University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Category 4: Constructing Knowledge about Public Librarians’ Roles in Natural Disasters: A Heuristic Inquiry into Community Resiliency in Florida’s Hurricane Michael

Mardis, Marcia A.; Jones, Faye R.; Tenney, Curtis S.; Leonarczyk , Zoë

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110204

Description

Title
Category 4: Constructing Knowledge about Public Librarians’ Roles in Natural Disasters: A Heuristic Inquiry into Community Resiliency in Florida’s Hurricane Michael
Author(s)
  • Mardis, Marcia A.
  • Jones, Faye R.
  • Tenney, Curtis S.
  • Leonarczyk , Zoë
Issue Date
2021
Keyword(s)
  • public libraries
  • catastrophic weather support
  • community service
Abstract
Vulnerable rural residents rely on public librarians for catastrophic weather support; however, many disaster policies are incomplete, outdated, or nonexistent, leaving public librarians with little more than their lived experiences to determine needed actions. Complicating matters further, many public librarians must prioritize community service over their personal needs like damaged homes and nonfunctioning utilities. In this study, researchers and public librarians co-constructed knowledge about library activities before, during, and after Hurricane Michael in 2018. In a heuristic inquiry across three case studies, researchers and participants reflected on actions, perceptions, and outcomes. This process enabled public librarians to realize that before Hurricane Michael, though they had received little communication or direction from municipal leaders, their outreach efforts effectively aided community preparedness. Public librarians noted that even with a limited communications infrastructure (e.g., lack of internet connectivity, fax machines, and cellular service) and hindering bureaucratic requirements, they identified, designed, and provided missing services to high-need communities. Participants saw that reestablishing library functions after the storm superseded their personal needs and updating library disaster policies. The study findings and research method offer researchers and practitioners collaborative ways to capture learning from stressful situations and improve community disaster resiliency.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Illinois School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Series/Report Name or Number
Library Trends 69 (4). Spring 2021
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110204
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2020.0046
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2021 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 69 (4) Spring 2021: Researching Practice / Practicing Research: The Public Library in Partnership with Academia. PRIMARY
Library Trends 69 (4) Spring 2021: Researching Practice / Practicing Research: The Public Library in Partnership with Academia. Edited by Joyce M. Latham and Noah Lenstra.