Volume 70, No. 3 Fall 2006 - Wild Apricot · 2014. 5. 16. · Page 53 Vol. 70, No. 3, Fall 2006...

Volume 70, No. 3 Fall 2006

Vol. 70, No. 3, Fall 2006 Mississippi Libraries

The first anniversary of Hur-r icane Katr ina may be ofminor significance to somearound our state, but tothose who are still strug-gling to bring some sem-blance of normalcy to theirlives, it is a day to stop andconsider what still needs tobe done as they redefine“normal” each and every day.Our communities are rebuildingas are our libraries. It doesnot surprise us to find thatjust as evacuees over-whelmed libraries to communicate withloved ones and to gather informationimmediately after the hurricane, they arestill looking to their local libraries eachand every day. While the circulation ofbooks and materials may be down, circu-lation of information and communication,as well as stories shared, is up. The Inter-net has proven to be the medium ofnecessity for these needs. Some librarieshave not reopened yet; some are servingtheir communities out of trailers or book-mobiles. And while librarians and staffthemselves have been affected by thisdestructive storm, most have done whatthey always do – provide excellent libraryservice to their communities as they allrebuild.

“Libraries Help Re-Build Communi-ties” is the theme of our 2006 AnnualConference, which will be held in Tunica,October 24-27, 2006. Check the MLAWeb site, http://www.misslib.org/activi-ties/conf/index.php, or elsewhere in thisissue for more information, and pleasemake plans to attend. This year’s confer-ence has something for everyone. Fromadaptive technology to encouraging teenuse of libraries, from lessons learned fromKatrina to wireless connectivity, and frombabies to book clubs, you will find pro-grams to suit every interest. Of course,there will be CEU’s available. Just be sure

to check the program andmake certain you sign inwhen attending. In additionto the serious programs,you will also find programsloaded with fun.

The MLA ExecutiveBoard voted to providefree advance registra-

tion for MLA membersfrom the three coastal coun-

ties. Meals and lodging are theresponsibility of the regis-trant. Anyone failing to reg-ister in advance by the

deadline must pay the regular, on-site reg-istration fee. The hotel and conferencecenter are a short bus ride from the casi-no. We are looking forward to a bigger,better annual conference this year. Muchappreciation goes to all who are duplicat-ing programs they made last year or whoare creating new programs for us thisyear. We look forward to meeting newfriends, greeting old friends, learning, vis-iting, and enjoying our profession thisOctober in Tunica.

It was my pleasure to attend the Open-ing General Session of the recent ALAConference in New Orleans and to repre-sent the state of Mississippi in accepting acheck for $50,000 from donations madethrough ALA and a check for $7,500from the Illinois Library Association (seeNews Briefs in this issue for pictures). Aswe did during National Library Week inApril, we plan to present additionalchecks resulting from continued dona-tions to the affected libraries during theupcoming MLA conference. The“Rebuild Mississippi Libraries” Fund isalso still accepting donations. Please seethe MLA Web site for more information.

As we work toward rebuilding ourlibraries and our communities, we willcontinue to work together; I hope to seeyou in Tunica! �

Mississippi Library AssociationP.O. Box 13687 Jackson, MS 39236-3687Office Hours: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. M, Tu, Th, FE-mail: [email protected] Secretary: Mary Julia AndersonMLA Web site: http://www.misslib.orgWeb Master: Molly Signs McManus, [email protected]

PresidentSusan Cassagne, DirectorNatchez Adams Wilkinson Library Service220 South Commerce St.Natchez, MS [email protected]

Vice PresidentCatherine A. Nathan, DirectorFirst Regional Library System370 West Commerce St.Hernando, MS [email protected]

SecretaryLinda Milner, Assistant DirectorMid Mississippi Library System201 S. Huntington St.Kosciusko, MS [email protected]

TreasurerCarol Green, Serials LibrarianThe University of Southern Mississippi118 College Drive #5053Hattiesburg, MS [email protected]

Immediate Past PresidentJuanita Flanders, District Dean of Learning ResourcesHinds Community College McLendon LibraryP.O. Box 1100Raymond, MS [email protected]

ALA CouncilorRobert Lipscomb, DirectorHarrison County Library System1300 21st Ave.Gulfport, MS [email protected]

SELA CouncilorMary Beth Applin, Information Services LibrarianThe University of Southern Mississippi118 College Drive #5053Hattiesburg, MS [email protected]

ParliamentarianShirlene Stogner

2006 SECTIONS

ACRL SectionChair: Janet [email protected]

Public LibrariesChair: Jennifer [email protected]

School LibrariesChair: Bettie [email protected]

Special LibrariesChair: John [email protected]

TrusteesChair: Randy [email protected]

For additional information and a list of committees androundtables, see the Mississippi Library Association’sWeb site at http://www.misslib.org/.

PRESIDENT’S PAGE

Susan Cassagne

Mississippi Libraries Vol. 70, No. 3, Fall 2006 Page 54

A Quarterly Publication of the ISSN 0194-388XMississippi Library Association©2006

EDITORIAL STAFF

EDITORElizabeth Stephan

JD Williams LibraryThe University of Mississippi

University, MS [email protected]

662-915-6628

ASSISTANT EDITORLauren Young

Rowland Medical LibraryThe University of Mississippi Medical Center

2500 North State StreetJackson, MS 39216-4505

[email protected]

COPY EDITORTisha Zelner

The University of Southern [email protected]

BUSINESS MANAGERTisha Zelner


ADVERTISING EDITORMissy Murphey

The University of [email protected]

REPORTERTina Harry


BOOK REVIEW EDITORChristina Torbert


MLA PUBLICITY COMMITTEE CHAIR

David BrownFirst Regional [email protected]

INDEXERShirlene Stogner


President’s Page ..............................................................................................53

Recovering from Disaster................................................................................55Elizabeth Stephan, Editor, Mississippi Libraries

Depends on What You Mean by “Disaster” ..................................................56Peggy Price, Head, Special Collections, McCain Library & Archives, The University ofSouthern Mississippi

Consequences of Hurricane Katrina ..............................................................58Iris Collins, School Media Specialist, Anniston Avenue Elementary School

Katrina Blew In and the House Did Not Fall.................................................60Rahye Puckett, BPHLS Director; John L. Whitlock, Patron Services Director, Missis-sippi Library Commission, Blind and Physically Handicapped Library Services

Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later ................................................................62

MLA Annual Conference Registration Form............................................................64MLA Annual Conference Hotel Information ............................................................65MLA Annual Conference Program.........................................................................66News Briefs .........................................................................................................74About Books........................................................................................................79People in the News ..............................................................................................81

The cover of the fall Mississippi Libraries is Large Daffodil by Susan M. Lopez. Lopez, age 34, is earning her BFA from theUniversity of Mississippi. Lopez has had work exhibited at several venues across the state of Mississippi including the MeridianMuseum of Art; the Impressions Art Gallery in Hattiesburg; and Jackson State University. She has also exhibited work inMiami, Fla. and Jackson, Tenn. She currently has work displayed on the University of Mississippi campus in the GeorgeStreet House, George Hall, and Bondurant Hall. She can be contacted at [email protected] or (662) 715-9275.

Mississippi Libraries is a publication of the Mississippi Library Association (MLA). The articles, reports, and features here-in represent the viewpoints of their respective authors and are not necessarily the official opinions of the Association.

Subscription Rates: $16.00 per year ($4.00 per issue); $24.00 per year outside of the U.S.; free to MLA members.Back issues are available from University Microfilms International.

Advertising Rates: Rates are available upon request from the Advertising Editor. Advertising Deadlines: Spring: February 10; Summer: May 10; Fall: August 10; Winter: November 10Submissions: Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or ASCII text for-

mat. Documents can be sent as an attachment via e-mail or on a CD-ROM or a 31⁄2 inch disk via surface mail. Deadlines for submission: Spring: February 2; Summer: May 2; Fall: August 2; Winter: November 2.In order to assure the widest possible audience for the work published in Mississippi Libraries, that work is added in elec-

tronic form to the Mississippi Library Association Web site and, by contractual agreement, to one or more EBSCO Publishingdatabases. Mississippi Libraries is also indexed in Library Literature and Information Sciences Abstracts.

Dues must be paid by March 1 in order to receive the Spring issue of Mississippi Libraries.

Contents


Elizabeth StephanEditor, Mississippi Libraries

Business Reference LibrarianJ. D. Williams Library

The University of Mississippi

How do you define a disaster? Anemergency? A catastrophe? There are asmany different ways as there are differenttypes of disasters and catastrophes. Lastfall, August 29th, to be exact, the state ofMississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrinaand it was a disaster, an emergency, anda catastrophe. How do you cope with amajor disaster? How do you recover?When it’s a personal or family emergen-cy, friends and family rally around you tohelp – that is what I have learned thismonth. When it’s a regional or statewidedisaster, everyone from neighbors tostrangers from around the nation pitchesin to help – that is what we learned in thelast year. In this issue of MississippiLibraries, we look at the year after Katri-na.

