Hurricane Preparedness in Florida Public Libraries

Updated Hurricane Web Training Video

2010-08-18T12:38:00.000-04:00

The Information Institute has updated a short instructional video about its Hurricane Preparedness and Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal that demonstrates its most useful features, including a quick how to session on accessing a broad range of hurricane-related information. The updated video discusses the new service role, “Get to Know Your Local EOC,” as well as the other key features of the hurricane web portal. These training videos will help users exploit all the various resources, information, and services that are available from the website.

The video is available at our web portal or from YouTube.

- Information Institute

Information Institute Research Coordinator Presents on Public Library – Emergency Management Agency Partnerships at OCLC’s WebJunction, August 3, 2010

2010-08-11T11:37:00.000-04:00

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute’s (Information Institute) Research Coordinator, Lauren H. Mandel, presented an online webinar to 60 attendees on August 3, 2010 through OCLC’s WebJunction. The webinar provided a brief introduction to theHurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal, an overview of the eight service roles identified on the portal, an introduction to the new Get To Know Your EOC service role, and a discussion on the importance of partnering with emergency management.

Webinar attendees interacted with the presenter through real-time chats, with discussion focusing on success stories from participants’ libraries on working with local emergency managers and ways to improve these cooperative relationships.

Lauren Mandel noted that with the oncoming hurricane season it is essential for public librarians to be as prepared as possible to assist local communities and partner with their local emergency management offices. Furthermore, the new instructional module on working with your local EOC is an excellent strategy to coordinate services and assist your community. Details on how this can be done are on the Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal.

View the archived webinar, slides, chats and related links.

- Information Institute

New Hurricane Flyer Now Available!

2010-07-21T11:56:00.002-04:00

Now that hurricane season is here again, allow us to reintroduce a few of the products and services that have been developed for public libraries by the Information Use Management & Policy Institute (Information Institute) at Florida State University. These services were developed from a project designed to help public libraries to better assist their communities during hurricane disasters.

WEB PORTAL: The Information Institute’s web portal captures many best practices to help you better prepare for hurricane season. This web portal also includes access to a comprehensive collection of hurricane information resources. Please visit the homepage of the web portal located at:

http://hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu

HURRICANE FLYER: A new color flyer has been provided to all Florida public libraries for display and is available from the homepage of the web portal or click on the image below for a downloadable version of the flyer.

NEW SERVICE ROLE WITH INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS: We have also created a series of information videos about a new service role – Get to Know Your Local EOC that explains how a public library can develop a working relationship with the local emergency operations center, and why this relationship is beneficial to the library and the EOC. The new service role and those videos are available at our web portal or from YouTube at:

From web portal: Get to Know Your Local EOC
From YouTube: Information Institute Channel

Public Libraries, Get to Know Your Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

2010-07-07T10:16:00.003-04:00

Getting to know your local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) can result in the public library and EOC working together to best provide for the community needs.

Best practices may include:

Videos: Make the case to your local Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

Mitigation strategies and preparedness funding

Ensure facilities and equipment will meet disaster recovery demands

Write a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
- Information Institute

Gulf Oil Spill Dangers Increase with Start of Hurricane Season 2010

2010-06-03T12:21:00.003-04:00

With the start of what is predicted to be an active hurricane season, the dangers of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill move farther inland. According to a New York Times article, researchers are concerned about the potential for hurricane force winds compounding the existing environmental disaster in the Gulf.

New York Times article: Hurricane Season Raises New Fears

If a hurricane’s path collides with the spill, the winds and storm surges could push the oil on the Gulf’s surface over a wider area of the Gulf, and even farther inland. This “unprecedented environmental catastrophe” possibly could even intensify the storm’s effects by heating the water. There are hopes that the oil could weaken the storm but this has yet to be proven.

For further information on the Gulf Coast oil spill, please see The White House’s web page dedicated to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill.

Keep checking the Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal for more information regarding the 2010 Hurricane season.

