Volunteer Stories
From ALA2006
Sample Press Release for Volunteers ..|.. Legislative Action for Affected Libraries
Please share your experience, below, of volunteering during the Libraries Build Communities days during Annual Conference 2006 in New Orleans.
Feel free to email your story to John Chrastka at ALA, jchrastka@ala.org. He is collecting stories for use in marketing the value of libraries and the impact that library staff have in their communities.
So, what did you do?
Some Photos on Flickr
Search the tags ala2006 and volunteer.
Search the tag commongroundala.
One set taken Friday June 23 at Southern University New Orleans
Gutting houses with Common Ground
From Christopher Dunham with Helping Hands (on KodakGallery share site)
Links to Stories
A video from the New Orleans CVB about us the conference. The volunteers are mentioned. mms://65.56.1.67/stream3/cvb/alavideo.wmv (Note: this will open a Windows Media Player automatically)
Librarians Rolling up Sleeves to Mop, Clean, Gut
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5060939
Binding Wounds
For N.O. libraries, recovery comes one book at a time after Katrina ripped the system to shreds
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/library-105/1151130595226690.xml?ZZLIBB&coll=1
Welcoming New Orleans Boosted by ALA Conference
http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6346996.html
And the Librarians Shall Lead Them
Big convention brings a tourist-starved city back to life
http://www.nola.com/entertainment/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-6/115138795910710.xml&coll=1
School librarian helped rebuild at annual gathering
http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060705/WRT10/607050314&SearchID=73249832835321
My trip to New Orleans Blog
http://terriinno.blogspot.com
A Diamond in the Rough: Cleaning up New Orleans Public Library's Nora Navra branch
http://songinmyfingers.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_songinmyfingers_archive.html
New Orleans from a San Diegan's View
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/letters/20060711-9999-lz1e11lets.html
Library Dean Helps Out in New Orleans
Transcribed from the Kennebec Journal (Augusta, ME) - Sunday, July 16. 2006
In troubling times, New Orleans-area libraries shine like a beacon
and New Orleans Welcomes ALA Conference
Transcribed from dailyherald.com by Sarah Ann Long, July 12 and 17, 2006
Librarians lend support in New Orleans
Four area professionals help rebuild devastated school's library.
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/librarians0720.html
(NB: The school name was misreported in the article. It should read "Our Lady of PROMPT Succor".)
Librarian helps in New Orleans
http://www.limaohio.com/story.php?IDnum=27900
Librarians Connect Lives
From the Rocky Mountain News
http://denver.yourhub.com/Story.aspx?contentid=106786
GCC librarian aids hurricane relief effort
Ironwood Daily Globe (MI)
http://www.ironwooddailyglobe.com/0816libr.htm
Our Stories
Here's what I wrote to decompress when I returned to my hotel Friday evening: I’ve just had one of the most incredible experiences of my life and 37-year library career. I joined hundreds of other librarians, vendors, trustees, and friends to volunteer at the “Libraries Build Community” day to help New Orleans libraries and residents. Our team of 14 librarians completely gutted a house in Pontchartrain Park in about 6 hours. Our “straw boss” was Veronica, a talented 19 year old student from Notre Dame University who is volunteering her summer with Catholic Charities without credit or pay. The stench in the house when we arrived was putrid, so much so that some of our group could not enter. We hauled out a mountain of contents, sorting them into trash, hazardous, foodstuffs, electronics, etc. The bottom layer was still sodden. We ran out rats and mice. Termites had infested parts of the structure, but perished in the flood. We tore out drywall, ceilings and floor coverings, pulled nails and swept the interior clean. Librarians Rock! Our NexGen is an awesome group! When I saw how hard they worked to prepare one house for re-habitation in a sea of abandoned structures, I realized that our libraries are not only in good hands, but will far exceed our generation’s efforts. Thanks ALA staffers for arranging this opportunity. You have helped us leave a lasting mark in Nawlins.