Peggy Price is Head of Special Collec-tions and the chair of the Disaster Pre-paredness Committee at the University ofSouthern Mississippi. In her article,“Depends on What You Mean by Disas-ter?,” Price looks at how the universityweathered the storm. Like many, shethought she knew how to prepare for ahurricane, but Katrina was not a typicalhurricane. She discusses the aftermath

and what was really lost during Katrina.Iris Collins, School Media Specialist at

Anniston Avenue Elementary School inGulfport, recounts what it was like afterKatrina in her article, “Consequences ofKatrina.” Anniston Avenue ElementarySchool opened for classes the beginningof October but there wasn’t a library. Andthen they started to receive books, butthey still didn’t have a library. Collinsdescribes how she and the studentsworked together to manage the bookdonations they received from all over thecountry, and how she was able to main-tain a circulating collection without anOPAC.

One group that is often overlookedduring a disaster is those with disabilities.In their article, “Katrina Blew in and theHouse did Not Fall,” Rahye Puckett,Director, and John L. Whitlock, PatronServices Director at the Blind and Physi-cally Handicapped Library in Jackson,discuss how BPHLS was able to reachtheir patrons affected by Hurricane Katri-na.

In “Katrina: One Year Later,” we lookat where those libraries featured in “Hurri-cane Katrina Damage: A Summary” (Mis-sissippi Libraries, Winter 2005) aretoday. Many have been able to recoverfully while others are providing servicesfrom temporary buildings.

The fall issue is also the conferenceissue. In this issue you will find the con-

ference registration form, hotel informa-tion, as well as the conference program.The program and form can also be foundon the MLA Web site at http://www.misslib.org/activities/conf/index.php. Itwill be nice to see everyone in Tunica,especially since we weren’t able to con-vene in Vicksburg last year.

We have an extended News Briefs sec-tion this issue. A lot has been going on inthe last few months, especially with ALAbeing in New Orleans. As Susan men-tions in her column, the MississippiLibrary Association has been the recipientof donations from several different associ-ations. Pictures of Susan accepting thechecks from ALA and the Illinois LibraryAssociation can be found in News Briefs.

The winter issue of Miss iss ippiLibraries will focus on archives and spe-cial collections in Mississippi. If you havean idea or suggestion for an article,please contact me ([email protected]) or assistant editor Lauren Young([email protected]).

On a personal note, I wasn’t asinvolved with this issue as normal. Due toa family emergency I had to return to myhome state of Iowa for a week. Thankyou to everyone, especially assistant edi-tor Lauren Young and copyeditor/business manager Tisha Zelner, for step-ping in when I wasn’t able to. �

Recovering from Disaster

Join MLA!Fill out and return the membership card located on the inside back cover of Mississippi Libraries and be a part of the ever continuing

promotion of libraries throughout Mississippi.


Peggy PriceHead, Special Collections

The McCain Library & ArchivesThe University of Southern Mississippi

AbstractWhen Hurricane Katrina moved disasterfrom textbook to reality, Peggy Price,Special Collections Librarian at the Uni-versity of Southern Mississippi, learnedfirst hand what worked and what didn’t.Price shares which preparations wererealistic and worked, which ones neededwork, and reflects on the perspective shegained in the aftermath of a disaster thatwas ultimately measured in lives lost, notmaterials lost.

Planning for Theoretical DisastersAs chair of my library’s Disaster Pre-

paredness Committee and Head of Spe-cial Collections, hurricanes make meunderstandably nervous. I worry moreabout our irreplaceable manuscripts ofchildren’s books like A Wrinkle in Timeand Curious George than my own pos-sessions. I imagine the roof peeling off ofthe building or windows blowing out oneafter another and rain destroying theentire documentary history of my Univer-sity. Visions of water cascading into ourfirst-floor storage and soaking an entirerun of St. Nicholas Magazine keep me onedge when the weather alerts show up onthe Internet, the familiar cone shape of thehurricane’s estimated path stretchingtoward Mississippi, maybe Hattiesburg.

In August 2005, I thought I knew howto plan for a disaster. After six years at theMcCain Library & Archives at the Univer-sity of Southern Mississippi, I was sort ofused to the routine. My library maintains adisaster plan, a good plan, updated regu-larly and kept in binders in every depart-ment, plus an electronic version on thelibrary’s internal Web page. The DisasterPreparedness Committee (DPC) reviewsthe plan. Committee members attendSOLINET workshops, check flashlightbatteries and supplies, and develop edu-

cational and appropriate activities for thecommittee throughout the year. Whenhurricanes threaten the Mississippi GulfCoast, the DPC transforms into the Disas-ter Response Action Team (DRAT) andwe all spring into action like librariansuper-heroes. Blinds are closed, materialsmoved away from windows. We coverspecial collections ranges in plastic andmove exhibit cases to the center of therooms and remove art from the walls. Wekeep emergency numbers in our pockets.We hope we won’t need them.

When Ivan was on his way in 2004,DRAT and Special Collections took prop-er precautions, going through the drilldescribed above. He swung to the rightjust before landfall and spared Mississippialtogether. Hurricane Dennis looked to beheaded our way in July of 2005, butsouth Mississippi ended up with dry, gor-geous sunny skies instead. By the timeHurricane Katrina posed an imminentthreat to Mississippi, with mandatoryevacuations across the coastal counties,DRAT and Special Collections personnelwere on top of our preparedness game.

August 28 was a Sunday. Hattiesburg,about sixty miles inland, was a convenientdestination for those escaping the predict-ed Category 5 hurricane. Evacuees fromfurther south continued to stream throughthe city while residents bought water andcanned goods and filled bathtubs and cov-ered windows. Library department heads,DRAT, and folks from Special Collectionscalled one another on cell phones andrushed around the libraries performing thesame activities we had done several timesbefore, but this one, we decided as theweather began to change, looked serious.The projected path sent Katrina up thecenter of the state, right over our heads.

We did all we could do to prepare thelibrary before tending to our personallives, and fortunately, our collections werespared. In retrospect, I see that I wasalways preparing for some idea of a disas-ter. Although I was trained in preservationand participated in many hands-on recov-

ery workshops where we learned how todeal with wet and soiled books and pho-tographs, I assumed too much. I assumedI would have water, access to a generator,access to fuel for the generator, access tocommunication devices, access to thelibrary! I knew how to prepare, I knewhow to recover, but I did not how to getacross town after one hundred mile perhour winds knocked down every othertree in the area and blocked ninety per-cent of the city’s streets.

AftermathThe weather was extremely dry, but

hot. There was no electricity, no water,and very few streets were passable in carsbecause of the thousands of fallen trees.Most people got out and walked. Somelandlines were functioning, but in-statecalls returned busy signals. Cell phoneservice was patchy; mine did not work atall. I made it to McCain Library andprowled around in the dark checking onthe stacks. But for a couple of leaky win-dows, everything looked fine. Meanwhile,the situation in town grew desperate andconfusing. Local radio stations weredown. Without a battery-powered televi-sion, it was impossible to know what washappening, what had happened, what wasgoing on. Businesses and homes werewrecked. Trees had smashed cars androofs. The new precious commoditieswere gasoline, ice, and water. At somepoint I was able to drive to the newspaperfacility and pick up a Hattiesburg Ameri-can. It was announced that the Universityof Southern Mississippi would be closeduntil September 6 (later moved to thetwelfth). Through the newspaper and thecable radio in my parent’s SUV, I beganto finally accept the enormity of the disas-ter. This was beyond disaster; this wascatastrophe.

As it turned out, my collections made itthrough just fine, but there were certainlylarger issues demanding attention, like thewhereabouts and safety of my colleagues.The size and scope of this disaster were

Depends on What You Mean by “Disaster”


difficult to absorb. Most of us had noCNN, no Internet, no images beyondthose we were able to view ourselvesaround town until the newspaper begancirculating again. While I was trained tofocus on protecting and recovering mycollections, if there had been damage,what priority should the materials take inthe face of such a large-scale human cri-sis? A man in Hattiesburg shot and killedhis own sister for a bag of ice. Would wereally allocate precious fuel (if we couldfind it) for generators to power up theAC? Clean books with scarce water?Even devote time to address damagedmaterials when families were in desperatestraits? I think not. No, I know not. Katri-na taught us many lessons about actualvs. theoretical disasters, and in reality,people come first.

Lessons LearnedOur disaster plan is a fine plan, as long

as we acknowledge that there are seriousand important limitations. Katrina chal-lenged the Disaster Preparedness Com-mittee’s concept of what “disaster” reallymeans. In our first post-hurricane DPCmeeting, we determined that our plan isperfect for a disaster that targets thelibrary and only the library. A brokenpipe, sure, we can handle that. Leaks andfloods? We got those covered. When theentire infrastructure of the city and a largeportion of the state cave in, we need to

keep the situation in perspective. First of all, none of us may be able to

get to the library for a variety of reasons.Even if we are able, access to campuscould possibly be forbidden for longerthan the crucial forty-eight hours, as itwas at USM’s Gulf Park site. Second,once we arrive, the magical generatorpower and water may not materialize.Third, local companies with extra freezerspace might not have power either – ifthey are even still standing. And lastly, inthe face of a major catastrophe, evenrecovery companies like Blackmon Moor-ing become overloaded and might not getto our library anytime soon.