- Information Institute

Hurricane Season 2010 Begins - And NOAA Predicts It Will Be a Busy Season

2010-06-01T12:10:00.003-04:00

Today, June 1, is the start of the 2010 hurricane season and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it's going to be an "active to extremely active" season.

NOAA Expects Busy Atlantic Hurricane Season

With the prediction of 14 to 23 named storms this seasons, it is important for libraries to be prepared. Visit the Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal for helpful information.

- Information Institute

Webinar: Hurricane Preparedness and Response

2010-04-27T10:39:00.003-04:00

Join guest presenter, Lauren Mandel, research coordinator for a new project that identifies and collects key service roles, best practices, tools and resource to make better use of the public libraries for hurricane and disaster preparation and recovery.

The Florida-based project helps libraries reprioritize disaster and recovery efforts to address the needs of the broader community through partnerships with fellow responders and to become a safe haven, a recovery center, information hub and evacuee resource. Come learn how this project can inform your library's disaster preparedness plan and how your library can play an important role in community preparedness and recovery.

Webinar: Hurricane Preparedness and Response

McClure Makes Presentation at Texas Library Association

2010-04-26T10:42:00.003-04:00

Charles R. McClure, Francis Eppes Professor and Director of the Information Institute, spoke at the Texas Library Association April 17, 2010 in San Antonio. The presentation offered a tutorial on how to best use the website at

http://hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu/

The presentation also discussed the applicability of the website's content for hurricane preparedness and response in the state of Texas and other gulf coast states. There was considerable interest in expanding the coverage of the website to have content specific to other gulf coast states.

A number of the participants had been in recent hurricanes that have struck Texas and the fulf coast and offered suggestions and ideas for additional content and resources for the website.

- Information Institute

2010 Hurricane Season Predicted to be Busy With as Many as 15 Storms

2010-04-15T09:07:00.004-04:00

USA Today states, "The Atlantic basin is facing a busier-than-usual" hurricane season, in part because of record warm water in the ocean, according to the latest hurricane forecast."

Read the USA Today story here.

Director Charles R. McClure notes, "Individual Florida public libraries have played important roles in helping their communities to better prepare and recover from hurricanes. The Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries project will increase the capacity of all Florida public libraries to better help their communities respond to hurricanes."

- Information Use Management & Policy Institute

Hurricane Season is in Full Swing!

2009-09-21T11:09:00.002-04:00

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Hurricane Season is in Full Swing!

The peak period of hurricane season is now here. Are you prepared? One resource can be of benefit to public librarians is the Hurricane Preparedness & Response for Florida Public Libraries web portal, available at:

http://www.hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu/

We encourage you to take a moment to become familiar with this new website that helps librarians work with local communities to better prepare for and recover from a hurricane disaster by providing the following information and tools:

· Service roles and how to implement them;

· URLs to an extensive set of resources;

· Planning guides and basic actions; and

· Evacuee assistance information.

Plus: This site offers you a searchable database of the best available resources to meet the information needs of library professionals and patrons as they face the challenges presented during this hurricane season. The website includes a short tutorial that introduces you to the various parts of the website and how to best use these resources. For more information, please visit: http://www.hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu/

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Hurricane Flyer Now Available!

2009-07-31T09:15:00.008-04:00

Now that hurricane season is here, allow us to introduce a few of the new products and services that have been developed for public libraries by the Information Use Management & Policy Institute (Information Institute) at Florida State University. These new services were developed from a project designed to help public libraries to better assist their communities during hurricane disasters.

WEB PORTAL: The Information Institute’s new web portal captures many best practices to help you better prepare for hurricane season. This web portal also includes access to a comprehensive collection of hurricane information resources. Please visit the homepage of the web portal located at:

http://hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu/

HURRICANE FLYER: A color flyer has been provided to all Florida public libraries for display and is available from the homepage of the web portal. The downloadable flyer is available from the homepage of the web portal or you may click on the image below.

