Risk Analysis, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2014

DOI: 10.1111/risa.12130

Opportunities and Challenges for Public Libraries to Enhance Community Resilience Shari R. Veil1,∗ and Bradley Wade Bishop2

This study bridges a gap between public library and emergency management policy versus practice by examining the role of public libraries in the community resource network for disaster recovery. Specifically, this study identifies the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to fulfill their role as a FEMA-designated essential community organization and enhance community resilience. The results indicate there are several opportunities for libraries to enhance community resilience by offering technology resources and assistance; providing office, meeting, and community living room space; serving as the last redundant communication channel and a repository for community information and disaster narratives; and adapting or expanding services already offered to meet the changing needs of the community. However, libraries also face challenges in enhancing community resilience, including the temptation to overcommit library capacity and staff capability beyond the library mission and a lack of long-term disaster plans and collaboration with emergency managers and government officials. Implications for library and emergency management practice and crisis research are discussed. KEY WORDS: Community resilience; crisis; disaster; library

1. INTRODUCTION

“necessary to save lives, or to protect and preserve property or public health and safety” include police, fire protection/emergency services, medical care, education, and utilities.(2) FEMA recognized that although public libraries are not equipped to assist in disaster response efforts in the same line as emergency responders, after the storm has passed, libraries are uniquely primed to provide a standard of services that can enhance disaster recovery. Across the United States, there are a total of 17,487 public library outlets.(3) With 98% of all U.S. counties containing at least one public library and the mean county average of five, this nearly everpresent, free, and open public institution is a substantial part of U.S. public infrastructure.(4) Public libraries are also the primary provider of free computer and Internet access. In fact, over 62% of public libraries report offering the only free Internet access in their community.(5) As community anchor institutions, libraries are also located centrally in

In December 2010, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) formally recognized public libraries as essential community organizations.(1) This change in the Stafford Act authorized FEMA to provide federal assistance and temporary relocation facilities for libraries to maintain services following a disaster. Other public facilities in this category of community services deemed 1 Department

of Communication and Division of Risk Sciences, College of Communication and Information, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. 2 School of Information Sciences, College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, USA. ∗ Address correspondence to Shari R. Veil, Department of Communication and Division of Risk Sciences, College of Communication and Information, University of Kentucky, 235 Grehan Building, Lexington, KY, USA; tel: 859-218-0468; [email protected].

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722 neighborhoods in sound structures with secure communication lines.(6) Many libraries have back-up generators and central lines to maintain access to electronic resources (e.g., subscription databases, online public access catalog) and climate control for preservation of print materials.(7) So even if the power grid is down across a community, many libraries can maintain full operation. Results from the 2011–2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey show almost all (96.6%) public libraries provide assistance to patrons applying for or accessing e-government services.(5) Over 70% report staff help patrons complete government forms, and nearly 31% of public libraries partner with government agencies and/or nonprofit organizations to provide e-government services.(5) In addition, 27% of dial-up users, primarily located in rural areas, indicate they do not have any other access to broadband Internet service in their area.(8) Many users lack the computer literacy needed to download and complete e-government forms and must seek assistance from librarians.(9) These statistics are key because FEMA aid forms can only be completed online and require certain types of software (e.g., web browsers) and technical know-how. After a natural disaster, the need for e-government services is heightened, explaining why public libraries have been identified as a centralized hub for connectivity following disasters.(10,11) Previous research has identified the array of services public libraries have delivered following disasters, most extensively following hurricanes.(5,7,9) The findings from these studies have been published widely in library journals and shared extensively through professional and academic library association forums. However, the discussion of libraries as an essential resource in disaster recovery has remained in the library literature and, in practice, libraries continue to be excluded from community disaster preparedness, response, and recovery planning. Zach suggests “this exclusion may foster a sense that libraries cannot play a proactive role beyond their traditional one of providing access to collections and to a physical safe haven in times of crisis.”(11) Research shows even library staff underestimate the importance of libraries in disaster recovery, and former FEMA Director David Paulison agreed that emergency managers do not have libraries on the radar as a resource.(12) He stated in an interview, “I think you’re really on to something there, I mean, where else are they going to go? Libraries have back up generators for power, they have the Internet, they have

Veil and Bishop people who will help you. I guess we never really thought of the role libraries could play.”(13) This study seeks to bridge a gap between public library and emergency management policy versus practice by examining the role of public libraries in the community resource network for disaster recovery. Specifically, this study identifies the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience. First, an overview of previous research on libraries and disasters is provided. Next, the literature on community resilience is outlined to provide a framework for analyzing and categorizing the services offered by public libraries. Then, the findings from interviews with librarians, library directors, and library patrons from communities that recently suffered significant tornado damage are described and analyzed according to the adaptive capacities of community resilience, and opportunities and challenges for libraries to enhance community resilience are identified. Finally, implications for public libraries, emergency management, and future research are discussed.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Public Libraries and Disasters Although public libraries are not typically included in community preparedness or response planning, previous disasters have shown that community members do seek out library services. One study showed that even though 35% of the Louisiana public libraries were closed following Hurricane Katrina, the overall number of visitors only went down by 1%, indicating that individuals sought library services elsewhere if their library was closed.(14) More recently, on October 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast, the Princeton, NJ, public library experienced an influx of over 2,000 more patrons than average using computers, looking up information, watching movies in the community room, and charging phones and laptops on the power strips that lined the stacks.(15) The most extensive research on the role of public libraries in disasters was conducted following the 2004–2005 hurricane season along the Gulf Coast of the United States.(7) Library services identified included responding to information inquiries; creating community contact centers; staffing shelters in library buildings; housing city command centers (i.e., police, fire, public works); distributing food and supplies;