Challenges inspired creative solutionsand possibilities from the DPC. Forexample, communication was the centralproblem in the aftermath of Katrina. Wediscussed the idea of a “disaster buddy,”that is, another library in a distant statethat might operate as a message center.We are currently developing this concept.Another communication tool is a simpleone: a message board at the back of thelibrary for those of us who visit campus, ifwe are able, after a storm.

New StrategiesPerhaps the most promising outcome

from Hurricane Katrina is the connectionforming across Mississippi organizationsand institutions that are entrusted withprotecting the state’s cultural resources.

Leadership from the Mississippi Humani-ties Council, Mississippi Library Commis-sion, Mississippi Arts Commission, andthe Mississippi Department of Archivesand History began the conversation andopened up meetings to representativesfrom across the cultural heritage land-scape. Librarians, artists, archivists, cura-tors, and others are hoping to combinefiscal and intellectual resources to addressfuture disasters.

I am optimistic and excited about thepotential for a Cultural Heritage DisasterNetwork in Mississippi. Such a groupcould lobby for collaborative, state-of-the-art storage facilities with conservation labsat key geographic locations. Proper cli-mate control and storage space are luxu-ries many cultural heritage institutions didnot enjoy enough of, if at all, even beforeKatrina. Together we might invest infreezer trucks, contracts with recoverycompanies, disaster training, and othermutually beneficial projects. Further,those generous and kind professionalsfrom other areas who travel to Mississippito assist with cultural heritage recoverywould have a central point of contact forneeds assessment information, support,and directions. Stay tuned for more activi-ty on this front as we all get our opera-tions back up and running, update ourdisaster plans, and prepare for the nextseason. �

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Consequences of Hurricane KatrinaIris Collins

School Media SpecialistAnniston Avenue Elementary School

AbstractHurricane Katrina destroyed AnnistonAvenue Elementary School’s library onAugust 29, 2005. This article is a briefoverview of how Iris Collins, elementaryschool librarian at Anniston Avenue, andthe students dealt with the consequencesof Katrina. Following Katrina, classesresumed on October 3. With the help ofgenerous donors, the destroyed collec-tion was rebuilt and with the help of stu-dents, the collection was organized.

What is a librarian to do with chil-dren arriving only five weeks after Hur-ricane Katrina struck and no library orlibrary collection? She is rescued bystrangers. After Katrina’s destructionwas broadcast nationwide, readersacross the country replaced the collec-tion of Anniston Avenue ElementarySchool. As soon as phone service wasrestored, the phone began to ring asgenerous readers from across the Unit-ed States called to alert us to theimpending arrival of donated books.Readers of all walks of life: parents,retired teachers, Boy Scouts, GirlsScouts, church groups, school librari-ans, teachers, businesses, and so manyothers, could not bear to think of a stu-dent body without books. Boxes andboxes of books were shipped via UPSand the U.S. Postal Service, delivered inperson, “hitch-hiked” with the innumer-able church volunteers, and transportedby eighteen-wheelers.

We received hundreds of boxes ofbooks but had nowhere to store them.The library had a new roof and the ruinedcontents were removed, but all thatremained of the library interior were cin-derblock walls and a concrete floor.Because so many houses were destroyed,our enrollment decreased; therefore,there were empty classrooms, and anempty kindergarten classroom became atemporary library. The school’s dolly and

I became inseparable. In late Octoberafter opening the 500th box, I decidedto stop counting. The boxes just keptcoming… and coming… and coming.

What were we to do with all thesebooks? The library had no furniture,no shelving, no computers, noautomation system, and most impor-tantly, no existing collection. But therewere books in those boxes. The nextquestion: What do you do with classesthat come to the library every fortyminutes? You have them help you sortand organize books. Studentsunpacked boxes. They separated fic-tion from non-fiction and sorted books

either alphabetically by author or numeri-cally by Dewey. They covered boxes withbulletin board paper and decorated themaccording to topics, and those boxesbecome the new library shelves.The boxes were arranged on thefloor according to Dewey classesor alphabetically for Fiction and Efor “Everybody Books.”

And then the frequency of thedonations increased. The hard-back books that met the collectiondevelopment policy of the librarywere re-boxed and pushed into acorner. When the corner was full,an empty textbook storage roomwas found. Books that did notmeet the requirements of thecollection development policy

were given to the students for homelibraries and to the teachers to restocktheir lost classroom libraries. A wonderfulcollection of literature sets was createdwith all the duplicate titles.

What about circulating the new collec-tion? We didn’t have a circulation system.We revived the old paper-and-pencilmethod. Students checked out their ownbooks by writing the date, the title, andthe author on paper. Students learnedabout pseudonyms, double names, multi-ple authors/illustrators, sub-titles, and somuch more. They began to talk aboutbooks while they were waiting to checkout and/or return their books.

Where do students sit in a temporarylibrary without furniture? On the floor,surrounded by their custom-madeshelves. To them, this was a great adven-ture – until November when those tiledfloors became cold.

By the end of January the library was

Students at Anniston Avenue Elementary School sortdonated books by genre. Photo by Elizabeth Benning-ton.

Students sort donated books. Photo by Elizabeth Ben-nington.

Students covered boxes with paper to make temporary box“shelves.” Photo by Elizabeth Bennington.


renovated. The mold was removed, newcarpet was installed, new paint was on thewalls, new light fixtures were in place, andnew ceiling tiles were installed. Furnitureand shelving had arr ived and wereinstalled. How did we move the donatedcollection to the library? With help fromthe students, of course. The studentswere thrilled to move the cardboard boxesof books to the library. The donatedbooks were transferred to the shelves, andthe students had a stomp-the-box partywhen everything was moved. “Stomp thebox” was great therapy for them – theywere able to take out their frustrations onthose boxes.

There were other issues in addition tojust shelving books. Teachers expectedtheir electronic reading program to func-tion. By January the server and comput-ers were finally operational, but the col-

lection consistedof donated, un-cataloged, non-electronic-read-i n g - p r o g r a m -labeled paper-back books. Themost wonderful(and patient) vol-unteer took onthe task of com-paring each andevery title to ourelectronic read-ing program list-ing. The volun-teer noted (with apermanent mark-er) the reading

level on the cover of the paperbacks.

More than just booksWhat does a librarian do when the

patrons (students, teachers, parents) donot understand that they cannot use theOPAC to locate a specific title or theavailability of a book? “What do youmean I can’t search the collection?,” theyasked. Students were confused that therewere computers in the library, and yetthey were still using paper and pencil tocheck out books. “What do you meanthat the donated books are not barcod-ed?” they demanded. “What is cata-loging?” they inquired. This offered theopportunity to explain what catalogingis, why the OPAC could not beaccessed, and how it all fit together.Whether they wanted it or not, patrons

received a lesson in howthe library operates.

At the end of theschool year, we weretold that library wouldnot be accessible duringthe summer. This iswhen we would normallyunpack the new bookorders, catalog thedonated books, andcomplete numerousother tasks required tofunction normally thenext school year. Whywouldn’t the library beopen? The library was

the only space with carpet and all theschool’s damaged tile floors were beingreplaced. The main office needed to storeitems in a secure location – the library.We calmly smiled because we werethankful for the new shelving, furniture,carpet, and paint; we were most thankfulfor the new books.

SummaryAnniston Avenue Elementary School

will be forever grateful to generousbooklovers from across country. Books ofevery genre, in all conditions – from thenew purchase to the gently loved to thewell-loved book – were given from theheart. The donors gave and gave, fromthe child who chose a favorite book froma personal collection, to the people inPhoenix, Arizona, who sent an eighteen-wheeler with thirteen pallets of books thathad been collected, organized, andshipped by a Boy Scout working on hisEagle Badge project. Donors drove fromMaine, Ohio, and South Carolina just tobring books for our children. Schoollibrarians donated their book fair profits,students collected money and boughtbooks, and teachers forfeited their class-room wish list gifts. We were adopted byso many kind and generous readers – toomany to name them all, but we have awall of fame for them. Without all theselovers of books, our students would havebeen without books. �

Anniston Avenue Elementary’s temporary library. Photo by Elizabeth Bennington.

The Stomp the Box activity proved to be great therapy for students.Photo by Elizabeth Bennington.

A Wall of Fame was established in honor of everyonewho donated books to Anniston Elementary. This pic-ture shows the Wall of Fame in its early stages. Photo byElizabeth Bennington.

Rahye Puckett, BPHLS DirectorJohn L. Whitlock

Patron Services DirectorMississippi Library Commission

Blind and Physically HandicappedLibrary Services

AbstractHurricane Katrina was the costliest andone of the deadliest hurricanes in the his-tory of the United States. It was the sixth-strongest Atlantic hurricane ever record-ed and the third-strongest landfallingU.S. hurricane ever recorded. It formedon August 23, 2005, and by the time ithit the Mississippi Gulf Coast, local andnational authorities were unprepared forthe consequences. Regional libraries forthe blind and physically handicapped(National Library Service for the Blindand Physical ly Handicapped [NL],Library of Congress) in Alabama,Louisiana and Mississippi were also notprepared, but wi th what t ranspiredamong them with no formal guidelinesavailable, life could, to some extent,resume.

