "Bush-Clinton Fund Boosts Libraries": The Times-Picayune (New Orleans LA), July 16, 2007 (PDF)
  
  

LFF's Gulf Coast Libraries Renewal Fund

Responding to the unprecedented damage to libraries caused by the Hurricanes of 2005, and the extraordinary services provided by libraries in the face of destruction, Libraries for the Future and many others agencies have raised funds and allocated in-kind resources and technical expertise to assist with library renewal.

LFF’s Gulf Coast Libraries Renewal Fund was formed in September 2005. The Goals of the Fund are to:

1. Increase awareness of the plight of Gulf Coast libraries;
2. find philanthropic and other private dollars for critical work; and
3. explore ways of leveraging and enhancing broader public support for library redevelopment in the region.

Since then LFF has raised more than $5.250 M from philanthropic sources and individual donors, including substantial grants from the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the Petersmeyer Family Foundation and the Dorothy Lemelson Foundation.

• The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund is providing $5 M for repairing and rebuilding up to ten libraries in Louisiana and Mississipi, as well as addressing some needs for library collections redevelopment.
  
• The Petermeyer Family Foundation is providing $250,000 over three years for development of Family Place Libraries services in Gulf Coast libraries.
  
• The Dorothy Lemelson Foundation is providing $100,000 for children’s book collections and for the purchase of new books for children displaced by the Hurricanes.
  
• The Llewelyn Foundation is providing support for staffing a bookmobile in Hancock County to provide services for families and youth in areas without library service.
  

Additional donors have provided general support for LFF’s work to publicize and address the many needs of libraries as they plan and implement recovery projects.

LFF is working closely with other donors supporting library recovery in the region. In particular LFF is coordinating its rebuilding work with SOLINET, the agency charged with administering monies for Gulf Coast Libraries and public access computers from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Yesterday: From Floodwaters to Floods of Patrons in Need

With so much destruction to report in the wake of the Hurricanes of 2005, much of the mainstream media overlooked the impact of the storms on public libraries in the coastal states. Nearly 40 public libraries in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama were completely destroyed. Dozens of parish libraries, county libraries, and more than 100 school libraries suffered building damage and lost books, computers, furniture and staff. Never before has there been destruction of American libraries on such a scale. The full cost of addressing library damage across the region is estimated at several hundred million dollars. In Louisiana alone, a study of the State Librarian suggests the cost of replacement and redevelopment in affected areas will range from $60 million to more than $200 million.

The scope of damage to libraries all along the coast and inland as far as 50 miles is nearly incomprehensible. The Waveland, Mississippi Public Library, only four years old, was entirely destroyed. The Gulfport Library, only two years old, was also destroyed. Water washed into the Pass Christian Library in Harrison County Mississippi, nearly drowning residents seeking haven from the high winds and flooding. New Orleans libraries were devastated. Only three facilities are operational today. The world-reknowned Notorial Archives at the main New Orleans Public Library came within feet of being flooded. From rural Jefferson County to St. Bernard’s County and Cameron County, libraries were either wiped out or rendered unusable due to damage from the wind, water and mold. The impact on collections was enormous; the impact on library staff even greater. The New Orleans Public Library, for instance, had 150 salaried employees before the storm; as of January 1, 2007, they had 43.

And yet, despite the enormous damage they sustained to their buildings, utilities, and connectivity, libraries were never more in demand as a community resource than during and in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Librarians working in buildings not totally destroyed by the storm—and many that were partially damaged—responded to the emergency with dedication, ingenuity and optimism. They demonstrated the importance of libraries as first-responders, providing critical access to information on lost relatives, disaster benefits and relocation. Working with the United Way, Red Cross, church groups, schools, shelters and municipal agencies, public libraries did and still are responding to the needs of displaced families for safe haven, Internet access, learning resources, and, as always, books.