Working at Resurrection of Our Lord's Summer Camp
My daughter (who is an elementary school teacher in Chicago) and I volunteered at Resurrection School, along with 4 others. The bus ride from the convention center through the 9th Ward devastation was truly emotional. Nothing you see on television compares to the reality you see with your own eyes. The blocks and blocks of uninhabitable, boarded-up houses and small businesses, each marked with a large red X was chilling. When we arrived at the school, many of the neighborhood houses were also boarded-up, some with FEMA trailers on the front lawn and porta-toilets down on the corner. It was a stark contrast to the shining white statue of our Lord in resurrection pose, which was out in front of the church, the school just behind.
We were determined, however, that this was going to be a good day-- and it was. Using the talents and supplies we had in hand, we facilitated art projects, read short stories and fables, played games, sang songs, danced and just played and talked to these beautiful young children, who ranged in age from 4 to 12. We gave counselors a break as we supervised lunch periods and each class as they came to our designated areas throughout the day for the activities we planned for them. The church was being used as a play area to escape the 90+ degree heat. It had been gutted to the concrete floor, the altar and large crucifix salvaged, as well at the Stations of the Cross, which still hung on the now exposed beams. It was quite surreal as in the corner of this sparse area was a large inflatable moon bounce, which the children took turns bouncing around in. I hope the gracious donor gets daily joy in the smiles that they have provided with each giddy bounce. We will never forget that day and the wonderful children, counselors and teachers that we met. We have been changed. We are also hopeful as we watched the remodelling of the school, which is scheduled to reopen in Fall. As I write this, I am gazing at the paper spinner that Brandon, grade 4 made for me. I promised him that I would put it on my desk as soon as I returned to work. I think I will give it a spin. -- MARY K.
Working at Ben Franklin High School
My attendance at ALA was special this year. I was a bit leery when I heard ALA decided to keep the conference scheduled for New Orleans. After having been down to clean out my mom's flooded house in October, I was skeptical of how well this would all work. But when ALA announced two service work days sandwiching conference activities, I knew I had to go. I signed up, and managed to get assigned to work at my old high school library, Benjamin Franklin Senior High. It was a great day of hard work and lots of sweat, but one of the most enriching experiences I can imagine. It was so meaningful to give back to a place that ws so important in my own growth and development. The library was operating out of a second floor hallway after having been flooded out of its first floor home during the hurricane. We had the pleasure of moving books to go back to the restored area, and processing new items to replace the thousands of volumes lost.
The conference went well and I think New Orleans showed it is coming back and is able to handle large conferences again. I'm proud of ALA's decision, and the many inventive ways it devised to provide my old hometown a much-needed shot in the arm.
Here are some pictures of the Friday work crew there --Karen D.
My mother and I were part of the Ben Franklin group on Tuesday. My mother is also a Franklin alum. She's not a librarian, but when she heard that I'd signed up as an ALA volunteer, she asked if she could come, too. We became part of a well-oiled donated-book processing machine at a table in the 2nd floor art room. On Friday I was down the road a mile or so, meeting a truck full of 17 boxes of donated books that Charley Seavey drove down from Missouri to Southern University-New Orleans. The Black Caucus of the ALA had about 10 volunteers there doing acquisitions and cataloging there. I got a chance to try and talk a teenager (daughter of a volunteer or a SUNO employee, not sure which) into becoming a librarian. I had to disabuse her of the notion that "it's easy and you sit around reading books all day," and explain that since she "likes messing around on a computer," and doing different things every day, she'd probably enjoy being a librarian.