Isolated incidents of flooding to a facili-ty; water leaks from roofs down throughceilings into collections; sun damagethrough windows reflecting off of cassettecollections; fires; and on at least oneoccasion, a car driven through the wall ofa regional library: the types of disastersexperienced by regional libraries for theblind prior to September 2005. TheLibrary of Congress could report nothingof such a magnitude as what was to takeplace when hurricanes Katrina and Ritaravaged the Gulf Coast. If one was tocheck the NLS Network Manual for pro-cedures to follow in case of an emergencyof this nature, they would have been out

of luck. Except for an NLS Technical Cir-cular on Braille Preservation that providesguidelines to help librarians plan andmaintain programs for preserving collec-tions in the event of water disasters andmold outbreaks, a disaster of this magni-tude over a broad geographical area isnowhere addressed. Fortunately, Alaba-ma, Louisiana, and Mississippi all havecontractual agreements with the UtahState Library to handle Braille circulationand did not house substantial collectionsof Braille.

Blind and physically handicapped indi-viduals nationwide receive library servicethrough a network of cooperat inglibraries. Formal in structure, this cooper-ative network is supported at local, state,and federal levels. Additionally, NLSreports that a small number of formalcooperative agreements exist between twostates to aid one another during times ofdisaster. These sorts of agreements areunique within the network, although quitepossible where libraries share the samecirculation software system.

Anyone working within the network ofregional libraries realizes immediately thatit is made up of a close-knit group of indi-viduals who, at one time or another, havemet at conferences and meetings, talkedon the phone about common problemsor concerns, chatted on listservs andspeak a special language. Once Hurri-canes Katrina and Rita struck, concern forour fellow librarians and their staffs quick-ly became the issue. Although sporadic,communication was established almostimmediately among the parties involvedand staffs were accounted for.

The focus then shifted to the concernfor patrons we knew were in the directpath of the winds and water.Once thestorm moved inland, the Blind and Physi-

cally Handicapped Library Services(BPHLS) suffered brownouts and leakageinto the facility and could not receiveincoming communications for approxi-mately one week. The BPHLS directorcould communicate outside the state withthe Alabama regional librarian throughher personal cell phone. The Alabamaregional librarian, less affected than hercounterpart in Mississippi, quickly got intouch with the head of the Network Ser-vices Section of the National Library Ser-vice for the Blind and Physically Handi-capped (NLS) of the Library of Congress.NLS, working in conjunction with theComprehensive Mailing List System(CMLS) in Florida, identified the countiesand/or zip codes in Alabama, Mississip-pi, and Louisiana, and suspended allmagazine subscription mailings to theaffected areas. By this time, the U.S.Postal Service had implemented similarprocedures. CMLS is an automated sys-tem used to produce labels for distributionof NLS direct-circulation magazines, pub-lications, order forms, and surveys topatrons, network libraries, and interestedparties, based on information submittedby network libraries. All mailings werehalted until CMLS was notified on anindividual basis that service could resume.Two multistate centers (MSCs), workingfor NLS on a contractual basis, provideNLS publications, equipment, supplies,and interlibrary loan service for all NLSbooks and magazines to network agen-cies in their geographic areas and to eachother. MSCE (East) in Ohio, as directedby NLS, froze all interlibrary loans andsupplies destined for the three statesaffected by the hurricanes.

The Utah State Library, contracted tocirculate Braille titles to Mississippi andthe other two regional libraries, froze all


Katrina Blew In and the House Did Not Fall

requests for affected counties and zipcodes. NLS responded further by callingregional libraries where possible and ask-ing them to report all machines andbooks reported lost or damaged in thestorm, so that they could be replaced.NLS advised that patrons discard anymaterials damaged or affected by waterfor safety reasons. This was reiterated innewsletters and in calls to all regionallibraries for patrons who might have evac-uated throughout the country.

Keystone Library Automation System(KLAS) headquarters in Raleigh, SouthCarolina, immediately changed the patronstatus codes in BPHLS circulat iondatabases to “K” for all affected patrons inAlabama and Mississippi, thereby allow-ing patrons who needed to return booksand materials to do so. Because the ser-vice is on a turnaround basis, the processof issuing a mail card to replace suchmaterials was halted until the individualreported a change of address or status.Alabama and Mississippi worked closely,as phone and power service permitted, tomake sure books and materials would notbe mailed to patrons served jointly byboth regional libraries. NLS also coordi-nated with their contractual new bookproducers to halt mailing of completedtitles and copies to the affected states untilthey were notified to resume shipping.

Within days, the home page of NLS atthe Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/nls) was updated for the benefit ofpatrons trying to locate their nearestregional library. A link was provided thatasked “Has your service been disruptedby Hurricane Katrina or Rita?” As quotedfrom this link, “You have no financialresponsibility for library materials that ournetwork provides when they are lost in adisaster. Because this service is a nationalnetwork of libraries, your service can berestored temporarily wherever you findyourself. Subscriptions to magazines maybe suspended until you find more perma-nent living arrangements.” Surely thiswas a great relief to many who had losteverything and were trying to return nor-malcy to their lives.

The circulation department in Missis-sippi completed an in-house inventoryearly in September and requested a Rec-

onciliation Report from Data Manage-ment Inc. in Florida to handle NLSmachines lost or damaged due to Hurri-cane Katrina. Also during September, aspatrons converged in Jackson with orwithout their machines and materials,many dropped in to update their recordsand resume their service, oftentimes withonly an address change. We wereencouraged by their calm and were happyto see them safe and unharmed.

Lighthouse for the Blind, one of thebusinesses immediately affected in NewOrleans, was the source for the Louisianaregional library for Braille embossing oftheir newsletter. Louisiana asked whetherwe in Mississippi could Braille theirnewsletter if they provided the addresslabels for their patrons. We were able to

download the newsletter from the Inter-net, convert it to Braille and send 112copies to those patrons who needed thisspecial format.

As we approach the one-year anniver-sary, patrons are still calling our toll-freenumber or walking in to give us their sta-tus. In Mississippi, 39 machines, 341books on cassette tape and 2 descriptivevideos were lost due to Hurricane Katrina.All active patrons have been accountedfor; one who had suspended his servicein 2005 died as a result of trying to waitout the storm in his home. What isencouraging is that favorite patrons havereturned to the coast, are rebuilding theirhomes and living out of FEMA trailers,and are listening to books once again. �

Page 61 Vol. 70, No. 3, Fall 2006 Mississippi Libraries

GN Associates, Inc.Library Furniture and Shelving

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Thanks to Robert Lipscomb, PatriciaFurr, Tisha Zelner, Mary Perkins, PamelaLadner, and Jeanie Ripoll.

For more information on news andevents relating to Hurricane Katrina, seeNews Briefs in this issue of MississippiLibraries.

Hancock County Library SystemThe Hancock County Library System

has library and information services avail-able in three locations. The Bay St.Louis-Hancock County Headquar-ters Library is providing services to thepublic, including computers and freewireless Internet access, circulation oflibrary materials, and meeting room spacefor community organizations. No timeframe has been established for comple-tion of the repairs to the building.

The Kiln Public Library sufferedroof and window damage. No time framehas been established for completion ofthe repairs. The library is providing libraryand information services to the public,including computers and free wirelessInternet, circulation of library materials,and meeting room space for communityorganizations.

The Waveland Public Library wastotally destroyed by the storm. Rebuildingplans are in the beginning phase and notime frame has been established for com-pletion of the new building.

The Pearlington Public Library

was also totally destroyed. Nodecision has been made aboutthe future of this building. In themeantime, the PearlingtonMobile Library has openedon the site of the former library,providing services to the public.

Harrison County LibrarySystem

Harrison County currentlyhas various levels of service atsix locations. They are provid-ing service via a donated book-mobile in D’Iberville andexpect that facility to be remod-eled and reopened by fall 2006.The Biloxi Library has beencleaned out and gutted. It willbe remodeled and reopened; however, nodecision has been made about a timeframe yet because of ongoing debateswith the insurance companies.

No decision has been made about thefuture of the Headquarters Library inGulfport. The headquarters is currentlyoperating in Pass Christian out of a mod-ular building donated for use by theDupont Corporation.

Operations are normal at the Mar-garet Sherry, West Biloxi, Saucierand Orange Grove facilities.

William Carey CollegeThe William Carey College on the

Coast Library off ic ial lyreopened for the summersession in two doublewidetrailers on the soccer fieldbehind the original campusbuildings on Beach Boule-vard. Classes are beingtaught in sixteen modularbuildings on the temporarycampus that the library nowserves. The library itself has$75,000 of new furnitureand shelving to house the6,500 books that were res-cued from the old facilitypost-Katrina. Donations total-ing $35,000 have been

received to purchase books to replacethose lost in the storm. Librarian PeggyGossage is very happy to be back in afacility on the Gulf Coast after drivingback and forth to the main campus inHattiesburg for over eight months. Thestudents seem very grateful to haveaccess to the library and its $10,000worth of new computer equipment pur-chased with grant money from theNational Network of Libraries of Medicineand the Mississippi Humanities Council.A replacement campus, complete with anew library building, is in the planningstages and will eventually be built at alocation north of I-10.


Hurricane Katrina: One Year Later

The new, temporary library reference area at William Carey Col-lege in Gulfport. Most of the books pictured were salvaged fromthe old library. Photo by Jeanna Graves.

