The 2004 and 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes: Evolving Roles and Lessons Learned for Public Libraries in Disaster Preparedness and Community Services

SUMMARY In the aftermath of the 2004 and 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, public libraries played many important roles in their communities, though ensuring access to vital information may have been the most critical service. This article explores the participation of public libraries in the recovery of their communities, the implications of this involvement for the place of public libraries in society, and lessons learned and recommendations for public library disaster planning. As this article demonstrates, public libraries successfully provided a range of disaster preparedness and recovery services that were not provided and could not have been provided by other government agencies.