Today: Cornerstornes for Community Renewal

During and after the hurricanes of 2005, those libraries that continued to provide service demonstrated forcefully the vital role of libraries as centers for community support and community renewal. Libraries have come to be seen in the region as cornerstone institutions in the rebuilding plans for virtually all the affected urban neighborhoods and rural communities. These vital institutions are the one place people of all ages, cultures and means come to connect not only to information but to ideas, one another, and hope. Building on their past functions and adding new ones in response to the needs of damaged communities, Gulf Coast Libraries:

• promote self-sufficiency and economic opportunity through information on jobs and training, services for small businesses, and partnerships with local agencies and employees to assist with adult literacy and workforce development;
• support children, youth and families through literacy and learning programs;
  
• improve and enrich community-based and lifelong learning opportunities;
  
• help individuals and families connect with services, relatives and agencies for relocation andsupport;
  
• help low-income families overcome digital, linguistic and information divides; and
  
• enhance the quality of community life by offering places for meetings, problem solving, planning, cultural exchange, group learning, study and reading.
  

The importance of libraries for healthy and productive communities makes library renewal in Gulf Coast communities especially relevant as a strategy for regional recovery and community redevelopment. According to former President George Bush, “An investment in a library represents a commitment to the future of the community. . . The sooner libraries reopen their doors, the sooner Gulf Coast residents will feel they are getting back their lives.”

Tomorrow: Challenges of Library Recovery

Through a combination of local energies and resources, outside expertise and technical support, planning monies and professional dedication, Gulf Coast libraries are demonstrating their capacities for renewal. In so doing, they are helping to transform the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita into an opportunity to build back better and to reposition libraries as central agents for community renewal.

However, despite their significance for the future of their communities, and despite their extremely valiant efforts to continue and expand services, libraries in the region have not been able to quickly restore their facilities, collections and staff. The contexts in which they are operating are complicated and the usual systems for planning, staffing, repairing, purchasing and obtaining funding are made more difficult in most cases and nearly impossible in others. Jurisdictional issues, lack of insurance decisions, miscommunications with government agencies, difficulties in locating housing for employees, the slow pace of overall community planning—these are but some of the issues undermining the best efforts to restore full library services. The pace is uneven, with some institutions better positioned to finalize decisions and put out bids for work and others held back by lack of clarify from governance and funding perspectives.

No matter the level of local capacity to carry out renewal efforts, the funding required is enormous, and local revenues are not likely to cover but a minor portion of the rebuilding costs. Some experts estimate that it would take at least $200 M to replace and “build back better.”

How can Gulf Coast Libraries take advantage of the latest trends and insights into public library use as they rebuild?

See comments by Diantha Dow Schull, LFF President, at the recent conference of Gulf Coast Library Directors, entitled: Building Libraries, Building Community, held in Baton Rouge, LA in November 2006.

See this video now.

Other Philanthropic and Library Donors

Throughout the library community there has been an unprecedented response to the needs of colleagues in the Gulf Coast region. The American Library Association collected more than $100,000 in donations from members to meet libraries needs in the affected states.

County libraries provided bookmobiles and equipment. The Fletcher Library in Rutland Vermont sent a delegation to Missisippi to help clean libraries and brought with them supplies and books donated by community members. The American Library Association was the first national organization to stage an annual conference in New Orleans after the storms and hundreds of librarian attendees assisted with cleaning and renewal projects.

Library Journal and a group of library vendors, led by the architectural firm Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle, renovated the Aguilar Branch in New Orleans. Vendors sent computers and other equipment, provided free software, and direct technical expertise to help libraries restore services. 3M, SIRSIDYNIX and tutor.com were among the vendors that provided support.

The largest donor to library renewal to date is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through a $10 M grant administered by SOLINET the Gates Foundation is providing temporary libraries, planning monies, and computer replacements throughout the region.

The Institute for Museum and Library Services assisted libraries by extending deadlines for specific grants. The National Endowment for the Humanities provided emergency grants for collections care; the National Endowment for the Arts provided grants for cultural functions in the aftermath of the storms. Many professional associations such as the American Association of Archivists have sent experts and equipment to help libraries deal with stabilization and care of collections.