Another view of the current library at William Carey Col-lege. Photo by Jeanna Graves.

Doublewide trailers are being used for classrooms at WilliamCarey College in Gulfport. The library is in two of the trailers atthe end of the row. Photo by Jeanna Graves.

Jones County Junior CollegeTerrell Tisdale Library, on the campus

of Jones County Junior College, sus-tained moderate damage from HurricaneKatrina. An oak tree near the building fellonto the roof, causing damage to thefaçade. A few feet away, further roof dam-age resulted in the loss of almost twohundred books in a special collection ofworks by Mississippi authors. The fictionand children’s sections were decimated,and many of the books destroyed are nolonger in print. College administratorswere the first to view the damage, andtheir quick action in removing the wetbooks from the shelves made it possibleto salvage many titles as well as theshelves themselves. A roofing project wasin progress at the time of the storm, sorepairs were made quickly. The librarystaff located replacements for most of thetitles from out of print booksellers, andinsurance funds were adequate to coverthose purchases.

Mississippi Gulf Coast CommunityCollege – Jackson County

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Communi-ty College – Jackson County CampusLibrary received considerable water andwind damage during Hurricane Katrinaresulting in the growth of mold to the col-

lection and structural damage to the build-ing. Faced with major repairs, MGCCC –Jackson County chose to use the neededrepairs as a catalyst to renovate thelibrary. Repairs included the replacementof the east wall, new carpeting, drywallreplacement, new windows, and freshpaint. All shelving on the first floor wasreplaced; the replacement and relocationof the bookshelves enabled the library tochange its layout, affording a larger stu-dent study area upstairs. Public serviceareas were combined making it easier forstudents to use. The reference and circu-lation desks were combined to create acentrally located information desk, andtwo exhibit cases were purchased withmoney donated by the Friends of the Mis-sissippi Library Association.

University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast Campus

Six weeks after landfall of HurricaneKatrina on August 29, 2005, the Univer-sity of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coastresumed classes in leased space at theHealthMark Center in Gulfport, Miss. Alibrary facility was established as part ofthe temporary facility.

By leasing approximately half of thetotal square footage of the complex, theUniversity of Southern Mississippi was

able to converta part of theh e a l t h c a r efaci l i ty intoins t ruc t iona land off icespace as evalu-at ions weremade of theu n i v e r s i t y ’ sheavi ly-dam-aged LongBeach cam-pus.

The f irstf loor of theGulf Coastl ibrary wasbadly damagedby Katr ina.The Mississip-

pi State Institutions of Higher Learning iscommitted to the restoration of the LongBeach Campus. The library hopes to re-open on the Long Beach campus by thefall of 2007.

Long Beach Public LibraryThe Long Beach Public Library is still

operating out of a FEMA trailer, butlibrary director Jeannie Ripoll reports thata considerable amount of work has beendone on the rebuilding of the library facili-ty with completion expected within a mat-ter of months. One major problem hasbeen finding someone to do the air condi-tioner work; the library requires new duct-work as theirs was knocked to the floorand subsequently destroyed by the flood-ing. The city still has no funds to offer forthe rebuild, which is being supported bymonies from grants, donations, and thelibrary’s Friends group. �


The replacement and relocation of the bookshelves enabled the library at MGCCC-Jackson County to change its layout, affording a larger student study area upstairs.Photo by Elizabeth Minter.

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Website:www.misslib.org


News BriefsE-Journal Continuing EducationWorkshop Held at Mississippi StateUniversity

For a sixth year, NASIG’s ContinuingEducation Committee joined with Missis-sippi State University Libraries andEBSCO Subscription Services to cospon-sor an e-journal workshop for informationprofessionals in the Deep South region.Held at Mitchell Memorial Library on July14, 2006, this year’s workshop, titled“Head ‘em Up, Move ‘em Out! Cor-ralling the E-Journal Stampede,” exploredissues related to the role and manage-ment of e-resources in libraries. In atten-dance were over ninety information pro-fessionals from states across the south-east.

Keynote speaker T. Scott Plutchak,Director of the University of Alabama atBirmingham’s Lister Hill Library of theHealth Sciences, got the workshop off toa thought-provoking start with a presenta-tion exploring the trends that are currentlyreshaping the distribution of informationand the role of libraries. Subsequent pre-sentations exploring e-resources weregiven by Michael Stephens of DominicanUniversity’s Graduate School of Libraryand Information Science, Andrea Cer-

nichiari of Cambridge University Press,Rebecca Day of EBSCO, Kristin Antel-man of North Carolina State University,and Eric Novotny of Pennsylvania StateUniversity.

Based on the positive evaluations sub-mitted by the attendees, this year’s e-jour-nal workshop can be deemed a success.

Although only one attendee was luckyenough to bring home as a door prize anautographed copy of a bestseller by MSUalumni John Grisham, all of the attendeesleft the workshop with increased enthusi-asm and valuable insights that may allowthem to solve the many mysteries thatcontinue to surround the role and man-agement of e-resources in libraries.

Busy Summer at Sunflower CountyLibraries

Things have really been happening inthe Delta this summer, especially at theSunflower County Libraries, according toAlice Shands, Director. During June andJuly, two Robertson Scholars from theUniversity of North Carolina at ChapelHill designed, scheduled and presentedarts, literature and computer skills ses-sions at each of the system’s four branchlibraries as part of the Summer ReadingProgram. Gabriella Miyares, a sopho-more English major from Jacksonville,Fla., and David Sneed, a sophomorepolitical science major from Alexandria,Va., also conducted several video historyinterviews for the library archives.

William Carey College ReceivesGift

William Carey College on the Coast inGulfport was the recipient of a gift of over$8300 from the Friends of the Library ofMessiah College in Grantham, Pennsyl-vania to help rebuild the library’s ruinedbook collection. Messiah College, whichis affiliated with the Brethren in Christdenomination, is a liberal arts college ofover twenty-seven hundred students. TheFriends of the Library decided to give halfof its annual book sale proceeds to anacademic institution of similar size that

had been damaged by Katrina. MessiahCollege Library Director Jonathan Lauer,who was attending ALA in New Orleans,drove over to the Coast on June 27,2006 to tour the heavily damaged oldlibrary and the new facility, which is cur-rently housed in two double-wide trailerson the back of the Coast campus.

Lauer presented the check to Directorof Libraries, Patricia Furr, who thankedLauer and his staff for raising the money.“This wonderful gift, along with $21,000previously given to the library by otherdonors, will help us replace many of thebooks that were washed off the shelves byKatrina. We appreciate our colleagues inPennsylvania who have worked hard togive us these funds.” William Carey Col-lege, which became William Carey Uni-versity on August 14, 2006, has plans torelocate to a new location north of I-10 inthe immediate future. A new library build-ing will be included in the planned Gulf-port campus.

From lef t to r ight the photo is of : MichaelStephens, Instructor at Dominican University’sGraduate School of Library and Information Sci-ence; Kristin Antelman, Associate Director for theDigital Library at North Carolina State University;Andrea Cernichiari, Manager of Journal BusinessDevelopment at Cambridge University Press; T.Scott Plutchak, Director of the Lister Hill Library ofthe Health Sciences at the University of Alabama atBirmingham; Jerry Gilbert, Associate Provost atMississippi State University; Rebecca Day, Manag-er of E-Resource Services Development at EBSCOSubscription Services; and Eric Novotny, Humani-ties Librarian at Pennsylvania State University.Photo by Jim Tomilinson.

The new library reading room at the newlyopened temporary campus of William Carey Col-lege on the Coast in Gulfport, Mississippi. Photoby: Jeanna Graves, Public Relations, WCC.

William Carey College Director of Libraries PatriciaFurr accepts a check for $8300 from JonathanLauer, Library Director of Messiah College, forHurricane Katrina relief efforts. Photo by: JeannaGraves, Public Relations, WCC.

Hancock Library Receives MobileLibrary for Pearlington

Anne Arundel County Public Library(AACPL) and other libraries in Marylandare stepping in to help the HancockCounty Library System. The MarylandLibrary Association (MLA) Board hasrecently voted to adopt a “sister” library inthe community of Pearlington. MarionFrancis, AACPL Administrator and a Mis-sissippi native, is chairing the committeein charge of this ef fort. The groupincludes representatives from public, aca-demic and special libraries and mediaspecialists from public school systems. “Ithas been a heartwarming labor of love forall of us in the Maryland library communi-ty to make this donation to the Pearling-ton library and the Hancock Library Sys-tem,” said Francis. “We greatly appreci-ate all the patrons, libraries and corpora-tions such as SirsiDynix who have con-tributed to this effort.”

The Pearlington Public Library. abranch of the Hancock County LibrarySystem, served both an elementaryschool and the general public. The facili-ty, which opened in 1999, receivedextensive wind and water damage in Kat-rina. The contents of the building weredestroyed.

As part of the MLA effort, the AlleganyCounty Public Library is donating a book-mobile to the Pearlington Public Library.Cash and donations from library systems,corporations and the general public weresought to refurbish the vehicle and outfit itwith computers, books and other materialsthat can be enjoyed by the residents of Pearl-

ington and the surrounding communities. “The offers of assistance from libraries

and individuals from all over the worldhas been incredible,” said Prima Plauche,director of the Hancock County LibrarySystem. “The mobile unit from the Alle-gany County Library System, and thework of the Anne Arundel County PublicLibrary System and the Maryland LibraryAssociation, along with scores of individu-als, corporations and libraries is a brightspot in an otherwise overwhelming, heart-breaking and long-term recovery.”