Libraries and Community Resilience providing hookups to recharge electronics and communication devices; assisting with the completion of FEMA, insurance, and other paperwork; providing library materials to evacuees in shelters; providing FEMA, Red Cross, National Guard, and Army Corps of Engineers personnel with a place to meet with residents; and giving temporary library cards to relief workers, among other services.(12) The use of the Internet to contact FEMA was the most frequently cited service that libraries provided to their communities. One librarian in the Gulf study noted, “our staff helped customers file over 45,000 FEMA applications [and] insurance claims.”(12) In 2007, the National Library of Medicine conducted an oral history project to identify the roles librarians take on to support disaster management.(16) The project identified eight prominent roles of libraries in disaster management: (1) institutional supporters, (2) collection managers, (3) information disseminators, (4) internal planners, (5) community supporters, (6) government partners, (7) educators and trainers, and (8) information community builders.(16) Each of the roles is described in Table I. To assist public libraries in formalizing their disaster recovery roles, Bishop and Veil suggested libraries should (1) develop a disaster plan to include how the library can assist the community in crisis recovery; (2) regularly update emergency contact information; (3) work with emergency response managers to integrate public libraries into the existing community disaster planning framework; and (4) quantify the number of users assisted in disasters to provide clear evidence of the essential nature of public libraries in disasters.(17) In summary, previous research indicates that public libraries have spontaneously taken on a variety of roles to support disaster recovery in communities. Even without a formal role in disaster recovery efforts, public libraries have periodically adjusted their policies and services based on what their community needed at the time. These practices are not only indicative of a resilient system, but if integrated with emergency management could support a more resilient community. The following review provides a framework for categorizing and analyzing the services offered by public libraries following a disaster to consider the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience. 2.2. Community Resilience The National Academies recently described disaster resilience as a national imperative.(18) Defined

723 as “a community’s ability to strengthen its response to deal with crises or disruptions,” resilience is often confused with mitigation (strategies to reduce impacts of hazards) and resistance (strategies to stop hazards from occurring).(19) However, resilience assumes that we cannot plan for every event or prevent every event from occurring. Therefore, the goal of resilience is to improve the community’s ability to anticipate threats, reduce vulnerability to hazard events, and respond to and recover from hazard events when they occur.(20) A resilient community is able to bounce back from an event, not necessarily to return to normal, but to return to a new normal in the initial days, weeks, and months depending on the size and scope of the disaster. Longstaff et al. describe community resilience as a function of resource robustness and adaptive capacity.(21) In the traditional three-phase model of precrisis, crisis, and postcrisis, community resilience is most evident in the fluidity between the crisis and postcrisis phases.(21) Thus, resilience can be seen in the resources used and adaptive strategies enacted to cope or “get through” the chronic, ongoing process of cleanup and recovery in the aftermath of an event. 2.2.1. Resource Robustness Scholars have attempted to measure community resilience by assessing resources according to the properties of robustness (ability to withstand stress); redundancy (extent to which elements are substitutable); rapidity (ability to achieve goals in a timely manner); and resourcefulness (capacity to identify problems and mobilize resources).(22) Others explain resource robustness as a function of resource performance (resource capacity and quality), diversity (multiple resources that fulfill the same role), and redundancy (failsafe, or back-up resources).(21) According to community resilience scholars, modern resources like electricity, computers, Internet access, and satellite communications have made us more vulnerable in disasters. Longstaff et al. argue that “[n]ever before have governments, communities, and individuals been so devastatingly unprepared to cope with disturbances to infrastructure, vital resources or public goods and services.”(21) Even our emergency response network has become overreliant on technology. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admitted following Hurricane Katrina that dependence on electronic channels like websites, radio, and television severely hindered its ability to

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Veil and Bishop Table I. Library Roles in Disasters (Featherstone, Lyon, Ruffin, 2008, pp. 345–348)

Institutional supporters

Collection managers Information disseminators

Internal planners

Community supporters

Government partners

Educators and trainers

Information community builders

Academic libraries acted as a command center for activities; posted institution-specific information on the Web; helped displaced students and professionals (such as doctors, nurses, faculty members, and professional researchers); or acted as part of the institution-wide disaster plan. The primary responsibilities of all libraries acting in this role were to protect, restore, and provide access to collections. Public, academic, special, and hospital libraries were all involved in efforts to disseminate current, reliable information to patrons, institutions, or the general public. In some cases, the library acted as the primary source of information for the entire community. Librarians developed planning documents for their organizations, worked to keep track of displaced staff members, documented activities for FEMA, and generally improvised to keep their libraries running. Libraries acted as community gathering places; provided Internet access for evacuees; sent mobile units to shelters; volunteered wherever help was needed; gave needed emotional support; managed and dispersed donations; organized volunteers; worked in shelters; and helped people find their family members, find jobs and apartments, fill out FEMA forms, arrange for new prescription medications, locate shelters for their animals, and many other activities. Libraries prepared reports and seminars; participated in and organized federally mandated emergency exercises; referred citizens to social service agencies; applied for grants and contracts to provide information; and worked with state health departments, local police and fire departments, and federal institutes, departments, and agencies. Librarians trained emergency responders in the use of information tools, evaluated software, taught classes in disaster management skills, developed technology tools for emergency responders, and trained other information professionals to provide emergency reference services. Libraries acting in this capacity were involved in mass book donation projects, provided restoration support to damaged sister libraries, shared information and resources via interlibrary loan and other means of electronic transfer, promoted preparedness activities, housed displaced information professionals, and established buddy systems for libraries to ensure continued services.

