Gulf Coast Libraries
June 22, 2006
Remarks by Allan Golston, president, United States Program
Thank you, Leslie, for that generous introduction. I’d like to congratulate you on the week you have planned for the American Library Association Annual Conference and for ALA’s commitment to host its national conference in New Orleans. It is the first major conference being hosted by the city since last summer’s hurricanes. We are all excited to be here in Louisiana.
And, thank you, Jefferson Parish Library, for hosting us today. On behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, I congratulate Jefferson Parish for its commitment to connecting all citizens with information and knowledge. I would especially like to acknowledge Lon Dickerson, director of the Jefferson Parish Library, and his staff. Today, seven of the 15 buildings in the system are closed because of hurricane damage, and I know everyone is working tirelessly to reestablish services.
Our goal here today is to remember the important role public libraries play in our communities. I’m pleased to be joined by a wonderful panel of speakers who join me in celebrating public libraries:
- Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
- Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu
- Anne Radice, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services
- Robert Lipscomb, director of the Harrison County Library System in Mississippi
- Lisa Conescu, a patron of the Jefferson Parish Library
- Kate Nevins, executive director of the Southeastern Library Network
Thank you for joining us today.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. Our work and investments are guided by the belief that every life has equal value.
Our foundation has its roots in U.S. libraries. In 1997, Bill and Melinda set a bold goal for the program: “If you can get to a library, you can get to the Internet.” The foundation worked with partners to install computers in the public libraries of every community where the need existed. Today, 99 percent of all public libraries offer their patrons free access to computers and the Internet.
In the United States, our public libraries have a rich history of opening the door to equity, opportunity, and hope. Libraries provide a haven for people to read, to understand their world, and to make their way in it, whether through books or technology. This role was never more important than when after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, public libraries served as safe shelters and provided critical resources when other social and civil services were unable to support local and evacuated residents.
During the aftermath of the hurricanes, many libraries often provided the only Internet access, the only lifeline.
Thousands of people used library computers to find lost loved ones, download and complete FEMA applications, complete insurance forms, and find housing and employment. Imagine being uprooted from your home, separated from your family, without a car, a phone or a job, and despite these hardships, you could still go to a public library to get information online with the help of a trained librarian.
When Katrina hit, more than 1,000 people moved into an emergency shelter across the street from the Terrebone Parish Library in Louisiana. They flocked to the library to use the computers, many of them for the first time in their lives. Librarians described their roles as both “social workers” and “ministers.” Then, Hurricane Rita hit Terrebonne Parish hard. One-third of library employees lost their homes, and two branch libraries were destroyed. But the staff buckled down again, helping their neighbors get back on their feet.
In Hancock County, Mississippi, the main library became the clearinghouse for the distribution of the Disaster Food Stamps ordered by Governor Haley Barbour. During a one-week period, more than five thousand people passed through the library to get a food stamp card.
When Jefferson Parish was finally able to open three branches in October 2005, it issued special Katrina library cards so everyone—including relief and construction workers—could take advantage of library services.
Just as in Jefferson Parish, many public libraries along the U.S. Gulf Coast were damaged or destroyed completely. In Louisiana, 107 public libraries were initially reported destroyed or damaged; 40 remain closed. In Mississippi, 34 public libraries were indefinitely or temporarily closed following the hurricanes; today, eight remain closed.
As people begin to rebuild their lives and communities, the need for public libraries and public access to computers and technology will increase. We want to help ensure that public libraries are open for service in the Gulf Coast.
Today, the foundation is announcing $12.2 million dollars in grants to help libraries provide temporary computer and book services and help them plan for rebuilding. The grants will specifically:
- Address immediate needs by establishing temporary library facilities and providing traveling book and tech mobiles in areas where library services are limited;
- Support intermediate needs for planning to rebuild libraries in affected communities by providing planning grants, technical assistance, and workshops; and
- Provide for long-term needs by replacing all public access computers in rebuilt public libraries.
We are proud to work with key partners to implement this investment. Our grantee is the Southeastern Library Network, a regional library network that serves the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. SOLINET will work in partnership with the State Library of Louisiana and the Mississippi Library Commission. I would like to acknowledge Kate Nevins, director of SOLINET, as well as Louisiana state librarian Rebecca Hamilton and Mississippi state librarian Sharman Smith. I would also like to thank our outstanding advisory committee—including Leslie Burger of the American Library Association—for their expert counsel in the development of this grant.
I am extremely pleased that the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund has joined this effort and today is committing $5 million to help support the construction of public libraries.
And our valuable partner, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is providing federal funding to assist the Louisiana and Mississippi library systems in staffing temporary library facilities.
Together we recognize the power that public libraries have to strengthen communities.
The investments announced today are significant, but they are not enough. Libraries in the Gulf Coast will need much more support to rebuild operations and meet community demand. We hope our investment is a catalyst for more comprehensive support from government and other private sources.
People affected by the Gulf Coast hurricanes continue to face enormous challenges. Many are struggling to find a job or a home, to connect with families, or to get insurance and FEMA reimbursements. If people don’t have access to libraries and, more specifically to computers and the Internet, they are cut off from their future. We are optimistic that through knowledge, energy, and investment, we can help solve some of these tough problems and help people across the Gulf Coast rebuild their lives and communities.
I am now pleased to introduce our next speaker, the Honorable Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. Louisiana has a strong tradition of supporting public libraries, and especially computer services in public libraries. We appreciate this commitment and are honored to have you here today. Thank you, Lieutenant Governor Landreiu.
Closing Remarks
Thank you, everyone, for joining us here today, and for your continued support of public libraries and access to information for all people. I would like to close with a quote from Loretta Gharst, a librarian in Lake Charles, who described the people visiting the library after the hurricanes:
“They were like us,” she said. … “Black, white, Asian, Hispanic; some well off, some not. They were concerned about their families, their homes and their futures. They came to the library to get information because they couldn’t get it anywhere else. They wanted to know about finding employment, housing, and registering children for school. But most of all they wanted to go home and start pulling their lives and businesses back together.”
We believe public libraries are critical for making this happen. Thank you.