SirsiDynix, one of the leading compa-nies in providing information technologyfor libraries, installed the computer, bar-code reader and printer for the mobileunit. Future plans call for obtaining satel-lite Internet service and providing morecomputers for the public.

“Libraries are vital to the communitiesthey serve,” said Patrick Sommers, Sirsi-Dynix chief executive officer. “The Han-cock County Library System is proof ofthis. In a time of widespread devastationand uncertainty, Hancock County citizenslooked to the library for information andassistance. At SirsiDynix, we understandthat the sooner the library returns to nor-malcy then the sooner Hancock Countyreturns to normalcy. This, coupled withour longtime relationship with HancockCounty, is why it is important to us tohelp outfit this bookmobile for the com-munity of Pearlington and the surround-ing areas.” More information on themobile unit or the Hancock CountyLibrary System is available by calling228-467-5282 or by accessing thelibrary system’s Web page at www.hancocklibraries.info.

Library Interiors, Inc. Assists inGulf Coast Library Recovery

When Hurricane Katr ina rol ledthrough Mississippi, it took away theWaveland Public Library. This fal l ,Library Interiors, Inc. of Metair ie,Louisiana, will team with the HancockCounty Library director and staff to helpbring it back. To help restore this branch,Library Interiors, who provided the origi-

nal interior furnishings of the WavelandLibrary has offered to provide interiordesign services free of charge. WhileLibrary Interiors has been involved withrestoring a New Orleans library, they alsowanted to offer assistance to storm-dam-aged areas not as publicized as NewOrleans, and the Waveland Branch wasmost in need.

Howard Ekblad, President of LibraryInteriors says, “One look at the devasta-tion of the once proud Waveland PublicLibrary was all it took. We knew that wehad to help and this was one way wecould do it.”

Told about the plans, Hancock CountyPublic Library Director Prima Plauchéresponds, “This is the type of help that isneeded to rebuild our community, and welook forward to working with Library Inte-riors to develop our plans as we work tobring back the library.”

Library Interiors, Inc., located inMetairie, Louisiana, is a strong supporterof Mississippi Libraries, a lifetime mem-ber of the Mississippi Library Association,and sponsor of special events at the Mis-sissippi Library Association Conferences.For more information visit www.libraryinteriors.com.

Commission’s New Facility NetsTop Architectural Awards

The Mississippi Library Commission’snew building netted top honors for thearchitectural firms of Duvall Decker andBurris/Wagnon. The Mississippi Chapterof the American Institute of Architects(AIA) awarded the firms the 2006 AIA’sMississippi Design Honor Award, the pro-fession’s highest recognition of work thatexemplifies excellence in architecture. Ajury of three out-of-state architects select-ed the project from twenty-seven submis-sions.

The five-story building is located on aone and one-half acre lot, nestled on asecluded, well-landscaped, tree-shadedarea in the Mississippi Education &Research Center Complex. The state-of-the art facility boasts a number of uniquefeatures:


Library Director Jonathan Lauer (left) tours thetemporary campus of William Carey College on theCoast in Gulfport along with Director of LibrariesPatricia Furr (middle) and WCC Dean Jerry Bracey(right) . Photo by: Jeanna Graves, Public Relations,WCC.

Reading Porch – A screened porchwhere library users can read a magazineor book; access wireless Internet connec-tivity; and enjoy the environment.

Meeting Room – This room, equippedfor distance learning and teleconferenc-ing, hosts agency workshops and meet-ings and, with advanced reservations, isavailable for use by other state agencies.

Computer Training Lab – The labenables the Library Commission to pro-vide training for agency staff and librarypersonnel from across the state. Withadvanced reservations, the lab is alsoavailable for use by other state agencies.

Information Kiosk – Using the touchscreen or keyboard visitors can readilylocate various library collections usingbuilding diagrams; access Web sites andother state government information;explore databases; and find informationon upcoming meetings and events.

Internet Access – The building isequipped for wired and wireless Internetconnectivity. Public use computers areavailable to access numerous informationresources including the online library cat-alogs, Internet resources, and MAGNO-LIA information databases.

In addition to receiving the HonorAward, the project was also honored bybeing voted the recipient of the SamboMockbee Membership Award, an awarddetermined by the AIA state-chaptermembership.

Enthused about the news of theawards, MLC’s Executive Director Shar-man B. Smith made the following state-ment, “The building is not only beautiful,but functional. It is high-tech, but com-fortable. It is strong, yet warm and wel-coming.”

Laura Bush Foundation Grant Winners

The following Mississippi schoollibraries have received a Laura Bush

Foundation Grant for the 2006 season:Aberdeen Middle School, Aberdeen Belle Elementary School, Aberdeen Como Elementary School, Como Gentry High School, Indianola Hopewell Elementary School, Collins Kennedy Elementary, McComb Magee High School, Magee Pecan Park Elementary, Jackson Union Academy Elementary, Columbus West Bolivar High School, Rosedale West Clay Elementary School, Cedarbluff

New Major Investments JumpstartRebuilding Efforts and Re-estab-lishment of Public Library Servicesin Louisiana and Mississippi

Recognizing the critical support publiclibraries provided communities duringand after the devastation of hurricanesKatrina and Rita, the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, the Bush-Clinton KatrinaFund, and the Institute for Museum andLibrary Services announced major grantsto support the re-establishment of lostpublic library services and rebuilding ofpublic libraries along the Gulf Coast inLouisiana and Mississippi.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Founda-tion’s $12.2 million grant will helplibraries establish up to twenty-two tempo-rary facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana.The grant will allow community membersto access books, computers and Internetservices, provide support for the planningof destroyed or damaged libraries, andwill eventually pay for new computers inrebuilt public libraries. The Bush-ClintonKatrina Fund will make $5 million avail-able to support new reconstruction andrecovery of Gulf Coast public libraries.The Institute for Museum and LibraryServices (IMLS), a federal grant-makingagency that provides leadership and sup-port to the nat ion’s museums andlibraries, will contribute $500,000 to thefoundation’s effort to help staff the tempo-rary facilities.

“Our public libraries have a rich histo-ry of opening the door to equity, informa-tion and hope. After Hurricanes Katrinaand Rita, people flocked to the library for

Internet access. Library staff helped themconnect to loved ones, contact FEMA andinsurance companies, find new housing,and rebuild their lives when other socialand civil services were unable to supportthem,” said Allan Golston, president ofU.S. Programs for the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation.

“We hope our investment is a catalystfor comprehensive support from othersources needed to meet the true commu-nity demand for library services.”

The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund’s $5million grant will focus on the physicalrepair and reconstruction of up to eightpublic libraries across the Gulf Coast ofLouisiana, Mississippi, and Alabamaaffected by Katrina. The Bush-ClintonKatrina Fund has engaged the Americansfor Libraries Council, a national non-profitadvocacy organization for libraries, tomanage this grant. The grant will targetthe repairs of facilities ready for immedi-ate attention, the rebuilding of facilitieswith substantial damage, and the replace-ment of damaged or lost collections.

“An investment in a library representsa commitment to the future of the com-munity,” said former President GeorgeH.W. Bush. “Libraries are part of a com-munity’s pulse. It’s that simple. That’swhy the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund isexcited to partner with the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation and the communities ofthe Gulf Coast on this very important pro-ject. The sooner libraries can start reopen-ing their doors, the sooner Gulf Coastresidents will feel they are getting backtheir lives.”

Former President William J. Clintonreflects, “The Gates foundation has beenan example to all NGOs. Their leadershiphas brought AIDS and malaria treatmentto countless in need around the world,and this new grant will bring much-need-ed technological needs back to the vic-tims who lost so much in the wake ofHurricane Katrina. Libraries are morethan brick and mortar; they are the cata-lyst for education and research. By invest-ing in libraries we are empowering Ameri-cans with the ability to obtain resources


for their future and I am proud that theBush-Clinton Katrina Fund and the Gatesfoundation are contributing to this effort.”

The Southeastern Library Network(SOLINET), a regional library networkthat serves the southeastern United Statesand the Caribbean, will administer the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation grant andwork in partnership with the state libraryagencies of Louisiana and Mississippi toassist libraries damaged by the hurri-canes. Libraries face a significant recoveryprocess. In Louisiana, 107 publiclibraries were initially reported destroyedor damaged with 40 still closed; in Missis-sippi, 34 public libraries were indefinitelyor temporarily closed following the hurri-canes with 8 remaining closed. SOLINETand state library agencies estimate thatapproximately 500 public computerswere lost in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Staffing of temporary facilities whileheavily damaged or destroyed libraries arerebuilt is a significant challenge. The Insti-tute for Museum and Library Servicesgrant will help support initial staffingneeds until additional resources aresecured.

“Together, public and private fundersrecognize the power of public librariesand their staff to strengthen communitiesand support growth and learning,” saidAnne-Imelda Radice, director of the Insti-tute for Museum and Library Services.“There is no more important time to har-ness this capacity than now, in the GulfCoast to help rebuild lives and communi-ties.”

