Nearly $18 Million Offered To Rebuild Post-Hurricane PL Service
-- Library Journal, 6/22/2006
On the eve of the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans, and in the wake of ongoing devastation of public library service following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Thursday announced major grants to support Gulf Coast public libraries in Louisiana and Mississippi. The Gates Foundation's $12.2 million grant to the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) will help support up to 22 temporary facilities so residents can access books and computer and Internet services, support planning for new services, and will help pay for new computers when public libraries are rebuilt. The Bush-Katrina Fund will provide $5 million to reconstruct libraries. The IMLS will contribute another $500,000 to the foundation's effort to help staff the temporary facilities. "Our public libraries have a rich history of opening the door to equity, information and hope. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, people flocked to the library for Internet access. Library staff helped them connect to loved ones, contact FEMA and insurance companies, find new housing, and rebuild their lives when other social and civil services were unable to support them," said Allan Golston, president of U.S. Programs for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We hope our investment is a catalyst for comprehensive support from other sources needed to meet the true community demand for library services."
In Louisiana, 107 public library buildings were initially reported destroyed or damaged, and 40 remain closed. In Mississippi, 34 public libraries were indefinitely or temporarily closed, with eight remaining closed. SOLINET and state library agencies estimate that approximately 500 public computers were lost in Louisiana and Mississippi. "Despite crippling damage, public libraries in Mississippi and Louisiana and their staff provided a lifeline to people displaced by the hurricanes, but still, there are no established sources of state or local public funding to support public library services or rebuilding." said Kate Nevins, executive director of SOLINET. "Libraries have proved that they can carry communities through a disaster and then help make them vital again; they deserve our support." The announcement appears to mark the fruition of discussions held over several months regarding the unmet needs for library service in the Gulf Coast states. The Gates Foundation has historically not provided construction or operating funds; this emergency situation apparently presents an exception.
