Libraries: Rebuilding Our Communities

FEMA - 15841 Books strewn outside the Pass Christian Public Library
Photo by Mark Wolfe 14 Sep 2005

On August 29, 2005, Katrina dug a giant, ugly, deadly swath across our beautiful state of Mississippi. Stories of the storm are plentiful. Every Mississippian can tell you what they were doing before and during Katrina. Stories about the recovery effort, equally so. The state and the nation pitched in; the relief effort was massive. Some of the many, many unsung heroes after Katrina have been Mississippi libraries and librarians.

The theme of Mississippi Library Association's annual conference in 2005 was Libraries Build Communities. Originally scheduled for October 25-28, the conference was cancelled due to recovery efforts in the state. The sentiment of libraries as community builders, however, was still very much alive. Libraries served in many important roles: bases of operation, reception centers for volunteers, information distribution sites, as well as their most well-known roles as places to check out books for both information and leisure.

Here are some of the outstanding Mississippi libraries affected by Hurricane Katrina:

• East Mississippi Regional Library System
• Hancock County Library System
• Harrison County Library System: Hurricane Katrina photos
• Jackson-George Regional Library System
• Long Beach Public Library: Hurricane Katrina photos

The Mississippi Library Association has a wonderful publication called Mississippi Libraries. You can read the archives here and here. They published many stories about the impact of Hurricane Katrina across the state, on the role of libraries, and on the rebuilding effort. This is a short, noninclusive list of those articles:

• Mississippi Libraries, Fall 2005
  President's Page, p. 57, 59-60
• Mississippi Libraries, Winter 2005
  President's Page, p. 79
  Library Accessibility and Hurricanes, p. 81
  Hurricane Katrina Damage: A Summary, p. 93-95
  Katrina First-Hand: A Report from William Carey College, p. 96, 99
  Resources for Libraries in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, p. 97-98
• Mississippi Libraries, Spring 2006
  President's Page, p. 1
  News Briefs, p. 12
• Mississippi Libraries, Summer 2006
  President's Page, p. 19
  News Briefs, p. 39-40
• Mississippi Libraries, Fall 2006
  President's Page, p. 53
  Recovering from Disaster, p. 55
  Depends on What You Mean by "Disaster", p. 56-57
  Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, p. 58-59
  Katrina Blew In and the House Did Not Fall, p. 60-61
  Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later, p. 62-63

The American Library Association has also written some excellent articles on the subject:

• Katrina's Terrible Toll, October 2005
• 10 Years After Katrina, August 2015
• Coming Together as One Mississippi, August 2015 (focuses on Hancock County, MS)
• Pineville Elementary Rebuilds After Katrina, August 2015 (focuses on Pass Christian, MS)

Ten years later, libraries in Mississippi continue to serve as community builders. We've rebuilt our libraries, we've replaced our books, and our communities are back, stronger than ever. We remember Katrina, but we're moving on to a brighter future.

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http://www.ala.org
http://www.misslib.org/