deliver health information, and workers had to resort to posting printed flyers to disseminate information about the safety of food and water.(23) More recently, as a nor’easter approached the East Coast of the United States nearly a full week after Hurricane Sandy, 1.3 million people were still without power and access to media channels.(24) Police were sent out with bullhorns to warn residents in low-lying areas of the approaching storm.(25) For those without electricity or a vehicle phone charger (or vehicle for that matter) along the East Coast, mobile phones were little more than paperweights, and having power did not equate to having service. One in four cellular towers were knocked out in the 10 states affected by Hurricane Sandy.(26) Finally, according to FEMA’s website, there are three ways to apply for assistance: online at DisasterAssistance.gov, via smartphone at m.fema.gov, or by phone at (800) 621-3362. Even today, applying for disaster aid requires a phone, electricity, and Internet access. Although hazard mitigation and resistance anticipates threats to resources and enacts strategies to reduce the vulnerability of resources to hazard impacts, community resilience also identifies strategies to adapt when resources fail. Researchers have thus

identified broad categories of community resources and the adaptive capacity of those resources required for a community to be resilient.

2.2.2. Adaptive Capacities Norris et al. provided a framework for a theory of community resilience that identified four networked adaptive capacities of community resilience: economic development, social capital, information and communication, and community competence.(27) Together, these capacities provide a foundation for community preparedness, response, and recovery. Economic development includes fairness of risk and vulnerability to hazards, level and diversity of economic resources, and equity of resource distribution.(27) Hazards are not evenly distributed across populations, and individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are not only more likely to live in areas prone to hazards, but also less likely to have the financial resources to rebuild and recover from a disaster.(28) Cutter et al. also suggest that poor communities are less successful in mobilizing support after disasters.(28)

Libraries and Community Resilience Social capital includes received and perceived social support, formal and informal ties to the community, organizational linkages and cooperation, sense of community, and attachment to place.(27) Social support takes account of having family and friends nearby and/or willing to help as well as relationships between individuals and their neighbors and the larger community network, including religious groups, schools, and community organizations. Community relations is considered essential to building social capital to bring organizations and municipal services together to support rebuilding and recovery. As Wyche and colleagues suggest: “The assumption of community resilience is that people work collaboratively, rather than independently, to improve their community.”(19) Having a sense of community and attachment to place promotes community recovery as a requirement for personal recovery. Information and communication include responsible media, skills and infrastructure, trusted sources of information, and narratives.(27) Effective communication before, during, and after a disaster can be crucial in reducing damage and loss of life, whereas rumors and misinformation can exacerbate a crisis. Similarly, media coverage that sensationalizes disaster information rather than providing instructional messages for self-protection can hinder response and recovery.(29) Information resources are needed to assist communities with rebuilding and recovery. People need to know where to go, what to do, how to contact family and friends, where to locate supplies for cleanup and rebuilding, how to file insurance claims and apply for federal aid, and how to donate and help others. Communication and information also include the development of communal narratives of the disaster. These narratives contribute to adaptive capacity by allowing a community to (1) store and remember its experiences through institutional memory; (2) use that memory and experience to learn, innovate, and reorganize resources; and (3) connect with others to communicate experiences, lessons learned, and self-organize.(21) Longstaff et al. suggest that this narrative learning process enhances all adaptive capacities.(21) Community competence includes community action, critical problem-solving skills, flexibility and creativity, collective efficacy and empowerment, and political partnerships.(27) Communities must be able to adapt to changing conditions following a disaster. Developing, testing, and evaluating emergency and crisis plans can help identify potential weaknesses that can be addressed before disaster strikes. Encour-

725 aging the preparation of emergency kits and plans can assure emergency services can focus on responding to those most vulnerable in a disaster. Establishing relationships and outlining aid agreements with neighboring communities can assist in building community competence. 3. METHODS Community resilience relies on a broad network of resources to anticipate threats, reduce vulnerabilities, and adapt strategies when resources fail. However, how public libraries can enhance community resilience has yet to be explored. Unlike the previous studies that identified the array of services offered by libraries following hurricanes and the unique roles libraries can play in disaster recovery, this study considers where libraries fit in the community resilience resource network by examining opportunities and challenges faced by libraries in supporting the adaptive capacities identified by Norris et al.(5,7,12,16,27) 3.1. Study Context On April 27, 2011, a series of tornados tore through Alabama killing 131 people across the state. Tuscaloosa was hit the hardest by an EF-4 tornado that destroyed more than 5,000 homes.(30) Less than one month later, on May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado swept across Joplin, MO, damaging or destroying 7,500 homes and 500 businesses and city structures.(31) The Joplin tornado was the deadliest single tornado in recent history, killing 161 people and injuring thousands more.(32) The following spring more than 45 tornados sprung up across rural southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, killing 13 in Indiana and another 23 in Kentucky.(33) An EF-4 twister stayed on the ground for more than 49 miles cutting through Henryville, IN, while an EF-3 stayed on the ground for 95 miles leveling the town of West Liberty, KY. All of these tornados left in their wake shock, confusion, and mass wreckage. Following the Indiana and Kentucky tornado outbreak, we applied for and received a quick response grant from the Natural Hazards Center to cover the cost of travel to conduct interviews with librarians in impacted communities. 3.2. Reflexive Statement Lykkeslet and Gjendal explore issues that can result from engaging in practice-close research.(34)

