This month, President and Co-founder of the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, co-authored an article for the UCLA Library Electronic Green Journal titled The Storm is Here: Public Libraries' Role in Disaster Preparedness and Community Recovery. 

This article presents the results of a 2022 national survey of public library directors and administrators, focusing on the role of libraries in supporting communities during weather disasters. The survey found strong agreement (84%) among respondents that libraries play a critical role in disaster response. Libraries maintained regular services such as Wi-Fi and computer access during disasters, but awareness of federal disaster funding through the Stafford Act was low, with only 36% of respondents knowing about it. The study also revealed that only half of libraries had emergency preparedness plans, with fewer adopting continuity of operations or community resilience plans. The article suggests that increased preparedness, wider adoption of continuity plans, and greater awareness of federal resources could improve libraries' effectiveness as vital community resources during disasters.

Read the full article here: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0bv114zh