--Rachel B
Working at Common Ground
As an ALA Councilor I felt a special obligation to participate in the service projects, and jumped at the chance to work with Common Ground, which has earned high praise as being unusually responsive to people's actual needs (as opposed to bureaucratic requirements). Unfortunately, when we got there, the Common Ground coordinators said that they hadn't gotten final confirmation that we were coming, so it took a couple of hours to set up the projects and assign the volunteers to appropriate sites. Once we got going, though, our folks showed what determined and committed volunteers can accomplish in just a few hours' time. We had to get fitted with safety equipment: tyvek suits, respirators, goggles, gloves and boots, to protect us from the carcinogenic plaster dust and the toxic mold spores. This set us up to stew in our own juices as temperatures soared, but taking frequent breaks to guzzle down sports drinks helped a lot. We tore down plaster walls and shoveled debris outside for eventual pickup, then went back to Common Ground headquarters to decontaminate our equipment. We accomplished a little, but the CG volunteers were quite grateful for it and invited us to return. They said that most people acclimatize to the heat and humidity in a couple of days, and are then able to work for extended periods. They certainly seemed to have a low-key but palpable esprit de corps comparable to that exhibited by a public service unit in a library. I would recommend the experience to anyone wanting to serve others. Cheerio! Jonathan
Jeferson Parish Regional Library - East Bank
Jeferson Parish Regional Library - East Bank
As part of the Libraries Build Communities program sponsored by ALA and numerous vendors, I went into Jefferson Parish with 20 other ALA attendees. We started off from the Morial convention Center, we were then bussed out to all the libraries, community organizations, schools and colleges that asked for volunteers.
While waiting at the convention center we all received cool T-shirts to wear during the day, identifying as volunteers to our hosts as well as to each other. In the waiting area I ran into the Prism Scholars from the University of Rhode Island GSLIS, accompanied by faculty members Mike Havener and Naomi Campbell. Cheryl Abdoullah Maraj (a public library director in Tiverton, RI) was joining them in their volunteer assignment in the Algiers district.
My assignment brought me to the Jefferson Parish Public Library, East Bank Regional Library. It’s a very large public library with 15 branches. The first thing we noticed is the bare floors where there was once carpeting. Although the building received minimal flood damage, the carpet had to be removed. The wind damage showed itself in some boarded up sections.
Two of us helped on a small special collections project. At the end, when I was thanked, the Head of Technical Services told us that we (myself and a colleague from Boston College) worked on something the staff rarely have time to do. So I’ll just feel good about helping out - even if it wasn’t monumental. Others in my section read shelves, prepared reading lists, and worked the circ and reference desks. Ten members of the group worked in the book sale which was more successful than the library imagined it would be.
While in the library, I met a staff member from … where else, Rhode Island. Teresa moved from RI to New Orleans to be near a family member. Her New Orleans home was ravaged by the hurricanes. She had four feet of water in the house. She and her boyfriend are rebuilding, but it will be three more months before she can move home. Her neighborhood is full of “for sale” signs. Unoccupied houses in her neighborhood are being robbed of their appointments and structural elements.
During a break, my BC colleague and I talked with the Head of Library PR and Adult programming. I asked if programming changed after the hurricanes. Yes, it had. There was a recent program on how to correctly use a chain saw. It was packed. Before Katrina there would not have been a program on using tools. But after multiple chain saw injuries and a cahin saw injury related death, progams like it are now an urgent need. Jefferson Parish residents no longer have as much free funds to pay to go to cultural events, so attendance at the library’s programs have increased. A local woman, sitting near us, nodded. She is moving north of Houston next month because her husband’s job was impacted by the hurricanes.
You can read more about the Jefferson Parish Library system and the damage it sustained from hurricanes Katrina and Rita at http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/katrina/katrina.htm and http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us/katrina/katrina.htm#donations .
On the drive to Jefferson Parish, we saw patches of Katrina/Rita destruction from the highways. However, on the return trip, one of our crew asked the bus driver to take us through some of the neighborhood areas that were seriously affected. The people of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish continue to suffer. It’s far from over. We saw many abandoned properties. We saw the letters written by authories on doors with spray paint. One door had "NO DOG" sprayed on it. Many properties now have FEMA supplied trailers on the lot. Families live in the trailers on their destroyed properties. I saw a few people sitting on the porches of their homes, but obviously not using the house - which is clearly uninhabitable. I saw expressions of great sadness as residents watched the big bus pass by.
