New Orleans Library Mostly Unscathed; Main Library Serves as Recovery Center
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 9/5/2008
- No major damage
- Branches, city regaining power
- Main Library will reopen Tuesday
The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) has survived Hurricane Gustav with only minor damage, and the Main Library is expected to reopen Tuesday after an all-staff meeting. However, three buildings still lack power, according to the State Library's Louisiana Library Status Blog, so it is not clear when the entire system will reopen.
Still, NOPL’s main library, which played a significant role as a recovery center in the wake of 2005's Hurricane Katrina (see LJ's 6/1/06 article, "How'd You Come Out?"), is poised to replay that role, albeit on a smaller scale.
The main library, located in the city’s higher ground downtown, is already being used by the National Guard as a distribution site for food (meals ready-to-eat), water, and ice, NOPL librarian Tony Barnes told LJ. (He supplied the photo.) Approximately 100 members of the National Guard have organized a drive-through corridor outside the library to supply passing cars and individuals on foot. City, state, and federal agencies plan to place a recovery center at the Main Library and two branches.
No major water or wind damage has been found at any branches. Power is being restored neighborhood by neighborhood.
A skeleton staff is working at the main library and is trying to assess branch conditions, Barnes said. Network, web page, and phone systems have been reactivated at the main library. On Monday, staffers are expected to have surveyed all the branches and will draft a proposed reopening schedule.
