Imagine that Katrina has swamped both your home and your library. You need a place to stay, and you’re worried sick about the people you know and love; your library building; and your collections, especially irreplaceable local history. My librarian friend Rochelle Hartman in Bloomington, Illinois, is devoting her blog to the needs of librarians in such situations. Yes, some TeleBlog readers may want to donate to some of the relief efforts mentioned there. Also, here’s a contact list for New Orleans library staffers. Meanwhile, ALA has come out with Hurricane Katrina News. Sample item:
New Orleans Public Library, September 1:
NOPL staffer Tony Barnes reports he has been safely evacuated to Lafayette, Louisiana: “No idea what the status of our libraries are. Our mailserver is gone, and staff evacuated in all directions. I am trying to locate their alternate email addresses to check their status and work towards our library’s and city’s future. What I need: If you know (or are) anyone that works for NOPL and know an alternate email for them, email it to me. Our defunct mailserver address is @gno.lib.la.us. Please do not send me those. They are dead ends.”
Does anyone yet know if we’ve lost irreplaceable paper yet? I know Lafcadio Hearn stayed in New Orleans for a time (and hated it; sorry!). I don’t know if they had any of his papers. And if they did, if they were destroyed.
I still don’t know the status of this place, either. Days ago, the website wouldn’t come up at all. And now it does, yet it is eerily devoid of Katrina…
http://www.ddaymuseum.org/