The grant announcement marked thebeginning of a major New Orleans con-ference – the largest since the 2005 hur-ricane season – held by the AmericanLibrary Association (ALA).

During the five-day convening, libraryadvocates from across the country met todiscuss the role of American libraries inthe United States and signal the start oflibrary rebuilding. Several local libraryreconstruction projects were completedby volunteers from across the countrythroughout the week.

“Despite crippling damage, public

libraries in Mississippi and Louisiana andtheir staff provided a lifeline to people dis-placed by the hurricanes, but still, thereare no established sources of state orlocal public funding to support publiclibrary services or rebuilding,” said KateNevins, executive director of SOLINET.“Libraries have proved that they can carrycommunities through a disaster and thenhelp make them vital again; they deserveour support.”

For more information about the Billand Melinda Gates Fund, visit www.gates-foundation.org; for more information onthe Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, visitwww.bushclintonkatrinafund.org; formore information on the Institute ofMuseum and Library Services, visitwww.imls.gov; for more information onSOLINET, visit www.SOLINET.net; formore information on Americans forLibraries, vis i t www.americansforlibraries.org.

ALA and Scholastic Library Pub-lishing Announce 2007 NationalLibrary Week Grant; “ComeTogether @ Your Library” NamedOfficial Theme

Libraries across the United States areinvited to apply for the $5,000 ScholasticLibrary Publishing National Library WeekGrant, which will be awarded to a singlelibrary for the best public awareness cam-paign incorporating the 2007 NationalLibrary Week theme, “Change YourWorld @ your library.”

The grant, in support of libraries, issponsored by Scholastic Library Publish-ing, a division of Scholastic, the globalchildren’s publishing, education andmedia company, and is administered bythe Public Awareness Committee of theAmerican Library Association (ALA). Thisyear’s application deadline is October 16,2006. National Library Week is April 15-21, 2007.

All proposals must use the “Cometogether @ your library” theme, whichincorporates The Campaign for America’sLibraries’ “@ your library” brand, on anyand all promotional and publicity material

supporting National Library Week activi-ties. Guidelines for using the brand areavailable on the campaign Web site atwww.ala.org/@yourlibrary under the“download logos” section.

A grant application form and guide-lines are available on the Campaign forAmerica’s Libraries Web si te atwww.ala.org/@yourlibrary/nlwgrant.Information also is available from the ALAPublic Information Office. Telephone:800-545-2433, ext. 4020. E-mail:[email protected].

The winner wil l be noti f ied andannounced at the 2007 ALA MidwinterMeeting in Seattle. Information on lastyear’s winner, the Maricopa CountyLibrary District in Phoenix, Ariz., and thewinning application can be viewed atwww.ala.org/@yourlibrary/nlwgrant.

Members of the National Library Weeksubcommittee include Dee Yost, chair,Hastings College Perkins Library (Neb.);Elliot L. Appelbaum, Lexington (Ky.)Public Library; Dr. Gordon NewtonBaker, Clayton State University (Ga.);Darlene Basone, school library consul-tant, Ohio; and Lisa Rice, Bowling Green(Ky.) Public Library. For more informa-tion about the Campaign for America’sLibraries, visit the campaign’s Web site atwww.ala.org/@yourlibrary.

Scholastic Library Publishing, a divi-sion of Scholastic, creates a multitude ofproducts, both in print and online, for theschool and public library market underthe imprints of Grolier(R), Children’sPress(R), Franklin Watts(R), and GrolierOnline(R). Scholastic Corporation (NAS-DAQ: SCHL) is the world’s largest pub-lisher and distributor of children’s booksand a leader in educational technology.Scholastic creates quality educational andentertaining materials and products foruse in school and at home, including chil-dren’s books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, televi-sion programming, film, videos and toys.The company distributes its products andservices through a variety of channels,including proprietary school-based bookclubs, school-based book fairs, and


school-based and direct-to-home continu-ity programs; retail stores, schools,libraries and television networks; and thecompany’s Internet s i te,www.scholastic.com.

Librarian Recruitment and Educa-tion Grants

At ALA’s 2006 Annual Conference inNew Orleans, First Lady Laura Bushannounced more than $20 million inlibrarian recruitment and education grantsfrom the federal Institute of Museum andLibrary Services (IMLS).

The announcement came during theFirst Lady’s keynote address at a national

(continued on page 82)


During the Opening Gener-al Session of the 2006 ALAConference in New OrleansMLA President Susan Cas-sagne accepted a check for$50,000 from donationsmade through ALA. Photoby Curtis Compton, ALACognotes.

Immediately following HurricanesKatrina and Rita, staff from the Win-terthur Museum and Country Estate inWinterthur, Delaware, shared theirexpertise in conservation with Mississip-pi institutions that house historical doc-uments, paintings, photographs, andother objects. Today, along with theMississippi Department of Archives andHistory, they are continuing to workwith Mississippians and others fromalong the Gulf Coast by offering educa-tional workshops throughout the state.

After seeing the widespread damageto the state’s libraries, museums, andarchival institutions, staff from the Win-terthur Museum initially responded bysalvaging water-damaged books, pho-

tographs, paintings and objects of manykinds. They also made long-term plansto help the state recover from the dev-astation of the hurricanes by offering aseries of half-day workshops open tothe general public and one-day work-shops for museum, archival and libraryprofessionals and volunteers.

Response to the professional work-shops has been overwhelming, drawingparticipants from across Mississippi andalso from the Gulf coastal areas of Flori-da, Alabama, and Louisiana. The class-es represent a cross-sect ion ofarchivists, museum professionals andcity, county, and academic librarians.

The remaining schedule for the fallprofessional workshops is as follows:September 21, paintings and painted

surfaces; October 12, objects (glass,metal, ceramic, leather, archaeologicalartifacts, etc.); and November 16, furni-ture and wooden objects. These work-shops will be held from 9 a.m. to 4p.m. on the campus of Mississippi GulfCoast Community College in Gulfport.Participants in the professional work-shops are asked to pre-register by call-ing 601-576-6850 or e-mailing EleanaPope at [email protected] interested in the public work-shops should also call or e-mail theabove for the schedule. For additionalinformation visit: http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~cochinea/gulfcoastrecovery/home.html. �

Lois Price shows Elizabeth Joyner of the Vicks-burg National Military Park the best way to savea water damaged book.

Lois Olcott Price, Senior Conservator LibraryCollections, Winterthur Museum discussespaper conservation with Jane Phillips, Head ofPublished Information, Miss. Dept. of Archivesand History.

Karen Pavelka, Senior Lecturer in Preservation,University of Texas, assists Ashley McLendon,Mississippi Armed Forces Museum, and DavidRushing, Sunflower County Library with thehands-on activity during a collection recoveryworkshop.

Winterthur Museum Offers Preservation Classes in Mississippi

Pritchard, John. Junior Ray. Mont-gomery, AL: NewSouth Books, 2005.158pp. $23.95 (hardback).

Junior Ray bursts into Mississippi liter-ature with a vivid sense of place, but notwith an admirable protagonist. Southernauthor Curtis Wilkie writes that JuniorRay Youngblood “makes Flem Snopessound cultured.” Junior Ray, formerdeputy sheriff in the Delta during the late1950s, is a vulgar, spiteful, bloodthirstynarrator. He relates his history and philos-ophy to an academic researcher, whointerviews Junior Ray because the formerdeputy possesses the journals of Deltapoet Leland Shaw.

Thus, thirty years after the events,Junior Ray tells the story that revolvesaround his obsession with killing aristo-crat Leland Shaw, a shell-shocked WorldWar II soldier. Leland returns from thewar looking for his home; he thinks he isstill in Germany and the Nazis are afterhim. After he escapes from his “RestWing” apartment, “which had a big pitch-er-window lookin’ east out across High-way 61…,” Leland hides in his AuntHelena Ferry’s silo.

Meanwhile, Junior Ray and his dim-witted sidekick Voyd Mudd search forLeland. During their search they get lostin the woods, find a German submarine,and encounter the “Boy Sprouts.” Read-ing about these adventures and aboutJunior Ray’s diatribes against women,blacks, planters, and bankers is side-slap-pin’, rib-ticklin’, and belly-laughing fun.And because the readers laugh at JuniorRay, they become more tolerant of thisignorant buffoon.

Despite the fun in reading this book,modest people may be shocked by theexcessive profanity and reviled by the cru-elties that compose the short chapters.However, distinctive in these negatives,

are the realities of the Delta social strataand the effects of changes during thistime. In addition, John Pritchard, in hisfictional debut, proves that he does knowthe Delta. His words drench readers witha sense of place.

Locales like Rosedale, Tutwiler, Shel-by, Clarksdale, Parchman, and MhoonLanding scatter across the landscape.Junior’s drawling pronunciations include“chirren” (children), “sammidges” (sand-wiches), and “Meffis” (Memphis). Imagesof barbecue, chittlins, mosquitoes, turnrows and the levee saturate the novella.Even some characters’ names, SunflowerLeflore and Leland Shaw, are Delta-born.