Let’s hope ALA New Orleans 2006 spurs the economy here a little. Let’s continue to keep New Orleans in our good will long after the ALA conference is over. -Donna DiMichele
Working at East Bank Regional Branch
I participated as one of 15 volunteers on Friday, June 23, in a project at the East Bank Regional Branch of the Jefferson Parish Libraries in Metarie, where damage from the flooding was still evident throughout the building. Our work consisted of setting up tables, sorting and putting out books, restocking the tables and cashiering for a book sale to raise funds for rebuilding the library. The Friends of the Library, sponsors of the sale, and the library staff all greeted us and thanked us warmly and repeatedly made us feel at home. The response to our being there was very gratifying; it was poignant and uplifting for everyone. On the bus trip from the Morial Convention Center to the library in the morning and back in the afternoon we saw ruined houses and buildings, piles of debris, and junked cars, reminders of the lasting effects of Katrina and of the hopes as yet unfulfilled of rebuilding the community.
Bill Turner Chapter Councilor District of Columbia Library Association
Working at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Elementary School
I had elected not to take the Katrina Tour mentioned by my Bed and Breakfast host. It seemed like it would be too much like gawking. Besides I had library meetings to attend. But on our bumpy ride to our destinations (three groups shared a school bus), we couldn’t help but view the neighborhoods not visible from the downtown hotels or the French Quarter. We passed by vacant stores, vacant houses, vacant neighborhoods. Here and there were folks patching roofs or dragging more rubble out of businesses, but the homes seemed either vacant or quietly waiting. Signs on corners read, “Gutting jobs from $1,500.” I was immediately touched by signs spray painted on homes: “TFW--1 cat;” “TFW--4 dogs;” “help, help!” “Bulldoze here;” and “Stay Out!” T FW stood for toxic flood water. Most of the stores still had not reopened. I only saw one—Walgreen’s. Rubble from buildings and interior materials were lying in front of just about every home and business. The trash appeared to have been waiting for pick up for awhile. I kept seeing “0 people dead” signs—indicating that no bodies had been found at that house. On our return trip, I saw a sign that did list 9 people.
We dropped off the first group of volunteers at the Holy Cross High School. They carried off their water bottles and boxed lunches and like all volunteers--wearing their bright yellow t-shirts “Libraries Build Communities,” they hurried to meet their host/leaders. We traveled further through more neighborhoods. Someone pointed out a tree that had bisected a house. Some homes had trailers next to them. We stopped in front of Fats Domino’s house. It too was awaiting work. A sign in front pled, “Please do not bulldoze.”
Upon reaching our school and debarking with our water, lunches and the donation of processing materials from the Demco Company, we met Sharon Coll, the new principal, a delightfully sparkling person who immediately made us feel so welcome. I expected that we would be shown our jobs immediately, but she gave us a tour of the school that pre Katrina had enrolled over 600 pupils. After Katrina, only a fraction of the enrollment returned. I believe Sharon said they started back with 24 students. The library lost all of their books and furniture. She showed us one of the policy handbooks, with pages stuck together and black mold emitting an aura that only hinted at the horrific job of cleanup around their campus. She told us that none of the Mary monuments had any mold or needed cleaning. This was only one of the many miracles she showed us. The water averaged only about 3 to 4 feet most places around the school, but in the initial surge, it had removed a brick wall from the foundation and totally demolished the living quarters of the nuns. Even though all rooms we passed seemed to be mould free, the cafeteria needed some more cleaning because the mould was returning on one of the door frames. However, I don’t know how to describe the aura that Sharon demonstrated. She knew that all would be well, and she knew that a lot of the work was still ahead. There were constant examples of upbeat faith from our host. Her conversation included no hint of bitterness about what should have been done by city or federal government.
