Dewey Decibel Podcast: Disaster Response

Episode 25 looks at how librarians can help during environmental crises

May 9, 2018

In Episode 25, Dewey Decibel talks with two librarians whose expertise has them on the front lines of disaster relief and preparedness.

First, American Libraries Associate Editor Terra Dankowski talks with Miriam Centeno, a collections care coordinator at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Libraries, who traveled to Puerto Rico to help train librarians in preservation and collections care following Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Centeno shares what she saw and learned during her trip to the storm-damaged island. (Centeno invites those with information on activities at Puerto Rico’s archives, libraries, and museums following Hurricane Maria to take a survey that will help create a timeline of funding, initiatives, and media coverage.)

Next, American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart speaks with Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, coordinator for library sustainability at Mid-Hudson Library System in Poughkeepsie, New York, and author of Sustainable Thinking: Ensuring Your Library’s Future in an Uncertain World and the forthcoming book, Resilience, both published by ALA Editions. Aldrich discusses the different kinds of disruptions that can affect libraries and why libraries are vital to communities after a disaster.

If you have feedback for the Dewey Decibel team, email us at deweydecibel@ala.org. Tell us what you like, what you don’t like, or what you’d like to see us cover. Follow us on Twitter and leave us a review on iTunes.

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Michelle Obama Named Opening Speaker for Annual

From left: Skip Dye, Corporate Committee on Library Investment and vice president of library marketing and digital sales, Penguin Random House; and the Iowa library delegation: Alison Ames Galstad, director, Coralville Public Library; State Librarian Michael Scott; Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa); Nancy Medema, library program director, State Library of Iowa; Michael Wright, director, Dubuque County Library District; Annah Hackett, campus engagement and instruction librarian, Grand View University; and Rebecca Funke, director of library resources, Des Moines Area Community College.

Library Supporters Gear Up for “Year-Round Advocacy”

A recap of National Library Legislative Day

Latest Library Links

13h

Jackie Jennings writes: “It feels like the debate over whether #BookTok is bad has been raging since the moment the term was first coined. I’m starting off with a strong stance: BookTok is indeed bad. However, the problem with BookTok is not crappy books or bogus influencers. The problem with BookTok is TikTok itself. BookTok isn’t actually a community driven by fans, writers, influencers, or even publishers: it’s part of a social media corporation, controlled by the most mysterious, fickle god of all, the algorithm.” Not surprisingly, librarian recommendations can overcome some of BookTok’s limitations.

Jezebel, Apr. 18; Book Riot, Apr. 22
18h

ALA announced the launch of its state Intellectual Freedom Helpline grant program April 22. Over the next two years, 10 pilot program sites will operate a confidential reporting system that will help connect those experiencing censorship attempts with professional support, in-state peers, or referral to ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, as appropriate. State or school library associations or agencies wishing to either establish an Intellectual Freedom Helpline in their state or expand existing efforts may apply for $10,000 grants through July 14.

ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, Apr. 22
19h

In celebration of the release of his latest nonfiction title, The Secret Lives of Booksellers & Librarians, bestselling author James Patterson is honoring select American Bookseller Association and American Library Association members with bonuses. He announced plans April 11 to give $200 each to 250 library workers across the country. The deadline for ALA members may nominate members to receive bonuses through April 30. Winners will be announced at ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego.
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Catherine Hollerbach writes: “In early 2020, when the world shut down for COVID, many people got interested in houseplants. Anne Arundel County (Md.) Public Library’s Crofton Library embraced this trend and then some!” While preparing to reopen after the COVID shutdown, the library installed plants at the information desk to discourage patrons from sticking their heads through gaps in newly installed acrylic shields. They were well received and cared for, and the library gradually added more plants and built educational tools, programming, and partnerships around the plants.

Public Libraries Online, Apr. 18
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Rodney Freeman writes: “I am proud to be a librarian—and rare. Less than 7% of librarians in the US are Black. Libraries symbolize the literacy that was denied to so many of our ancestors. For our enslaved forebears, something as fundamental as learning to read was illegal and dangerous, but they did it anyway. Separate but ‘equal’ schools and ‘colored’ libraries filled with cast-offs from white libraries were key features of the Jim Crow era. Today we are seeing the same impulse to distort access to information into a tool to suppress and control, and to make some people ‘other.’”

Newsweek, Apr. 16
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Lori Birrell writes: “Staff want to feel valued, and they want their work to have an impact. A reorganization process can help leaders to surface such areas of impact and give staff a feeling of empowerment and value. Practitioners considering any sized reorganization are strongly encouraged to consider what models and resources will best support them as they plan and lead this work. Regardless of the model or resources, any reorganization process should be more than just moving boxes and reporting lines around on an organizational chart.”

Library Leadership and Management, Apr. 15
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Megan Bennett writes: “Two decades ago, while Daily Show Senior Correspondent Dulcé Sloan was doing summer shows at a community theater in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, the library was her main hangout spot. In the small town of 9,000 people, it was a place to gather with other young actors—and the only place with internet access. American Libraries spoke with Sloan before her closing session at the Public Library Association 2024 Conference in Columbus, Ohio, about her new book, her journey in stand-up comedy, and her memories of libraries.”

American Libraries Trend, Apr. 17