Please see below, at the end of the post entitled “Library Disaster Story:  Hurricane Dolly,” for pictures taken before and after the storm.  Thanks so much to Kathy Carter at Ramirez Library for sharing these photos with us.

Here is our latest story from a librarian about a disaster that affected the Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Health Sciences Library at the University of Texas/Harlingen, TX in July 2008.

Interview for “Stories Told”

Name and position title of person telling the story:
Greysi Reyna, Assistant Director, Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Library
Kathleen Carter, Medical Librarian, Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Library

Date of the interview:
10/16/2008

(1.) What happened in your community (i.e., what was the disaster/emergency)?

On Monday, July 21, students, faculty and staff at the UT Health Science Center’s Regional Academic Health Center (RAHC) in Harlingen received the official word that a tropical storm, named Dolly, was approaching the Texas coast and was tracking toward South Padre Island, less than an hour’s drive from campus. Most importantly, the storm was projected to intensify to hurricane strength prior to landfall, and the RAHC community had only 48 hours to prepare for the storm.

After reaching Category 2 status, Hurricane Dolly made landfall on the South Texas Coast on Wednesday, July 23, becoming the first hurricane to make a direct hit on Deep South Texas since Hurricane Bret in 1999. With some areas receiving over 9 inches of rain and with winds gusts over 75 mph, widespread damage and flooding was felt throughout the Rio Grande Valley. Tens of thousands of households lost power across Cameron, Willacy and Hidalgo counties.

Despite the efforts to prepare the RAHC for Hurricane Dolly, the building sustained water damage that prevented most RAHC personnel from returning to the building until nearly one week following the storm. In addition, the library was forced to operate from the RAHC’s auditorium for one month while the library underwent repairs.

(2.)   How did the library respond? How did the librarian respond? Were there non-traditional (unusual) roles that the librarian performed?

The campus emergency response team, which includes 2 library staff members, called on the campus to begin preparations. Because the Rio Grande Valley is frequently in the path of hurricanes, the RAHC has a well documented Disaster Emergency Timeline for Severe Weather Emergencies. The RAHC Safety Planning Task Force initiated the Emergency Response Plan, and staff of the Mario E. Ramirez, M.D. Library began protecting Ramirez Library resources from the threat of possible wind and water damage, as dictated by the RAHC Disaster Preparation Timeline. While the timeline calls for preparations to begin 96 hours prior to landfall, the timeline was escalated to account for the rapid movement and projected strengthening of Dolly.

While maintaining normal library operations, library staff began removing key print resources from the collection. This included valuable and heavily circulated materials from the general collection along with the entire reserves collection. As part of its hurricane preparedness plan, the library staff routinely place colored dot stickers on the spine of key print resources to help library staff quickly identify, remove and prepare portions of the print collection for storage in the event of a hurricane. To prepare for Hurricane Dolly, this select group of print resources was placed in a secure location on the 2^nd floor of the building along with laptop computers, and other critical equipment. In the event that the facility sustained significant damage, these resources would be used to establish a small functioning library in an alternate location.

The remaining collection was covered and secured with plastic sheeting and tarps. Materials located on bottom shelves were moved to the shelves above and covered. All desktop computers and electronics were unplugged, moved away from windows and doorways, and covered with plastic sheeting for protection.

By Tuesday, July 22, the tropical storm had strengthened. Now a hurricane, Dolly, was expected to strike South Padre Island on Wednesday, July 23 with 100 mph winds. RAHC medical students were dismissed at noon that day, and the RAHC staff was encouraged to rush preparations to completion. The Ramirez Library ceased operations at 3:00pm on Tuesday. Windows were boarded and sandbags were placed at building entrances by the campus facilities crew that worked well into the evening that day.

A building restoration team was dispatched to the RAHC during the storm, when it became apparent that water was entering the building. Unfortunately, much of that water entered the Ramirez Library causing considerable water damage. The good news was that the collection, furniture and equipment in the library had been spared. However, portions of walls and sections of carpeting had to be immediately removed, as the RAHC facilities crew and the restoration team began the process of “drying out” the building to prevent the growth of mold.

