Do You Have a Library Disaster Story?

This request came from Lisl Zach and Michelynn McKnight of the Louisiana State U. School of Library Science by way of the METRO-L listserv a short while ago:

As
part of a research project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we are
collecting first-hand accounts of information professionals’ responses to a
range of community-wide disasters such as the recent Pacific
Northwest ice storms and the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.

These
experiences will be used to develop case-based guidance material to help
prepare information professionals to face similar events in the future.

If
you, or somebody you know, have had an experience responding to a disaster, we
hope that you will take a few minutes to complete our brief online survey. We are particularly interested in hearing how
information professionals have met the needs of their users at a time of crisis
by providing new or customized services. These services could include extending library hours, providing Internet
access to displaced persons, developing outreach services for people in
shelters, or any other library responses to suddenly   changed
information needs. This research effort
goes well beyond the traditional focus of disaster planning-that is, the preservation
of the physical plant, collections, and staff-and concentrates on the potential
role of information professionals as important "first responders"
during community-wide disasters.

The
survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. The results of the survey will enhance our
understanding of the types of disasters in which information professionals have
been involved as well as the ways in which they have responded. Please pass
this survey on to anybody you think might be interested.

You can take the survey online here, and more information regarding the project can be found here. There’s also a letter of consent, which I’ve put behind the link.

Please
note: Following this message you will find a copy of our university’s Informed Consent
Form for participation in survey research. Responding to the survey will be taken as a sign of consent.

 Informed
Consent Form

 Project
Title

 Investigating
library and information services during community-based disasters: preparing information professionals to plan
for the worst.

 Statement
of Age

I
state that I am over 18 years of age and wish to participate in a program of
research being conducted by Drs. Lisl Zach and Michelynn McKnight of the School of Libraryand Information Science, Louisiana State University, Baton
  Rouge, LA70803.

Purpose

The
purpose of the research is to identify and document how information professionals
have responded to the needs of users in the aftermath of community-based
disasters such as the 2005 Gulf coast hurricanes.

Procedures

Data
on individual experiences will be collected using an on-line survey; results of
the survey will be used to identify a group of participants for in-depth
follow-up interviews.

Confidentiality

Non-publicly
available data collected in the survey will be kept confidential, and my name
will not be associated with any specific results or findings. The data I provide will be grouped with data
others provide for reporting and presentation.

Risks

I
understand that there are no physical risks involved with this study. The researchers will not discuss individual
responses to the survey with colleagues in my organization or in other
organizations.

Benefits

I
understand that the study is not designed to help me or my organization specifically,
but that the researchers hope to develop a framework that will be useful to
information service providers in the event of a similar crisis.

Questions

I
understand that I am free to refrain from answering questions posed to me
during the survey.