Finally around 10:30 we arrived at the library, a former classroom housing a few computers set up for inserting circulation information, cataloging, and producing labels. I had signed up for typing circulation information in, but when asked who would catalog, only one other librarian and I seemed to be willing. Others took equally important tasks. With a little bit of training on cataloging with the Follett plan, Paula and I set out to do the job. I had to laugh, because in my university library, I am the last one they want to catalog books. But we kept hearing, “Please just do the best you can. It’s okay. Whatever you can do, will be great.” We met the new librarian who assured us that she had made so many decisions, that she welcomed our input on where the call numbers and date due slips should be placed. We learned quickly, that she meant what she said. She was fatigued by the new job, and perhaps by all of us asking her questions at once. I asked our host what had happened to the former librarian and learned that she had drowned in the flood. Sharon had lost everything in her home—covered by 12 feet of water.
The team of us worked well together and as quickly as possible. Throughout the day the Sharon looked in on us and cheered us on. Someone kept photographing us making us feel like celebrities. I was lucky because Paula knew some cataloging, and she was glad that I could type. We were a buzz of activity until they ordered us to stop for lunch. Paula and I were beginning to find our pace and to feel somewhat useful. We discovered that none of the books were easy to catalog. Sometimes it was just the ISBN number that didn’t match. Other times there was just no record at all, so we gave it our best original cataloging. Some of the donations were of the quality you might find available at a grocery store. They weren’t your Newbery or Caldecott Award books.
What did we accomplish? I wish I could say that we finished cataloging and processing all of the books. But we made a small dent in the cataloging, barcoding, labeling and book due slip placement. Suddenly it was 3:30 p.m. and we had to meet our bus. I wanted to stay longer. We were just getting started, it seemed.
On our way back the three teams talked about our day. One thing I vowed was to bring this story to my women’s organization so that we could send a collection of construction paper, scissors, pencils, crayons, and supplies that you would expect any elementary school to have. There are no open stores close to the school, so that school materials are limited.
At the end of the bus ride home, I exited the bus thinking about Sharon’s story about the miracle of the statue of Mary in the Chapel not having any flood water touch her feet. I thought of another miracle that happened to us that day — we left the air-conditioned busses, the recarpeted Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the luxury hotel lounges and the jazz cafes for awhile. We learned that hope, not mould is contagious. We came to give help. We left with so much more.
- Jill Althage
Working at Habitat for Humanity
When the American Library Association announced that its annual conference would be in New Orleans, and that there would be opportunities to do volunteer work, I jumped at the chance to go. After all those awful months of seeing my hometown destroyed and its people scattered, I finally had a chance to do something about it, to give something back for all that New Orleans had given me.
The ALA was doing the city a favor by not canceling its long-planned conference, and Orleanians were pathetically grateful for the business. As it turned out, only 17,000 of the projected 20,000 librarians showed up, with some scared away by fears of hurricanes or crime. But it was still the first major convention in New Orleans since Katrina, and the city was anxious to prove it could provide the same level of hospitality for its vital tourist industry. To the credit of librarians, the ALA enrolled over 900 people in volunteer projects ranging from library repair to gutting buildings and constructing new houses. Less laudably, the ALA invited Laura Bush to speak. Since she was the biggest name, the local TV coverage gave her the credit for volunteer projects she had nothing to do with.
The tourist and wealthy residential areas of New Orleans, the riverfront, French Quarter, and the Garden District, largely escaped the wrath of the storm. If you confined yourself to the conference, you would have thought the city little changed from before Katrina. If you ventured beyond those confines, however, you saw block after block of trash and rubble piled on curbs, people living in FEMA trailers, and houses in various stages of repair or abandonment. The extent of the damage is mind-boggling: in some areas, whole blocks were empty of any sign of life. At this point the survival of the city is still touch-and-go. The tourist areas will still be there, but what will happen to the neighborhoods where real Orleanians live?