With the small collection of books and laptops stored prior to the hurricane, the library staff, with the help of RAHC administrators and personnel, opened a small temporary library in the RAHC Auditorium. The Library staff did their best to ensure that library services would continue, despite the circumstances. Medical students were able to check out and return library materials, access the Internet, and the library’s electronic resources.

Nearly a month following Hurricane Dolly’s visit, staff, students and community users were allowed to return to the Ramirez Library, and library operations returned to normal on Friday, August 15. Repairs to the Ramirez Library were on-going for portions of the facility for nearly 3 more months, and the Ramirez Library finally opened the entire space to its users on October 15.

(3.)  How has the library (or the services provided) changed as a result of these events?

While the library was able to reopen with minimal downtime, many lessons were learned to help staff prepare for future weather disasters. Since Hurricane Dolly, the following adjustments have been made:

·   Librarians have implemented a process for regularly evaluating the print resources that would be removed and stored in the event of a disaster. Labels displaying a hurricane symbol are now placed on the spine of key resources, so they can be easily identified by all staff and stored properly.

·  All full time staff have been provided a laptop and docking station so that important documents can be easily backed up on a portable computer. Staff take their laptops with them when they leave the library prior to the hurricane making landfall.

·  Should the Library have to operate from an alternate location following a disaster, as with Hurricane Dolly, the Library’s ILS software has been installed on several laptops to ensure that materials can be checked out and returned without interruption.

• Following Hurricane Dolly, library staff were prepared to serve their users, but staff quickly realized they were not prepared to continue with their regular duties. While the library had carts full of medical books and laptops, basic supplies like paper, folders, and staplers had been left behind. The disaster preparedness plan now stipulates that office equipment and supplies will be removed and stored as well.

·   Because cell phone service was unavailable during and after the hurricane, maintaining contact with multiple colleagues was difficult. Now, all staff have been asked to place a single call to the Briscoe Library at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio main campus. Staff at the Briscoe Library will be responsible for relaying information to staff about the status of their co-workers and the Library overall.

(4.)   What, in your opinion, are the roles for libraries (and librarians) in disaster planning, response and recovery efforts?

Libraries can share their disaster plans with other agencies, or provide templates for disaster plans. The Ramirez Library has shared its disaster plan with several local libraries and organizations to assist them with developing their own plans.

Before and after a disaster, community members may need help connecting with local resources. The Library can serve as place for distributing information to the community about lodging, drinking water and meals, telephone service, and more!

(5.)  What are your experiences working with emergency agencies, organizations and groups?

Overall, the Ramirez Library has a close relationship with the campus security team.

Designated Library personnel are members of the Security Task Force for the Regional Academic Health Center. This means that library staff members are present for all security briefings and have a voice in the decision-making process.

The Ramirez Library staff learned to work with the campus environmental health and safety team. Library staff were required to cooperate with their directives in terms of when it was safe to return to the library due to the possibility of mold formation. Library staff also learned that the campus emergency response team was quick to institute mitigation services to lessen the amount of damage to the library from moisture and mold.

Among the wealth of information available from CDC is their section on Emergency Response, this month highlighting information needed by health professionals as well as the public, in responding to/recovering from a hurricane.  “Below the fold” on the Hurricanes page is a section called “Information for You,” which looks like a great place for health science librarians to go for information that would be helpful to health care professionals and community members responding to any disaster situation.  See the ”Health Professionals“ page linked there for an excellent list of topics and pertinent information for clinicians as well as consumers.  

In addition, CDC has created a mobile web site, accessible via cell phone and other mobile browsers, where people can access hurricane recovery information.  Both features mentioned here are valuable resources for librarians concerned about continuity of access to health-related information for their patrons, whether professionals or community members.