726 They explain that when a researcher is close to the research, it is important to be reflexive, transparent, and explicit about one’s preconceptions. As researchers, we did not enter the study context without prior knowledge of public libraries and risk contexts. One of the authors specifically studies the services of public libraries and served as a graduate research assistant on the original studies examining the services offered by public libraries in hurricane-prone communities. The other author studies risk and crisis communication and has worked with local, state, and federal emergency managers and public information officers on continuity of operations and community resilience planning. By acknowledging our various interests and roles associated with this study, we seek to be transparent in our research goals because “qualitative inquiry is uniquely personal and involved activity.”(35) With any research inquiry, the research question(s) should guide the methodological choice.(36) This study is situated within the qualitative paradigm in order to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of librarians and library patrons following disasters to identify the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience. Our goal is to provide “a rich understanding of the social context; and . . . serve the purpose of promoting social change.”(36) By explaining these opportunities and challenges in the language of emergency management and community resilience researchers and practitioners, we hope to better integrate public libraries into community emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts. 3.3. Data Collection Face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with 22 librarians from 12 different community libraries across northern Alabama (n = 3), southwest Missouri (n = 3), southern Indiana (n = 2), and Kentucky (n = 14). Five library patrons in two communities, as well as a local emergency manager from one community and a state library consultant, were also interviewed. All participants (n = 29) were identified based on whether their community suffered structural damage from a tornado. We first contacted the state library directors in Alabama, Missouri, Indiana, and Kentucky and requested contact information and recommendations for libraries that were affected by tornados in the last two years. We then called to schedule interviews with the library directors in each of the communities and asked

Veil and Bishop if there were additional librarians and community members who would be knowledgeable about the services provided during the disasters. We did not contact community members directly but asked the library directors to invite community members to the library on the scheduled interview day. Telephone interviews (n = 7) were first conducted with participants in communities where a tornado had occurred at least one year prior to pilot questions and gain hindsight perspectives. Faceto-face interviews (n = 22) were then conducted with participants who had experienced a tornado in the last three months to allow for interview adjustment based on facial cues of distress. Interviews were conducted until no additional libraries or community members were recommended for interviews. Lindlof suggests that qualitative research is purposeful “because its practitioners strive to locate themselves at the sites of specific communicative performances and practices” (p. 126).(35) In some libraries, we interviewed individuals one-on-one throughout the workday. In other libraries, the staff sat down with us as a group before the library opened to the public. We allowed the participants to determine the interview format based on their staffing schedule and preferences. All interviews were audio recorded and lasted between 20 minutes for an individual interview and 90 minutes for a group interview (two or three staff members). Interviews began with broad questions about the event followed by more specific questions related to the role of the library in disaster recovery (see the Appendix). These questions allowed participants to describe the event and how prepared each library was, what services each library offered related to the event, how and why the libraries felt they contributed successfully to the community recovery, and how other libraries can best prepare for a major disaster. As the number of interviews conducted increased, more specific questions were used to test previous findings (e.g., Did you increase collections on certain topics such as home improvement or coping with disasters?). Participants signed a consent form allowing the audio recording and analysis of their comments. Researchers received approval from their Internal Review Board to conduct the study. 3.4. Data Analysis Patton argues that the qualitative researcher can adopt both inductive and deductive processes.(37) For the first level of analysis, notes were taken during

Libraries and Community Resilience the interviews to create a schema based on the researchers’ prior knowledge regarding services offered in previous studies on public libraries and disasters.(38) For example, sections of the notes were marked with an asterisk when librarians mentioned helping patrons fill out FEMA forms and with a plus sign when they described posting information for Red Cross shelters. Thus, some data reduction occurred through deductive analysis during data collection. Following each interview, summaries were written describing each interview. Data were inductively analyzed to identify unique comments and descriptions of services not previously identified or considered in the hurricane studies. Notes and summaries were then typed whereas recordings were replayed to ensure accuracy of the notes and direct quotations from participants. Each interview transcript with notes and summary was then color coded so that the researchers could easily identify the original source of a comment or description after the data had been categorized through the second level of analysis. The second level of analysis started with theorydriven deductive analysis.(39) Again, the purpose of this study was to identify and describe the services and activities of public libraries related to disaster recovery and consider the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience. Thus, Coffey and Atkinson’s clustering for organization was used to conceptually organize the data by the underlying construct of the adaptive capacities of community resilience.(39,40) There is always an ethical concern in deductive research using qualitative or quantitative methods that data are forced into categories to support the theoretical construct rather than allowing the data to speak for themselves.(41) However, previous research has already identified the array of services offered by libraries and the roles libraries can play in disaster recovery, and little progress has been made to integrate these services and roles into community preparedness and response.(5,7,9,11,16) Thus, to “serve the purpose of promoting social change,” the results of this study are described in the terms of community resilience to better integrate public libraries into community emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts.(36) The data were organized into clusters relating to the adaptive capacities of community resilience utilizing the constant comparative coding method in that the researchers continually went back to the data to identify additional com-