To Orleanians, the dispensation of FEMA trailers seems entirely arbitrary. Many people who are eligible have never gotten them, and of those who have, many got the trailer without the key to get into it, or the trailer without gas and electricity. It can take a week to get a dumpster, and there is a shortage of doors and windows. (The troops kicked doors in to evacuate people. One cousin of mine had to get her daughter in Mississippi to drive a door to her.)
On the first day of volunteering I worked with Habitat for Humanity on a housing project called “Musicians’ Village,” so called because it is designed to lure local musicians back to the city’s devastated Ninth Ward. Some of them played for us, a heady blend of local blues and jazz, on our lunch break. The roof where I was working got so hot that I had to abandon it in the afternoon, an experience that gave me a whole new appreciation of the people who waited days on their roofs to be evacuated.
My second day of volunteer work was organized by the ALA’s Office for Diversity. We gutted a flood-damaged library branch in a section of New Orleans originally settled by “free people of color.” It was the dirtiest work I have ever done in my life, requiring protective suits, face masks and gloves in spite of the crushing heat and airless, tomb-like atmosphere of the closed branch. The standing water had been 3-4 feet high in the branch, and everything below that level was rotted through, full of mold and insects. In some cases the books had fused to the shelves and left their covers stuck there when we ripped them out. We filled a dumpster with contaminated waste and had to pile the rest of the debris on the curb for lack of another container. After every few trips inside we had to stop outside for gulps of air and a few breezy moments without the suit.
I went to sessions at the ALA convention, and I can show you my notes and tell you what they said. I learned a few useful things, but the whole sleek, air-conditioned world of the convention center seemed unreal to me compared to the volunteer work. For me the ALA convention was about New Orleans, my people, my hometown, and about the thousands of natives and volunteers who refuse to abandon it despite massive government failure to protect its people.
--Karen Guma, librarian, Petaluma Branch Sonoma County Public Library, California
From Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS
(also published as the Director's Message in Primary Source, Vol. 8, No. 7; July/August 2006 http://www.imls.gov/e-primarysource.htm)
Last month I had the rewarding experience of attending the American Library Association’s annual conference in New Orleans (see http://www.imls.gov/news/2006/062106.shtm). The conference was a great success, and I was grateful for the opportunity to see the progress being made in the Gulf Coast, particularly by the libraries there. I was particularly moved by the outpouring of support from volunteers.
The ALA conference was terrific and a real opportunity to shine a light on the work of libraries in good times and bad. At a press conference with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund I announced that IMLS will devote $1 million to supporting employees and interns at temporary library facilities. I also had the privilege of appearing with First Lady Laura Bush at a forum she held on school libraries, at which she announced the nearly $21 million in Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grants we awarded last month.
But what I will remember most from the conference was the opportunity I had to join hundreds of volunteers who worked on community projects and library rebuilding efforts in the area. I was honored to play a small role in the “extreme makeover” of the New Orleans Public Library’s Children’s Resource Center. In just five days, the 1,600-square-foot library was completely refurnished, greatly improving its value to the New Orleans community.
It was heartwarming to see so many people donating their time and effort to helping libraries in their time of need.
Anne-Imelda M. Radice
Director, IMLS
A Letter to the Editor
To the Editor of the Lima (OH) News -- A PLEA FOR NEW ORLEANS
I recently returned from the American Library Association Convention in New Orleans. ALA told us the city was ready for us. We had nothing to fear. What they didn’t warn us about was that the sights we would see would fill our heads, hearts, and souls, and for this person change her life.
The ALA was the first large group to hold a convention in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. I heard the librarians called pioneers. The New York Times published an article, we were on CNN. Laura Bush and Anderson Cooper were among the speakers. We were thanked over and over by the citizens for coming. It was the best convention I have ever attended
I spent time among volunteers —“Librarians Working to Build Communities” -- boxing books in a school library. It was the hottest, hardest work I have done in years, but also the most rewarding. I took a hurricane tour which is given in the hopes that people will see what I saw and do what I am doing – let people know how desperately New Orleans still needs our help.