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO: We have also created a short instructional video about this web portal that demonstrates its most useful features, including a quick how to session on accessing a broad range of hurricane-related information. That video is available at our web portal or from YouTube at:

From web portal: http://hurricanes.ii.fsu.edu/instructionalVideos.html
From YouTube: Hurricane Web Training Video

Professor Charles R. McClure Named as Hurricane Expert

2009-06-08T11:12:00.003-04:00

Charles R. McClure, director of the Information Use Management & Policy Institute (Information Institute) and Francis Eppes Professor at the College of Information, Florida State University (FSU) has been named an expert on hurricane preparedness, response and recovery. The announcement was made by Florida State University’s as an effort to formally identify leading national experts in the study of hurricanes and their impact on people and property.

This announcement comes in response to work Dr. McClure and the Information Institute have done on a project supported by a $311,440 grant awarded by the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center at Florida State University’s College of Business to assist public libraries and local communities to better plan for and respond to hurricanes. This project, entitled Hurricane Preparedness and Response for Florida Public Libraries, reveals the critical support roles of libraries during disaster response and recovery.

This announcement was made on May 28: Hurricane Experts at Florida State University. For further information on this project, please contact Charles R. McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu at the Information Institute.

Arrival of Hurricane Season!

2009-06-01T10:39:00.001-04:00

Florida State aiding public libraries in hurricane preparedness and response

With the arrival of hurricane season on June 1, Florida's public libraries have a vital role to play in helping their communities prepare for and recover from hurricanes and other severe storms. The Florida State University's Information Use Management & Policy Institute at the College of Information has unveiled a new Web site that will help libraries meet the challenge.

The institute is coordinating a project that brings together emergency response agencies, the State Library and Archives of Florida, the Lyrasis library network and Florida's libraries to share resources and hard-won wisdom. The project's Web site, <www.ii.fsu.edu/hurricanes>, identifies key service roles, best practices, tools and resources that enable better use of the public library in community hurricane preparation and recovery. It includes checklists of steps librarians can take to provide better service to their communities.

McClure and Ryan Present Hurricane Project at Conferences

2009-05-20T15:23:00.001-04:00

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute (Information Institute) was invited to participate in a number of conferences related to the Use of Public Libraries in Hurricane Response and Preparedness in April and May, 2009. These conference participation opportunities relate to ongoing research efforts by the Institute regarding the Public Libraries in Hurricane Preparedness and Response Project. This project is a grant effort obtained through the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center at Florida State University’s College of Business, and extends through December 31, 2009.

The first was the 2009 National Hurricane Conference, held April 6-April 10 in Austin, TX. This conference is the nation's forum for education and professional training in hurricane preparedness. The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. This conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management. The complete program from the 2009 National Hurricane Conference can be downloaded here. The 2010 National Hurricane Conference is scheduled for March 29-April 2 in Orlando, Florida.

At the National Hurricane Conference, the Information Institute was represented by Mr. Joe Ryan who served as the Project Manager for the Public Libraries in Hurricane Preparedness and Response Project. Mr. Ryan’s presentation was entitled Public Libraries Hidden Assets in Community Disaster Response and was part of a panel discussion that covered Empowering Your Citizens to Be Part of Your Disaster Preparedness/Response Program. This discussion addressed the county and municipal partnerships and tools necessary to develop a disaster preparedness program for neighborhood associations, as well as some techniques for keeping evacuated residents informed of hurricane information.

On May 6, Dr. Charles R. McClure, the project Principal Investigator made a presentation at the Florida Library Association in Orlando that introduced the project website and discussed the various service roles that public libraries can provide their local community in hurricane preparedness and response. McClure also made a presentation May 14 in Fort Lauderdale at the Governor’s Hurricane Conference to emergency management officials that introduced them to the activities and importance of public libraries in hurricane preparedness and response. The Governor’s Hurricane Conference is the premier hurricane conference in Florida and brings together a broad array of participants in hurricane emergency management. The ideas and roles regarding public libraries were very well received.