Coming Soon!
An expanded regional spotlight on the Gulf Coast, including current campaigns, new initiatives, and more. Check back soon!

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“You will never know what your support has meant”

Sharman Smith
Executive Director, Mississippi Library Commission
Remarks at Waveland Public Library, July 17, 2007

Immediately after Katrina, we [the Library Commission] struggled as to what we should and could do. We wanted desperately to help, but just did not know what was needed.

So, three weeks after the storm, we loaded the van with office supplies, food, and a video camera and came to the Coast.  What we saw were:

1. Resilient and determined people.

2. Amazing library staffs struggling, despite their own personal losses, to serve their publics in any way possible.

3. People turning immediately to public libraries for help – for the Internet, for a quiet place, for a sense of belonging, for friendly, helpful staff.

4. Libraries needing short-term and long-term assistance.

We returned to Jackson with heavy hearts and a very clear idea of what our primary role should be. We knew we had to get out the word nationally that our friends and colleagues needed help.

So we set about doing just that. Many national organizations and companies were contacted and told, “We need you!”

Libraries for the Future responded immediately trying to match libraries with philanthropic organizations, looking for new sources of funding, and calling in favors. Diantha Schull, President of LFF, and Bruce Astrein, LFF Executive Director, were amazing. Without them, we would not be here today for this great announcement. To Diantha and Bruce, I want to say publicly, “Thank you. You will never know what your support has meant.”

I also want to thank the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund for recognizing the critical role that libraries play in communities and that communities will not be whole again without rebuilding libraries.

“The Storm Couldn't Touch What Was Most Important”

Rebecca Hamilton
Louisiana State Librarian
Remarks at Jefferson Parish Public Library, July 17, 2007

I am excited to be here and to participate in this event—an event celebrating the rebirth of Louisiana’s libraries. Thank you to Jefferson Parish for inviting me.

Under the leadership of Lt. Gov Mitch Landrieu and Secretary Angele Davis, I have the privilege of working with all of the 332 public libraries in our state—and we have some outstanding libraries.

And Jefferson Parish Library and New Orleans Public Library have always been at the top of the list with excellent resources and staff providing cutting edge service.

But in August 2005 your lives changed forever.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed so much of what were the tangible aspects of your accomplishments in this region--homes, businesses, and community buildings that meant so much to you.

But the storm couldn’t touch that which was most important: your drive, your courage, and your desire to be even better than you once were.

Library staff, boards, and communities rolled up their sleeves and immediately began the grueling process of clearing out the destruction and rebuilding—with some staff literally living in the library in those early days.

So many people joined together in this region to do the hard work to get their libraries up and running. And like all of our libraries across the state, Jefferson Parish and New Orleans Parish libraries threw open their doors after these two storms and welcomed everyone inside to utilize their critical resources.

After food and shelter, information was the greatest need and our libraries provided those resources.

Everyone in this region has done a tremendous amount of work over the last two years, but we all know that there is much more to be done. I know that you share my vision that it is not only important to rebuild our public libraries, but it is crucial to build them back better than before.

Libraries play such a vital role in our communities and are essential to rebuilding the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.

At the State Library, through the support of Lt.Gov Landrieu and Secretary Davis, we are committed to seeing all of our hurricane-affected libraries transformed into state of the art facilities that will set the standard for all libraries. We will also set the standard for creating working partnerships that will benefit all of our citizens.

Here in Jefferson Parish, through your partnerships with the State Library of Louisiana, neighboring public libraries, and other cultural institutions, you are not only doing the work of rebuilding but you are playing a huge role in improving the region’s way of life and impacting the Cultural Economy.

Through this desire, hard work, vision and the generous donations of our library friends from the Libraries for the Future and the Bush/Clinton Katrina Fund, we will show the world that it is smart to invest in Louisiana’s public libraries.