I can’t tell you in 300 words or less all I have to say. All I can do is ask you not to give up on New Orleans. They need our help. Almost a year later it is still a place of utter devastation. I heard it compared to a third world country -- this in the USA. Americans give and then tend to forget. We can’t let this happen. We send millions to foreign aid, perhaps for awhile we need to concentrate on our own shores. Please, if you can, open your hearts and your pocket books and send another donation to New Orleans. Help to rebuild this wonderful city.
--Georgena Nanson, Director, University of Northwestern Ohio Library
Writing Congress about New Orleans
A letter, with response, to Jerry Costello, Illinois 12th district
Recently I had the opportunity to visit New Orleans. During my visit, I must say that I was completely under whelmed by the recovery effort.
While the downtown area of the city proper seems to be recovering, the surroundin gparishes still appear to be overwhelmed by the devastation as a result of the flooding. I was able to experience firsthand the 9th Ward and two other areas (one middle class, and one quite affluent). None of these areas truly have electricity or sewer access, and there really are very few places for people to live.
I have reported back to my family and friends how deeply dismayed I am by the inability of the United States to recover the New Orleans area. I further expressed to them how my visit to New Orleans will impact my political views and choices for the rest of my life. I asked them to consider this in their future political decisions as well.
It truly saddens me to my core for this travesty to continue. It is my hope that you, Representative Costello, might find the time to visit the area yourself and realize the shame of the United States in allowing this to continue; and therefore somehow find a way to help rectify the situation.
Ms. Athena (Tina) J. Hubert Pontoon Beach, Il.
Poerty
This is a piece I wrote after my trip to New Orleans
Librarians Build Community
hello by hello
nod by nod
handshake by handshake
penny by penny
book by book
smile by smile
brick by brick
flower by flower
story by story
tear by tear
hug by hug
librarian by librarian
- Lucy Rose Johns
Notes from New Orleans Citizens to ALA about Annual
Received 7/10/06
Ladies and Gentelmen,
Thank you *so much* for having your convention in New Orleans. What a vote of confidence for us plus a cataylys for others to do the same! We hope that your visit was enjoyable and delicious and convenient We *loved* having you and hope that you will come again sooon, and often.
Gratefully,
Pierce Johnson New Orleans, LA.
Received 7/6/06
ALA:
I sincerely hope that you and your membership have gotten this by now, but as a resident of New Orleans, I want to pass along my thanks to your organization for holding your annual conference/convention here this year.
You boosted the morale and the hopes of our convention and tourism people, as well as the many private citizens who hope that this city will recover.
As I understand it, many of you did wonderful works for our neglected libraries while you were here, and for that, I thank you. I also understand that many of you were somewhat shocked by the state of affairs here, the state of ruin we are still in.
I hope that many of you will testify to others about this. You may have heard us "complaining", asking for help over and over. I hope now, thorough your members, word will get out why we still do this. You can pass along the fact that we are trying. Many of us work at day, work on houses at night, on weekends, in any spare time, trying to return to a sense of normalcy. We are a long way off still.
Thank you for the boost we needed. Thank you for your vote of confidence in our great city.
Amy King New Orleans, LA
Received 7/5/06
Good Evening,
My husband and I live in New Orleans; I work for a local nonprofit and he teaches at Loyola University. I wanted to thank you for bringing your convention to NOLA and for the extensive contributions of time and much needed funds to our devastated libraries and community. We are appreciative of your efforts on our behalf and hope that your members will tell their families and friends what is really happening in NOLA. The national press seems more interested in stories with splash, rather than the reality of life post-Katrina, and more importantly post-levee failure. Please know that your association's contributions mean a great deal to those of us rebuilding our beautiful city.
Daina Farthing
Received 6/22/06
Thank you for your support of New Orleans by choosing to proceed with your conference here this weekend. Don't think that New Orleans and New Orleanians weren't aware of your concerns and the challenges that you faced in deciding to come here; we appreciate your help.
Hope you have/had a great time, great food, great music and a successful conference.
-Hirsh Katzen