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute is directed by Charles R. McClure, Ph.D., Francis Eppes Professor at the College of Communication & Information, Florida State University (FSU). Dr. McClure has created a collaborative partnership with state libraries in the Gulf Coast, libraries in Florida, and others that continues to gather extensive research on the role and use of public libraries in hurricane preparedness and response throughout the Gulf Coast region.

Extension Grant Awarded to the Public Libraries in Hurricane Preparedness and Response Project

2009-05-20T15:19:00.003-04:00

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute was awarded an extension to its grant from the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center at Florida State University’s College of Business to continue work on the Public Libraries in Hurricane Preparedness and Response Project. This extension brings the total grant value to $311,000 and extends the effort through December 31, 2009.

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute is directed by Charles R. McClure, PhD, Francis Eppes Professor at the College of Information, Florida State University (FSU). Dr. McClure has created a collaborative partnership that continues to gather extensive research on the impact of hurricane on public libraries throughout the Gulf Coast region. This cooperative effort has included such key contributors as the State Library and Archives of Florida, directed by Judith Ring, Lyrasis directed by Kate Nevins, and Florida’s Multi-type Library Cooperatives and public libraries throughout the region as well as federal, state, local and community agencies concerned with Florida hurricane preparedness and response.

Additional and expanded tasks to be completed during the extension period include the following.

Expand project web site content and capabilities.
Conduct marketing and promotion of the project and website.
Develop statewide joint planning and training opportunities.
Integrate public libraries into local emergency management.
Explore additional public library service roles during hurricane disasters.
Hold a statewide conference.

The statewide conference is planned for November – December 2009, and will provide a forum for public librarians, local and state officials, and emergency managers to become familiar with the project activities; share disaster response best practices, evaluate the extensive information and resources provided by the project website; and discuss the next steps that should be taken to extend and sustain this important project.

For further information, please contact Chuck McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu Principal Investigator at the Information Institute.

Hurricane Preparedness: The Importance of Planning

2009-04-27T12:44:00.003-04:00

It’s simple right? Like the kids cartoon/story about the grasshopper and the ant. The grasshopper goes through life partying without a care. The ant plods and plans. When bad times come (like a hurricane), the grasshopper hurts and the ant survives. The moral: planning for hurricanes is not glamorous. But, as every library manager who has been through a hurricane will tell you, having a plan helps. Specifically, a plan can:

Enhance our abilities to mitigate potential hazards;
Enable us to better respond to emergency situations; and,
Make us quicker to begin to recover from disasters.

A hurricane enables to more quickly respond through the cycle of emergency planning, crisis reaction, and recovery.

The Alabama Public Library Service, State Librarian, Rebecca Mitchell, believes that public library hurricane disaster planning function is so important that she has re-directed one of her consultants, Jim Smith, to work full time with Alabama public libraries on developing their plans. Jim is using D-plan developed by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). Contact Jim Smith Jim.Smith@apls.alabama.gov for further information. The Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN) has collected member disaster plans and resources as an aid to other libraries planning efforts. Take a look at the University of Texas, Austin’s Hurricane and Related Disasters Emergency Plan and the Library of Virginia’s Workbook for Disaster Planning.

How You Can Help: This blog post is provided by the Florida State University’s Information Use Management & Policy Institute. The Institute has been awarded a grant to examine how public libraries can aid their communities to better prepare for and recover from hurricanes. See a project summary, LibraryJournal.com article, or radio interview for further information. One aspect of the recently awarded FSU Information Institute’s project is to develop a model public library hurricane/disaster plan. To do a good job we need to draw on the plans libraries have already developed as good examples. Help us all out by sending your library’s hurricane or disaster plan – as well as any other related experiences – to Charles R. McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu or c/o FSU, Information Institute P.O. Box 3062100, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2100.

