So, I'm kind of the worst at keeping up with this blog. I think it is partially because I am not really comfortable with book reviews, so I will continue to practice that. Things have also been really busy lately because my library is reopening after we were closed from Hurricane Harvey damage! Woohoo!
To recap: Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in late August. My library is in Spring, TX and we got about 2.5 ft of water in the building. Cypress Creek runs through the park behind our branch and the overflow from the creek and the accumulation of rainwater is what did us in. The children's area and the circulation area on the 1st floor had to be completely redone.In the meantime, the approximately 30 people that work in my branch were scattered across our library system. I was luckily assigned to a branch near my home that I was already familiar with and everyone was very welcoming.
We were allowed back in the building on April 16th, so you're looking at about eight months for this entire process. Hindsight is 20/20 and I've definitely learned some things about what to do if this every happens again (*knocking on wood that it doesn't*). Granted, these are just things I have observed as a children's librarian. I am sure it was a whole different ball game at the managerial or administrative level.
1. Outreaches are great for staying in touch with your community, but try to stay as close to your branch as possible. We had many wonderful organizations and businesses in our community offer spaces for us to use, but we struggled to get many people to come. Our most successful outreach (at least in terms of storytime) was right across the street from the library. When we went much further than that, the numbers dwindled.
2. Have a "the S*&T has hit the fan" binder. Make sure any paper records that are irreplaceable are in there along with important contact information and a copy of the disaster plan.
3. Take photos of your work-space and library so that if you have to rebuild, you know where things were before. This will also help you with ordering supplies and furniture. I cannot even begin to describe to you how much of a headache ordering supplies has been and I only had to do our department!
4. Have as many people go over the supply list as possible when you are opening up from scratch. Each person will think of something everyone else has forgotten.
5. Don't be too tight lipped about building progress. Google had our building listed as "permanently closed", because there is no temporary option. This spurred rumors that we weren't going to rebuild. Most people I talked to were understanding about it taking a while, they just wanted to know that progress was indeed being made. I think most people understand that in any construction project, its touch and go as to the finished date. Our patrons also loved seeing photos of the work being done on social media.
6. Your Friends of the Library group is an an invaluable ally and source of support. We have a very active Friends group and they immediately went to work raising money and finding spaces to use. I've been in awe of them throughout this entire process. Local schools, churches and other businesses have also been very supportive. It is very nice to know how much we were missed while our branch was closed. I will always believe that my job is valued and important, but it is still nice to hear it from time to time.
7. My last point is: chin up. While this was a horrible thing that I never want to happen again, nor would I wish on anyone else, I feel like my branch and coworkers have grown stronger because of it. We all learned new skills and got to work with new teams of people. We are part of a large library system, so it was nice to partner up and learn from other librarians in our system and forge some bonds. Too often it feels like we work in a vacuum, and many of the most successful programs I have been a part of have been group collaborations. While I may have felt devastated and lost right after Harvey, I emerged from this process feeling renewed and refocused.
We are taking a break from storytimes to make sure our opening weeks run smoothly....then it's on to the Summer Reading Program! :) Expect some more posts about our new children's area and what's going on in the library in early June.
To recap: Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in late August. My library is in Spring, TX and we got about 2.5 ft of water in the building. Cypress Creek runs through the park behind our branch and the overflow from the creek and the accumulation of rainwater is what did us in. The children's area and the circulation area on the 1st floor had to be completely redone.In the meantime, the approximately 30 people that work in my branch were scattered across our library system. I was luckily assigned to a branch near my home that I was already familiar with and everyone was very welcoming.
We were allowed back in the building on April 16th, so you're looking at about eight months for this entire process. Hindsight is 20/20 and I've definitely learned some things about what to do if this every happens again (*knocking on wood that it doesn't*). Granted, these are just things I have observed as a children's librarian. I am sure it was a whole different ball game at the managerial or administrative level.
1. Outreaches are great for staying in touch with your community, but try to stay as close to your branch as possible. We had many wonderful organizations and businesses in our community offer spaces for us to use, but we struggled to get many people to come. Our most successful outreach (at least in terms of storytime) was right across the street from the library. When we went much further than that, the numbers dwindled.
2. Have a "the S*&T has hit the fan" binder. Make sure any paper records that are irreplaceable are in there along with important contact information and a copy of the disaster plan.
3. Take photos of your work-space and library so that if you have to rebuild, you know where things were before. This will also help you with ordering supplies and furniture. I cannot even begin to describe to you how much of a headache ordering supplies has been and I only had to do our department!
4. Have as many people go over the supply list as possible when you are opening up from scratch. Each person will think of something everyone else has forgotten.
5. Don't be too tight lipped about building progress. Google had our building listed as "permanently closed", because there is no temporary option. This spurred rumors that we weren't going to rebuild. Most people I talked to were understanding about it taking a while, they just wanted to know that progress was indeed being made. I think most people understand that in any construction project, its touch and go as to the finished date. Our patrons also loved seeing photos of the work being done on social media.
6. Your Friends of the Library group is an an invaluable ally and source of support. We have a very active Friends group and they immediately went to work raising money and finding spaces to use. I've been in awe of them throughout this entire process. Local schools, churches and other businesses have also been very supportive. It is very nice to know how much we were missed while our branch was closed. I will always believe that my job is valued and important, but it is still nice to hear it from time to time.
7. My last point is: chin up. While this was a horrible thing that I never want to happen again, nor would I wish on anyone else, I feel like my branch and coworkers have grown stronger because of it. We all learned new skills and got to work with new teams of people. We are part of a large library system, so it was nice to partner up and learn from other librarians in our system and forge some bonds. Too often it feels like we work in a vacuum, and many of the most successful programs I have been a part of have been group collaborations. While I may have felt devastated and lost right after Harvey, I emerged from this process feeling renewed and refocused.
We are taking a break from storytimes to make sure our opening weeks run smoothly....then it's on to the Summer Reading Program! :) Expect some more posts about our new children's area and what's going on in the library in early June.
Comments
Post a Comment