Community Day Toolkit
The goal of Community Day is to assist libraries in becoming active partners in their communities' emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning. Community Day is also to make libraries part of the nationwide effort encouraging Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, schools and communities. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security through its "Ready America" campaign highlights the importance of emergency preparedness and promotes individual involvement through events and activities across the country.
The objectives of Community Day are:
- Strengthen and expand medical and public library partnerships.
- Encourage, strengthen and/or expand library partnerships with first responders.
- Provide access to emergency management information tools and resources.
- Integrate and involve libraries in emergency preparedness, response and recovery planning.
- Promote and publicize the role libraries can play in emergency preparedness.
Strengthen and expand medical and public library partnerships
Whether it's through e-resource support, continuity of operations assistance, or knowledge sharing, libraries can benefit in many ways from partnerships with other libraries. One goal of the Community Day project is to strengthen and expand partnerships between medical and public libraries by encouraging collaborations in community emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning. Libraries working on Community Day projects should seek out other libraries in their communities to be involved in project development and activities.
- Corporation for National and Community Service - Effective Practices - Partnerships
- NN/LM Membership Directory
- Public Libraries and Community Partners
Selected References
Havlerson, K., & Plotas, J. (2006). Creating and capitalizing on the town/gown relationship: An academic library and a public library form a community partnership. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32, 624-629.
Smith, V. (2006). A further perspective on joint partnerships: A commentary on creating and capitalizing on the town/gown relationship. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32, 630-631.
Encourage, strengthen and/or expand library partnerships with first responders.
Libraries should be active participants in emergency preparedness planning, response and recovery. Their role, however, is often overlooked by first responders and others who are vital to emergency preparedness. Community Day is a way to have libraries recognized as full partners in emergency management planning.
- NLM SIS Libraries and Emergency Preparedness, Response and Recovery
- Florida State University - Public Libraries and Hurricane Response
- Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
Provide access to emergency management information tools and resources
Everyone involved in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning, from first responders to businesses to teachers to health care professionals, can benefit from the products and services that libraries have to offer. Libraries have a role to play at each stage - planning, response, recovery. One goal of the Community Day project is to provide access to emergency management information tools and resources to those involved in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning. By collaborating with other libraries in the community, an emergency management information network can be established. Libraries can assess and organize relevant resources and ensure that community emergency management stakeholders are aware of these resources.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Emergency Preparedness and Response
- Corporation for National and Community Service
- Disaster Mitigation Planning Assistance
- Environmental Protection Agency - Emergency Management
- MedlinePlus - Disaster Preparation and Recovery
- National Emergency Management Association
- National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
- NLM/SIS - Special Populations: Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
- NN/LM Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery Toolkits
- NLM Wireless Information System for Emergency Responder - Welcome to WISER
Integrate and involve libraries into their communities' emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning.
Without being proactive regarding emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning within their communities, libraries run the risk of being forgotten or ignored by other stakeholders (first responders, public health workforce, health care professionals, etc.). One goal of the Community Day project is to integrate and involve libraries into their communities' emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning. Through partnerships and collaborations and coordinating with other organizations, participating libraries will organize Community Day events featuring activities which will appeal to community members and provide them with information, training, and other resources to help them be prepared for future emergencies and disasters.
Examples of activities:
- First Aid/CPR training
- Go Local/MedlinePlus demonstrations
- Disaster preparedness pathfinders
- Team building exercises
- Disaster preparedness for pets
- Family communication plans (Ready.gov)
- City maps (Evacuation routes, important markers)
- Disaster kit giveaways
- Disaster plan consultations
- Survivor storytelling
- Kids' book reading/puppet show
- Disaster scenario
- Relevant videos/movies
- 211- Information and Referral Search
- American Medical Association - Management of Public Health Emergencies
- American Red Cross
- American Safety and Health Institute
- Boy Scouts
- Citizen Corps
- The Community Tool Box
- Corporation for National and Community Service
- Department of Homeland Security - Ready.gov
- Go Local
- MedlinePlus - Disaster Preparation and Recovery
- National Neighborhood Day
- National Night Out
- National Safety Council (First Aid, CPR)
Selected References
Barry, P.L. (2006). A partnership plan that can work for any library, any community. Public Libraries, 45, 47-53.
Hovius, B. (2006). Public library partnerships which add value to the community: The Hamilton Public Library experience. IFLA Journal, 32, 214-223.
Montgomery, J., Spencer, R., & Rice, L. (2006). Collaboration tips for smooth-sailing partnerships. Kentucky Libraries, 70, 16-19.
Payton, A.M., & Henderson, M. (2007). Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration: How three different groups came together. Mississippi Libraries, 71, 38-39.
Promote and publicize the role libraries can play in emergency preparedness.
The libraries' role in emergency preparedness often goes unrecognized. Libraries must publicize their active participation in disaster preparedness, management and recovery by launching a focused marketing and promotional campaign.