And it is Leland Shaw who brings sen-sitivity to Junior’s narratives. His mystical,confused poetry counters Junior Ray’sranting. When the two culturally oppositecharacters try to understand the changesoccurring in this tormented region, theheart warms. Leland’s poem says,

“I can see where it used to be,though now, when I lookit appears much like the exoskeleton of a dead cicada.”

Junior says,” Mississippi used to be ableto do whatever it wanted to do, until theUnited States found out about it…”

If readers want to discover what someMississippi Deltans did and thought dur-ing the late 1950s, this bold book maybe a good choice. I recommend JuniorRay for Mississippi Special Collections inlarge public libraries and academic institu-tions that need a diverse cultural repre-sentation.

Diane Moore ElliottLibrarianCleveland High School

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von Herrmann, Denise, editor.Resorting to Casinos: The MississippiGambling Industry. Jackson: UniversityPress of Mississippi, 2006. 182 pp.$45.00 (hardcover).

This book contains nine studies thatexamine the Mississippi gaming industrybefore the onslaught of Hurricane Katri-na. Topics include: an overview of Missis-sippi’s history of gambling; the impact ofgaming on Mississippi politics, racial poli-tics, state economic growth, municipalfinances, and education policy; a surveyof casino shift workers; the relationshipbetween casinos and crime; and thefuture of the casino resort industry in Mis-sissippi. In addition to contributing an arti-cle, the editor authored an introductorysummary, and successfully connected thearticles to the post-Katrina present in aconcluding afterword.

However, more editing is needed. Forexample, page 54 cites author Blevin, buton page 65 the name is Blevins. Page 76refers twice to boldface data in accompa-nying tables, but the tables do not giveany data in boldface. Page 73 refers to anappendix, but no appendix appears. Page78 gives a reference to “Meier 1998,”but no related citation appears in the“sources consulted” section of the article.

More explanation of the relationship ofthe data to the text might have aided gen-eral understanding and appeal for thiswork. For example, page 57 mentionsTable 4.1 showing changes in personalper capita incomes in various counties,but this is difficult to see when Table 4.1shows public assistance amounts. Similar-ly, page 58 discusses unemploymentrates in Table 4.2, but Table 4.2 showspoverty rates. Page 151 refers to Figure9.4 showing population estimates, butFigure 9.4 apparently shows the numberof incidents of various crime types for par-

About Books



ticular years. Any reference to populationlevels is difficult to discern. Page 122refers to “snowball sampling techniques,”but a more direct explanation (perhaps inan endnote) of snowball sampling mighthave been preferable to the easy-to-missimplied definition in the text.

Some discrepancies in facts are evi-dent. Page 23 cites Biloxi’s Isle of Caprias opening on August 1, 1992, whilepage 156 implies that Biloxi’s Isle ofCapri began in March 1992. Page 107misquotes the 1999-2000 casino rev-enue, and a note suggests the revenuedecline in school year 1999-2000 wasdue largely to decrease in travel as aresult of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. How-ever, the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurredon September 11, 2001, more than ayear after the school year 1999-2000.

The above problems aside, this workprovides a much-needed late-20th/early-21st century view of Mississippi’s relianceon the gaming industry for its socio-eco-nomic welfare prior to Katrina. AlthoughHurricane Katrina caused major damageto the gaming industry, books like thisensure that this part of Mississippi’s histo-ry of gambling will not be wiped out. Thesource lists at the end of each of the arti-cles provide an excellent starting point forfuture researchers into this somewhatcontroversial subject. The work containsan index of names and topics, and is rec-ommended for academic and larger pub-lic libraries.

Rick TorgersonCatalogerDelta State University

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Pace, Sherry photographer andauthor. Essay and captions byRichard J. Cawthon. Victorian Housesof Mississippi. Jackson: University Pressof Mississippi, 2005. 183 pp., index.$40.00 (hardback).

Photographer Sherry Pace’s talent foroutdoor photography is highlighted nicelyin her first book, Victorian Houses ofMississippi. Her natural talent lay dor-mant for years until her husband hap-pened to mention the exceptional qualityof the family’s vacation photos. For thepast ten years, with her husband’s con-stant encouragement, photography hasbecome Pace’s major passion. With adigital camera she began the painstakingprocess of learning photography a newway – self-taught editing requiring a highpowered PC.

After two years of exhibits and awards,Pace met with Richard J. Cawthon, chiefarchitectural historian for the MississippiDepartment of Archives and History. Shebrought him a variety of Mississippi archi-tectural examples, from log cabins to bun-galows. He suggested she concentrate onthe under-appreciated Late Victorianstructures found throughout the region.

Pace beautifully chronicles 143 signifi-cant buildings from Cawthon’s 1970s listof Mississippi historical homes found inthe files of the Mississippi Department ofArchives and History. Imagine a thirty-year-old list documenting one hundred-year-old buildings, mostly made of wood,and no one knows their condition. Pace,and her devoted husband, sometimesdrove hours to a site only to find an over-grown lot, the structure having suc-cumbed to fire. On the other hand, theymight find bed and breakfast establish-ments or different stages of renovation.

The 187 color photographs show arange of home conditions. Dilapidatedhomes are excluded, but you will findfaded examples. Pace made a consciouseffort to photograph the homes duringspring and fall seasons, taking great painsto provide color details of the infamouswooden spindles and gingerbread trimassociated with this era. Stil l, somehomes appear in the middle of winter.Although not as aesthetically pleasing,these homes display pristine trim withouttree limb intrusions.

As Pace toured the state, Cawthonbegan to compile his article, “Late Victo-rian Residential Architecture in Mississip-pi.” In six brief pages, Cawthon clears upthe difference between styles like Ital-ianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire,Shingle Style and Queen Anne. Heenhances the reader’s understanding withdetail descriptions and visual exampleslocated within the book.

Although Pace’s goal is “a photo-graphic sampling” and not “an architec-tural digest,” readers will gain a practicalunderstanding of these elaborate stylesand their importance in history. Fragilestate treasures caught by Pace’s profes-sional eye prior to Hurricane Katrina’sforce document three missing Biloxihomes and one irreplaceable Bay St.Louis residence. Homeowners in the areamay find this a valuable tool for recon-struction.

All homes appear alphabetically bylocation in the state, but addresses andowner’s names are omitted for privacy. Areader could basically tour the region byflipping through this coffee-table-size ref-erence, discovering homes as distinctiveto the state as our sweet Southern drawl.

This book is recommended for all publicand academic libraries. This book hasappeal to history buffs, genealogyresearchers, artists, restoration enthusiastsand/or any serious Mississippiana collector.

Maggie MoranPublic Services & Reference LibrarianNorthwest MS Community College �

Book Review Editor’s note:The recently reviewed title RED-GUNK TALES by Bill Eakin hasbecome difficult to acquire. By sug-gestion of the author, those interest-ed in purchasing this title shouldvisi t the fol lowing Web si te:http://www.yarddogpress.com/redgunk.htm.


Sherry Laughlin, Head of Informa-tion Services, and Ann Branton, Headof Bibliographic Services at the Universityof Southern Mississippi, were promotedto the rank of professor.

— ◆ —

Joi Jones Phillips isthe new Assistant Director ofLibrary Services at DeltaState University. She hadbeen a Reference/Instruc-tional Services Librarian atDSU for nearly six years before acceptingthis new position. She is currently thechair of the Mississippi Library Associa-tion’s Continuing Education Committee.Her MLIS degree is from the University ofSouthern Mississippi and she holds a BSin elementary education from MississippiValley State University.

— ◆ —

Melissa R. Dennis isthe new Reference/Instruct ional ServicesLibrarian and AssistantProfessor of Library Ser-vices at Delta State Univer-sity. Prior to accepting thisposition, she worked fulltime as Circulation Manager at BelhavenCollege while attaining her MLIS from theUniversity of Southern Mississippi. Shealso holds a BA in English from the Uni-versity of Mississippi.

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Sunflower County Libraries has addedtwo new full-time staffers this summer.David Rushing of Indianola has beennamed Adult Reference Specialist andPublic Information Officer for the system.Rushing, a veteran journalist, also is incharge of upgrading and maintaining thelibraries’ local history collection. VickieLewis, also of Indianola, who has servedas a part-time Public Service Assistant formore than seven years, now is a full-timestaffer in that same position with addition-al duties in circulation.

Two staff members, Eve-lyn Necaise and GwenTaggart , were honoredwith a reception on the occa-sion of their retirement fromthe Hancock County LibrarySystem, effective June 30,2006. Necaise had seven-teen years of service with thelibrary system and served asa customer service assistant,the Waveland Branch Man-ager and a Technical Ser-vices Assistant. Taggart, whoserved ten years, was theAdministrative Assistant.

— ◆ —

Brooke Roberts is the recipient ofthe 2006 Peggy May Scholarship award-ed annually by the Mississippi LibraryAssociation. Roberts is pursuing a dual

master’s degree program inthe School of Library andInformation Science and theDepartment of Anthropologyat the University of SouthernMississippi. Roberts writes,“I chose to pursue a degreein l ibrary and information sciencesbecause, coupled with my background incultural anthropology, I felt I could con-tribute meaningfully to diverse popula-tions and communities in search of accessto information.”

She is cited by supporters as possess-ing maturity and p

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