727 ments and descriptions that fit the adaptive capacities of community resilience.(35,42) Comments that did not fit into a category of adaptive capacities, such as those that focused on library recovery instead of community recovery, were categorized as other and set aside for analysis in a future study. Once categorized, per reviewer suggestion, the data were then inductively analyzed to identify opportunities and challenges in enhancing those capacities. 4. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS The communities impacted by tornados in this study all had differing city structures, populations, number of lives lost, and levels of destruction caused. Ten of the libraries survived the storms unscathed, one library lost its roof, and another was later condemned because the tornado moved the building off its foundation. In one community, 10 of the 40 librarians on staff lost their homes. In another, three months after the storm, when we conducted interviews, church groups were still providing daily meals for the community. Although every public library’s story was unique, many of the key roles conducted by public libraries in response to tornadic events corresponded with those from prior studies of public libraries’ responses to hurricanes. To demonstrate the opportunities and challenges for public libraries to enhance community resilience, the services and activities of the libraries are described and analyzed here according to the adaptive capacities of community resilience (Table II). 4.1. Economic Development The primary opportunity for enhancing community resilience identified in this study was that public libraries provided access to technology resources. Across the communities, the library directors reported they had an increase in the number of patrons using computers to look up information and use e-government websites, including downloading and completing FEMA and insurance forms, tracking down lost tax information, filing for unemployment if their employer’s business was destroyed, and contacting friends and family through email and social media. “People didn’t have Internet at home,” said one library patron. “Cell phones weren’t good and home phones were down, so Internet was the only way to connect . . . and everything is free.” One library procured additional laptops from the state library, another library installed wireless Internet the

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Veil and Bishop Table II. Opportunities and Challenges of Libraries for Enhancing Adaptive Capacities

Economic development

Social capital

Information and communication Community competence

Opportunities: Access to technology resources and assistance; office space for community members; office space for government agencies and organizations. Challenge: Committing public space for private use without reimbursement plans in place. Opportunities: Centralized meeting space and transfer hub; community space for normalcy and stability (the community living room). Challenge: Temptation to overcommit library capacity and staff capability beyond the library mission. Opportunities: Redundant communication channel; central information source; repository for personal stories and experiences. Opportunities: Adaptation of services offered based on community needs. Challenges: Lack of long-term disaster plans; lack of coordination with government officials.

week after the storm, and several had volunteers from sister libraries show up to help. In some cases, patrons were new to technology and first had to be taught how to use the computer, set up an email account, and navigate the Internet to find the FEMA forms. This finding aligns with the previous research identifying libraries as a hub for connectivity following a disaster.(11) Also, as noted, individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are not only more likely to live in areas prone to hazards, but also less likely to have the financial resources to rebuild and recover from a disaster, which means they are also more likely to need access to technology resources to apply for assistance.(28) Although access to public libraries is always free, typically fines are issued when items are lost and patrons must pay a small fee to use the copy and/or fax machine. However, not one of the libraries issued fines for books lost in the storms, and all of the libraries waved the fees for the copying and faxing of FEMA and insurance documents. As one library director said, “I think it’s just common decency. Do what the human thing is. We are not worrying about books, fines, charges . . . In the grand scheme of things, they aren’t worth anything . . . it’s nothing that can’t be replaced.” Because many community members were without power for several days or even weeks after the storm, the libraries also set up power strips for people to charge cell phones and laptops. Free copies and cell phone charging may seem like minor services, but when emotions are running high following a disaster this can provide a sense of relief and comfort. Small gestures, like being able to make free copies of receipts for home improvement expenses, recognize the hardships facing those who may have limited resources for disaster recovery. An opportunity identified is that libraries served as a free home office for those affected by the storms.

In several communities, FEMA workers used the libraries as their office as well until the regional offices could clear space. One librarian stated: “We had a lot of FEMA workers come here to complete their reports – printing, faxing, emailing things . . . we didn’t have the higher ups, but we had the FEMA workers with their feet on the road who were able to discover ‘oh yea, the public library.’” In one library, FEMA workers continued to meet one-on-one with individuals in the library conference room even after the FEMA office was up and running because the library was more familiar than the makeshift FEMA office. Another library, in a community where the entire downtown area was destroyed, housed both the city unemployment office and a local bank in its conference rooms for months after the tornado. Thus, the library became a home office for government and for-profit organizations as well. Although not described as a challenge by the participants, our previous experience with municipalities seeking reimbursement for extended resources suggests a challenge could be not outlining expectations for reimbursement before an organization moves into the library. However, in the interviews, the sentiment was simply that “space was available to everyone.” 4.2. Social Capital Throughout the interviews, individuals commented on how much the local community came together. One librarian said that they didn’t need to plan and train for how to respond in a disaster: “We’re in the Ozarks where it’s neighbor helping neighbor. You don’t need to train for that. You just help where you can.” Another commented: “In a community your worst neighbor becomes your best friend before FEMA can respond.” Those interviewed suggested that the library played a central role in bringing the community together by becoming