Information Institute Launches Public Library Community Hurricane Preparedness & Recovery Project

2009-04-27T12:29:00.004-04:00

Background: Florida State University’s Information Use Management & Policy Institute has been awarded a grant to assist communities to better prepare for and recover from hurricanes by better utilizing public libraries. Note the emphasis on how can a public library help their community rather than how can the library restore itself. See a project summary, LibraryJournal.com article or radio interview for further information. A key part of the project is to identify public libraries that have helped their communities to better prepare for and recover from hurricanes, and document the roles the libraries played so that other libraries may learn from their experience.

How You Can Help

Initially the project team is looking for three types of information:

Are you experienced? Do you and your public library have experience assisting your community prepare for and recover from a hurricane? If so, send an e-mail to Charles R. McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu, with the following information: public library contact information [public library name, website url (if the library has), postal address, phone, fax, contact name , job title, phone (if different than library’s)] and a brief description of the role(s) your public library played when helping your community prepare for and recover from a hurricane. Note: a project team member may contact you for further information.

Hurricane preparation & recovery materials: Can you send the project team any materials (or links to them) your public library developed or found useful when assisting your community prepare for and recover from a hurricane? The materials might include: plans, checklists, policies, procedures, forms, standards, guidelines, recommendations, descriptions, newspaper articles, and best practices. If so, send an e-mail to Charles R. McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu with material in electronic format or send paper material to Charles McClure, FSU Information Institute, 142 Collegiate Loop, P.O. Box 3062100, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2100. Be sure that the material’s author and library name appears on each document.

Project Update

The project team looks forward to using this blog to share what we find and provide periodic updates to you on this project.

Hurricanes and Libraries: Emergency Management Activities

2009-04-27T12:20:00.004-04:00

The Information Use Management & Policy Institute at Florida State University has been awarded a grant to examine how libraries, responders and communities have united to better prepare for and recover from hurricanes. Public libraries can play an important role in each phase of hurricane season’s lifecycle. One way of dividing the hurricane lifecycle is offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in a guide entitled "Producing Emergency Plans." The guide identifies four primary phases of the emergency management as: mitigation, planning, response, and recovery. To provide librarians with a better appreciation of the scope of activities which could surround a comprehensive hurricane preparedness program, each of those phases are briefly explained.

Hurricane preparedness is not a single event. It is a set of interrelated activities, which extends from the initial design of the library structure, through the recovery and rebuilding efforts to reestablish the library as a fully functional community asset. Activities within this emergency management chain of events include:

Mitigation – Mitigation refers to reducing the impacts a hurricane will have on library collections, services and on the communities the library serves. Recent studies, as "The 2004 and 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: Evolving Roles and Lessons Learned for Public Libraries in Disaster Preparedness and Community Services", indicate that during hurricane events, libraries may become rescue and recovery centers. Public libraries may provide vital community services, supporting the public’s need for information, communication, internet connectivity, and also assists in the coordination of recovery operations in the local area. In order to offer hurricane continuity of service and meet emergency demands, public libraries’ service and facilities infrastructure need to be carefully planned to resist the impact of hurricanes. The Disaster Mitigation Planning Assistance Website provides a wealth of information for cultural institutions, including libraries, museums, historical societies and archives, providing recommendations that will help mitigate damage to collections in the event of a disaster.

Planning – Planning is essential to assuring a high level of readiness and in addressing the crises conditions that surround an emergency event, such as a hurricane. Public libraries need to be at the table as local emergency responders develop and refine disaster plans. Within the public library, the preparation of informative documents, policies, online and web based services/resources, and operational plans that identify the emergency procedures are critically important. Such plans allow an organized and efficient reaction during a time of crisis. Such internal planning also helps librarians communicate and coordinate with responders at the local, state, and national levels. Librarians may wish to check out the disaster response plans and other emergency planning materials offered on the California Preservation Program website.

