Resilience

Though political, economic, societal, and environmental disruptions have always existed, social media and the 24/7 news cycle create a high level of anxiety. Organizations must develop strategies to thrive in this sea of uncertainties. LJ sustainability columnist Aldrich (coordinator for library sustainability, Mid-Hudson Lib. Syst., NY) explains how the profession's core values such as intellectual freedom, lifelong learning, social responsibility, and equal access support diversity and social cohesion and enable public libraries to take the lead in moving their communities forward. Aldrich addresses how libraries can develop critical relationships and build a stable framework to survive the uncertain future. More important, she argues that libraries play a pivotal role in assisting their communities in creating a resilient mind-set and explains how to do so. She includes examples of how public libraries have helped people bounce back from disasters such as hurricanes.