Libraries and Community Resilience the place to meet and connect, even staying open late because “people were coming by looking for people.” One librarian said: “We were operating almost as an old switch board, people called the library to get phone numbers.” Individuals also used the library as a transfer hub and lost and found center for everything from documents to lost pets. “People dropped things off for people who could pick them up later.” When asked why the library was willing to take on this role, the library director simply said: “That’s the nature of librarians anyway – that’s our whole purpose in life – to help people.” An opportunity identified is that libraries can enhance social capital by serving as a centralized meeting place to bring community members together. Most poignant in the interviews with patrons was that the libraries provided a place that felt “normal,” like a living room in the midst of the chaos and cleanup outside. One patron whose library did not have a back-up generator to remain open the first week after the storm said, “the library was like our normal, and when it wasn’t open we couldn’t be normal. It sounds silly, it’s just some books and some people, but it seemed like it was everything.” A patron from another library whose home was destroyed with her and her children still in it brought her sons in several times a week following the storm. She commented: “Maybe the library was not critical for us – providing food, clothing, shelter. But it was comfort – familiarity, a luxury. My one son is still in therapy. Comfort can be critical. . . . Our house was gone and it’s the only place that felt like home.” At least to the patrons interviewed, an opportunity identified was that the library clearly fostered attachment to place. A librarian from one of the libraries that had to close because of structural damage said the city made a really big deal about the library reopening. She said, “it was like the library opening again was a sign that the community was recovering.” The libraries also served as a drop-off and pickup site for donated food, water, tarps, and supplies, delivered supplies for Red Cross using the library vans, stationed portable toilets for volunteers in their overflow parking lots, and, as noted, housed entire businesses. Several libraries considered serving as FEMA centers or community shelters but quickly realized the building was not equipped to serve in that capacity. As one librarian said: “The role of libraries is to supplement what FEMA does – not attempt to become a FEMA center – but rather to help in the ways libraries are able to help.” Noting the lack of showers and a full kitchen, a library director stated

729 simply: “It is not the function of the libraries to house people.” A challenge identified in this study was that libraries located in communities with fewer economic resources and redundancies may feel the need to do more than perhaps they should or can to support the community. Having a plan in place could assist libraries in better assessing what activities they can take on so as not to overwhelm library capacity and staff capability.

4.3. Information and Communication Information and communication include responsible media, skills, and infrastructure, trusted sources of information, and communal narratives. While those not directly affected by the disasters watched the tragedies unfold in Tuscaloosa, Joplin, Henryville, West Liberty, and other communities on television, very little was mentioned about the media in our interviews with the librarians and patrons. Comments were made that the national media were everywhere one day and gone the next, but the role of the media in providing information was noticeably absent. This is primarily because power was out for days and weeks in some communities. Telephone lines and cell phone towers were also operating at a limited capacity. Community members went to the library to seek out information because there was no other way to get information. As Former FEMA Director Paulison said, “where else are they going to go?” Libraries enhance communication and information by serving as the last redundant communication channel in a community. When everything else fails, unless physically destroyed, the library is still there. And, as we found in this study, when the library is destroyed, patrons go to another library. All of the libraries able to open their doors, even those without power, provided FEMA information and deadlines and sought to locate what services were being offered by aid organizations and relief centers to maintain a list for individuals who called or stopped in for information. One librarian said that to him it just made sense: “By word of mouth we became the central location for information. Information, that’s what the library is all about.” Another librarian said: “The strongest trait here is that regardless of the question – it deserves an answer and if we don’t know we’ll find out. It’s our mantra . . . that we don’t let any question go unanswered.” Thus, an opportunity identified was that libraries are a central information source.

730 Patrons were also welcomed to tell their stories of the disaster. One librarian said: “Everybody has a story, and people needed to be able to tell their stories. It might just be to the circulation clerk but they need to be able to express what went on.” Another stated: “The community as a whole was shocked, they just needed someone to listen to them.” An opportunity identified was that the library served as the community’s living room, beyond work and home, where patrons could share their personal experiences of the storms. Some libraries used the story time centers to have the children write their stories of the storms. Other libraries worked with the local newspaper to organize and bind the images and news stories from the tornado coverage. By capturing the communal narrative of the disaster, libraries are able to support community healing and emotional recovery and further engender a sense of community. 4.4. Community Competence In the midst of a recession, assisting with egovernment forms has become as much a part of a librarian’s job as hunting down a resource to answer a research question.(5) Libraries also traditionally serve as open meeting places for the community and will often work with organizations to promote community events. Thus, many of the services and activities identified thus far are simply extensions of the services always offered by libraries. However, the fact that the libraries were flexible and adjusted to the community needs demonstrates community competence. As library director stated: “We just did the same things we always do, but we did more and were more accommodating to the circumstances.” Although all of the libraries in this study had a plan that detailed the steps to take to ensure the immediate safety of librarians and library users in a tornado, only two of the libraries had a plan in place for how they would assist the community after the storm. In one library system, experience prompted the creation of a more in-depth disaster plan. Five of the system’s seven facilities experienced a tornado within the previous decade. These experiences motivated the system to create a plan that included processes for drying out and salvaging resources as well as how to request additional computers and volunteers from state and sister libraries. The other library with a plan that included community response efforts had also established partnerships with other community groups to coordinate disaster recovery efforts. The director of that library attended quarterly meetings

Veil and Bishop of a countywide task force that discussed many different issues, including disaster planning. However, this was the only library that coordinated with government officials. In contrast, one library director said she had trouble getting the word out that the library had services to offer because the city’s public information officer did not read her email until weeks after the storm. The library director stated: “We were ready for them, but they just didn’t know to come to the library.” In another community, after interviewing two librarians and two patrons who had documented all the additional services the library offered and how the library worked with FEMA to get individuals aid, we interviewed the city emergency manager who had no idea the library had done anything to help with the disaster. He then stated: “It’s not their job to help with the response, but they could play a secondary role I guess.” Another challenge identified is that most of the libraries lacked coordination with local emergency managers and other government officials. 5. DISCUSSION Researchers have called on libraries to “leverage their position as a primary source of trustworthy information” and “become active participants in community emergency planning and response activities.”(11) The results of this study indicate there are several opportunities for libraries to enhance community resilience by offering technology resources and assistance; providing office, meeting, and community living room space; serving as the last redundant communication channel and a repository for community information and disaster narratives; and adapting or expanding services already offered to meet the changing needs of the community. However, libraries also face challenges in enhancing community resilience, including the temptation to overcommit library capacity and staff capability beyond the library mission and a lack of long-term disaster plans and collaboration with emergency managers and government officials. Libraries are beginning to understand the importance of disaster planning. When asked, the librarians in this study all said they had gone back through their disaster plan since the tornado and made updates. One library now has a memo of understanding with both its electric and cable companies that after city government, libraries are the next priority for reestablishing connection. In some states, including Alabama after the 2011 storms, libraries are now

