Galveston Library Asks Residents for Memories of Hurricane Ike
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/18/2008
- September hurricane devastated critical building systems
- Outreach services have resumed
- Effort to create local archive of residents’ memories
The Rosenberg Library in Galveston, TX, which survived Hurricane Ike in mid-September with significant damage to its first floor (LJ interview)—critical building systems were destroyed, and the library is now offering only offsite outreach services—is beginning the long road back to recovery (donations are sought to supplement insurance payments), and it's trying something new.
The library is asking residents who evacuated—and those who didn’t—to contribute to a new archive about Ike. As stated on the library web site: “Hurricane Ike was the most devastating storm to hit Galveston during the past 100 years. As much as the 1900 storm was pivotal in the city’s history, people will speak of Ike as one of the city’s watershed events of the 21st century. Recording Hurricane Ike from the viewpoint of the everyday citizen offers a chance to understand this disaster from the ‘ground up.’”
The library “wishes to collect and preserve written accounts from both groups with an eye toward their eventual use by researchers and authors.” All submissions would become library property.
Guidelines
Those who evacuated are asked several questions about how and why the left, where they stayed, how they kept informed, when they returned and their impressions, and their views of the impact of Ike. Those who stayed are asked similar questions about decisionmaking and where they stayed; they’re also asked to describe the sights and sounds of the hurricane and actions taken to protect themselves.