Response – This segment of the chain begins with the notification that a hurricane strike is imminent and continues through the event, until the end of the emergency. During this period of time, the library’s exterior and interior assets must be secured and protected from the impending danger. The library may be transformed to enable emergency service provision. This means securing necessary resources, reallocation of staff and increased flexibility. The public library will become an active emergency organized to meet the high demand for communications, services, and support activities required by the emergency response teams and the public’s need for crisis information. A good example of a Library Disaster Response Plan is provided by the Cornell University Library.

Recovery – Recovery is the period after the hurricane event where the library and community begins to react to the aftermath of the events and takes initial steps to return to normal operations and services. Library damages must be identified, assessed, and repaired. The library must assist the community to do the same with homes and business repairs. The Disaster Recovery for Public Records Custodians, Archives and Libraries website offered by the State Library of Florida provides many recovery related resources in the areas of records recovery, storage, media repair, and provides general conservation advice. SOLINET offers classes and training for library staff, preservation services, consulting, and recovery related electronic resources and library products. The SOLINET corporate brochure provides an overview of what SOLINET can offer you and your library.

As we learn from these experiences, the knowledge gained must be used to improve how the library can better prepare for future emergencies. A formal assessment of how the library and staff survived the disaster can help identify how the library can better serve the community in the future should a similar disaster occur.

How You Can Help: Do you and your public library have experience assisting your community prepare for and recover from a hurricane? How do these above phases compare to your experiences? Please send an email to Charles R. McClure charles.mcclure@cci.fsu.edu with any thoughts you may have. By offering and describing your preparedness and response efforts, and related experiences, you will help to identify a set of best practices that will help all libraries and communities more effectively work together during emergencies situations. See our project summary, LibraryJournal.com article, or radio interview for further information.

Public Library Hurricane Service Roles: Ideas and Suggestions

2009-02-18T09:15:00.002-05:00

The public library hurricane service roles described on the Hurricane Preparedness in Florida Public Libraries web site will be revised and updated based on input from public librarians and others. How can these service roles be more useful for public librarians?

Thank you,
Information Use Management & Policy Institute
College of Information, Florida State University

FSU Headlines Radio - Hurricane Project

2009-01-27T11:11:00.000-05:00

Dr. Charles R. McClure, Director of the Information Institute, was interviewed by WFSU radio to discuss the Institute’s most recent grant effort: “Public Library Hurricane Preparedness and Response.” The interview noted the new and increasingly important role that Florida public libraries provide in serving community needs during times of disaster.

Listen to a 3 minute WFSU radio interview with McClure about the project.

Florida Public Libraries

2009-01-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

Florida public libraries have provided a range of useful hurricane and disaster preparation and response services and activities, but there has been no systematic effort to identify the activities, best practices, guidelines and services provided or to better organize, coordinate, and assist all Florida public libraries to provide these hurricane/disaster planning and response services.

This project will reduce the state’s overall risk by raising the readiness level of all the state’s public libraries to meet the challenges posed by these catastrophes. The project will:

Identify and then organize relevant public library hurricane related information resources, services, roles, and best practices;
Identify, aggregate, assess, and organize successful individual Florida public library best practices related to hurricane preparedness and response;
Develop model plans, standards, guidelines and recommendations – which will be made available via print and through an interactive website;
Offer strategies to assist state and regional public library and government officials with disaster coordination and organization responsibilities; and
Disseminate to Florida’s public libraries, agencies, and other organizations, via print and project website, resources, services, experiences, best practices, plans and guidelines to coordinate Florida’s public library managers and government partners to better prepare for and respond to hurricanes.

McClure stated that ”this grant offers a great opportunity for public libraries to better demonstrate the range of services and responses they can provide during such disasters.”

Improving Florida Public Library Utilization in Community Hurricane Response

2009-01-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Information Institute at Florida State University was recently awarded a grant to study ways to reduce Florida hurricane risk by better utilizing public libraries. Institute Director Charles R. McClure notes, "Individual Florida public libraries have played important roles in helping their communities to better prepare and recover from hurricanes. This project will increase the capacity of all Florida public libraries to better help their communities respond to hurricanes."