Libraries and Community Resilience required to develop a disaster plan in order to receive state aid. While the required plans focus primarily on how to manage facilities, it is a much-needed first step. We suggest the next step is to develop a detailed community response plan. Considering the similarities between the services offered in this study and the services offered in previous studies, libraries should be able to outline what they will and won’t do to support disaster recovery well before disaster strikes. Having a plan in place will allow for a less haphazard response and a smoother delivery of needed services. Having a plan will also address the first challenge by making sure libraries do not extend library capacity and staff capability beyond the library mission. To address the challenge of a lack of collaboration with emergency managers and government officials, researchers have already urged libraries to reach out to community services organizations and government offices to form partnerships with them for the benefit of the community.(43) FEMA has directed emergency managers to engage public libraries as part of the whole community approach to emergency management, and several examples of successful collaborations do exist.(5,10) But despite being listed as one of FEMA’s essential community organizations, there is currently no standard role for public libraries in disaster preparation, response, and recovery. We suggest one of the reasons why libraries do not have an official role is because emergency managers are not using the library services. As found in this study, emergency managers may not see the efforts extended by public libraries to assist in recovery. If library directors want a seat at the table when community disaster response and recovery plans are being outlined, they need more than a policy change saying they are essential. In some communities, library directors may be able to get an invitation to planning meetings by simply calling the emergency manager, who may respond in the same manner as the FEMA workers, “oh yea, the public library.” In other communities, libraries may need to demonstrate how they can serve as a resource for emergency managers and not just community members to remain on the radar. Based on one of the opportunities identified in this study, we suggest libraries can firmly insert themselves in the community resource network and embrace the role of government partner identified by Featherstone et al. by adapting a service they already offer.(16) A common thread throughout the interviews was that people came to the library to

731 share their story of the disaster. In some communities, these stories were collected and archived by the libraries along with the news coverage of the storms. In other communities, the librarians simply listened. But each of these stories contributed to the communal narrative of the disaster. Communal narratives give shared experiences meaning and purpose. They define a group’s identity and shape how it adapts to and recovers from adversity.(27) A shared narrative can enhance sense of community and promote community recovery as a basis for personal recovery. Research on crisis renewal has already identified the importance of documenting and memorializing disasters for community healing and recovery, but communal narratives can also “reinforce social bonds and . . . establish norms of helping, cooperation, and reciprocity.”(18,44) Thus, narratives can assist in both community recovery and planning for future events if communities use their memory and experience to learn, innovate, and reorganize resources.(21) The National Academies suggest that “[w]hen social memory is lost, communities can forget how they survived previous disasters, individuals and institutions may not retain skills needed for response and recovery, and policymakers may make decisions without regard for the hazards that exist” (p. 113).(18) Libraries can take advantage of opportunities they already have and meet the challenges they currently face in enhancing community resilience by collecting, organizing, archiving, and sharing disaster stories, media coverage, government reports, and other information on the disaster. By serving as a repository for this information, libraries are acting firmly within their mission while committing the experience to social memory. As one librarian said: “Information, that’s what the library is all about.” Just as one library in this study did with children, libraries can invite community members to use the public computers to record their stories of the disaster. These stories can be compiled with other disaster information and provided to emergency managers and other officials to help them identify lessons learned and assist with evaluating the community response and recovery. In effect, to get a seat at the table in emergency planning, response, and recovery, libraries should first invite emergency managers and government officials to their tables. We suggest libraries are already enhancing community resilience through the services they are currently offering. However, by expanding their service of collecting communal narratives and disaster information and sharing this

732 information with emergency managers and officials, libraries can truly “leverage their position as a primary source of trustworthy information” and “become active participants in community emergency planning and response activities.”(11) 5.1. Future Research In addition to the implications for library and emergency management practice identified, this study also raises important questions about the expanding roles of libraries. The traditional image of the library as the quiet place to check out and read a book is now just a tiny fraction of what the library is today. This research demonstrates what an important part of the community safety net libraries have become. For example, to cut government costs, aid applications have moved almost entirely online. So now, those least likely to have high-speed Internet access must rely on other community services, like the public library, to apply for assistance. Future research could examine the robustness of the public library system as a resource in relation to the economic vulnerabilities identified to quantitatively measure the effect of libraries in enhancing community resilience. This study also demonstrates how public libraries serve as a last redundant resource for communication and information. When all other communication channels fail, where do you turn? Communication practitioners and researchers alike devote significant resources to chasing the latest technology. However, not everyone has access to the same communication channels, and not everyone trusts the same communication channels.(45) Although the best practices in risk and crisis communication have recently been revised to add consideration of cultural differences and the channels that reach segmented publics, further research is needed to explore how to communicate when both traditional media and new media channels are not functional.(46–48) After all, the most powerful technology is worthless without power, and power is almost always one of the first casualties of a major disaster. Crisis communication researchers need to incorporate redundant communication channels like public libraries in future research. Finally, this study provides a foundation for incorporating community resilience theory into risk and crisis research. Most of the research on community resilience has been conducted in geography, community psychology, and environmental science disciplines. Similarities between the role of commu-