Following is an announcement of a new resource made available by the Library of Congress.  In addition to listening to the stories, check out the links on the left side of the Preservation pages for a wealth of resources for libraries preparing for or responding to disasters.  

“For the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, in commemoration and in light of the current hurricane season, the Library of Congress announces a Web site titled “Learning from Katrina,” which provides insights for better responses to record and artifact damage by hurricanes.

On this site, www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/katrinarespond.html, visitors can hear seven interviews with professional conservators who helped salvage collections affected in August 2005.In the interviews, responders discuss the lessons learned, their motivations, expectations and preparations, and their experiences. The interviews were conducted in 2006 at the Library of Congress by the Preservation Directorate, in collaboration with the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) and the American Folklife Center.”

Here’s an update on the library at M.D. Anderson from Kathy Hoffman, library director:

News from M. D. Anderson Research Medical Library

Most of the Houston area continues to have no power. Reports indicate about 97% of the city is still without power. Fortunately, the Medical Center has power and didn’t lose it at any time during the storm. I am sending this from the library, as I don’t have power or internet access from home. I am onsite at the library doing recovery work.

Water Damage:

We sustained several serious leaks in the library from the storm. We had leaks in all the usual places and some new ones. The new ones included window sills all around the library, but the most serious were along the south side of the building. Fortunately we had cleared the windows sills and desk areas near them in all of the offices in preparation for the storm so none of staff had damage to their papers or other materials on their desks.

We also had major water enter the library from the terrace near the information desk. There also appears that there may have been leaks from the ceiling above the Information Desk but I didn’t observe any damage to the desk or its contents. Facilities have been onsite to replace ceiling tiles and provide big fans to dry the area.

The most damaging leak occurred over a section of the bound journals stacks in a new area, near the Journal of Immunology. Approximately 125 bound journals were affected. In triaging the volumes, I decided not to salvage anything that is now available online. The final number of volumes that will need to be withdrawn, and how many can be saved is yet to be determined. I am using the conference room to stage the recovery work.

Return to Work Plan:

Sunday (today): M. D. Anderson remains closed. Only authorized employees are allowed in. Transition from Ride Out Team to Recovery Teams is happening today.

Monday: M. D. Anderson will remain closed as the Recovery Team continue their work. Employees in Animal Care return to work on Monday. The Library remains closed.

Tuesday: M. D. Anderson will be open for patient care activities. Employees involved in patient care will return to work. The Library remains closed.

Wednesday: Anderson plans to return to normal operations and ALL employees are expected to return to work. The Library will reopen on Wednesday and expects to be fully operational.

City Curfew:

The city has announced a curfew effective today, through Saturday, Sept. 20, from 9pm to 6am. However, according to Houston Catastrophic Medical Operations Center, M. D. Anderson employees need only show their ID Badges if they are stopped on their way to work during the hours of the curfew. This will affect some of our staff who work the early and late shifts.

The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library has redirected its web traffic to a specially designed disaster resources page.  The page allows access to only the library’s core electronic resources.

Click here for updates from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

KHOU TV from Houston is streaming live, continuous, coverage of Hurricane Ike.   The shots of flooding in Galveston are quite compelling and landfall isn’t expected until later tonight.

Click here to get the latest library status information from the NN/LM South Central Region’s blog, Blogadillo. We’re all hoping for best!

Source: noaa.gov

Heritage Emergency National Task Force, the folks who brought us the “Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel” and lots of other helpful advice and information, has a new page up on their site called Current Disaster Information , which gathers together many resources aimed specifically at dealing with damage from hurricanes and other powerful weather events and natural disasters.  The page also has a section where cultural institutions can submit damage reports and request assistance, along with the capability to view reports/requests already submitted.  Also, look for the free, downloadable “Guide to Navigating FEMA and SBA Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions,” a little farther down the page.  This is a rich site, and deserves a close look at the many resources they have provided.  Thanks, Heritage Emergency TF!