Veil and Bishop nal narratives in enhancing community resilience and crisis renewal theory were identified in this study. Future research, perhaps examining a library system that embraces the suggestions of this study, could dig deeper into whether community resilience influences crisis renewal and crisis renewal influences community resilience. Also, considering chaos theory, as initial conditions, could the robustness, redundancy, rapidity, and resourcefulness of community resilience capacities lead to a predictable pattern to community self-organization following a crisis?(22,27,49) Further examination of community resilience theory in crisis research could lead to the development of a more holistic approach to crisis research that includes a broader network of resources. As a FEMA-designated essential community organization, public libraries should be included in emergency planning, response, and recovery efforts. This study sought to bridge a gap between public library and emergency management policy versus practice by identifying the opportunities and challenges of public libraries to enhance community resilience. The recent report of the National Academies describing disaster resilience as a national imperative indicates that policies and directives that integrate resource robustness and adaptive capacities into emergency planning may soon follow.(18) Thus, this study lays the groundwork for how public libraries can insert themselves in the community resource network and embrace the role of a government partner in community resilience. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was funded by a grant from the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center through its Quick Response Grant Program, which is funded by National Science Foundation Grant number CMMI1030670. APPENDIX: INTERVIEW GUIDE (1) Describe your experience related to tornado preparation. We are particularly interested in the role of you and your library (the plans, services, and activities in which you and your library were engaged). (2) Describe your experience related to tornado recovery. We are particularly interested in the role of you and your library (the plans, services, and activities in which you and your library were engaged).

Libraries and Community Resilience (3) Please summarize your experience into key roles (e.g., plans, services offered to the public, activities). (4) What resources or training were needed for you to perform those key roles? (5) Which government and/or private organizations assisted in your key roles? (6) What are the most vital factors that enabled your library to recover from the disaster? (7) What role did your library play in enabling the community to recover from the disaster? (8) What would you want other libraries to know to prepare for other disasters? (For example, what worked well/what are you most proud of? What did not go well/what would you change?) REFERENCES 1. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). FEMA Recovery Policy, 2010. Available at: http://www.fema.gov/ pdf/government/grant/pa/9253 3.pdf, Accessed September 25, 2013. 2. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action, 2011. Available at: http://www.fema.gov/whole-community, Accessed September 25, 2013. 3. IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services). Public Library Data Files, 2011. Available at: http://www.imls.gov/ research/pls data files.aspx, Accessed September 25, 2013. 4. Donnelly FP. The geographic distribution of United States public libraries: An analysis of locations and service areas. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 2013; 45(4):1–20. 5. Bertot JC, McDermott A, Lincoln R, Real B, Peterson K. Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey: Survey Findings and Report. College Park, MD: Information Policy and Access Center, University of Maryland College Park, 2011–2012. 6. Koontz CM. A history of location of U.S. public libraries within community place and space: Evolving implications for the library’s mission of equitable service. Public Library Quarterly, 2007; 26(1/2):75–100. 7. McClure CR, Ryan J, Mandel LH, Brobst J, Hinnant CC, Andrade J, Snead JT. Hurricane preparedness and response for Florida public libraries: Best practices and strategies. Florida Libraries, 2009; 52(1):4–7. 8. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Exploring the Digital Nation: Computer and Internet Use at Home. NTIA, 2011. Available at: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/report/2011/exploring-digital-nationcomputer-and-internet-use-home. 9. Mandel LH, Bishop BW, McClure CR, Bertot JC, Jaeger PT. Broadband for public libraries: Importance, issues, and research needs. Government Information Quarterly, 2010; 27(3):280–291. 10. Bishop BW, McClure CR, Mandel LH. E-government service roles for public libraries. Public Libraries, 2011; 50(3):32–37. 11. Zach L. What do I do in an emergency? The role of public libraries in providing information during times of crisis. Science and Technology Libraries, 2011; 30(4):404–413. 12. Jaeger PT, Langa LA, McClure CR, Bertot JC. The 2004 and 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes: Evolving roles and lessons

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734 30. Phillips R. Tornado survivors rebuild, a year later. CNN, April 27, 2012. Available from http://articles.cnn.com/ 2012–04–27/us/us tuscaloosa-tornado-anniversary 1 mayorwalt-maddox-tornado-survivors-tornado-victims? s=PM:US. 31. NOAA. Joplin tornado offers important lessons for disaster preparedness. NOAA, September 20, 2011. Available at: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110920 joplin. html. 32. Young L. Joplin tornado: One year later. Boston.com, May 23, 2011. Available at: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ 2012/05/joplin tornado one year later.html. 33. Dillingham S. Kentucky tornado cut 95-mile trench, weather service says. CNN, March 7, 2012. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/07/us/weather-long-tracktornadoes/index.html?iref=allsearch. 34. Lykkeslet E, Gjengedal E. Methodological problems associated with practice-close research. Qualitative Health Research, 2007; 17:699–704. 35. Lindlof TR, Taylor BC. Qualitative Communication Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1995. 36. Frey L, Botan C, Kreps G. Investigating Communication. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. 37. Patton MQ. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1991. 38. Lincoln YS, Guba EG. Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985. 39. Boyatzis RE. Transforming Qualitative Information: Thematic Analysis and Code Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.

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