building a resiliant community through your library's social media outreach

SOCIAL MEDIA & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTYour Library’s Social Media Role in Creating Community ResilienceInternet Librarian. Sunday Oct. 25 2015Rudy Leon, Kevin Smith and Alex Zealand

WHAT IS COMMUNITY RESILIENCE?“Resilient communities minimize any disaster’s disruption to everyday life and their local economies. Resilient communities are not only prepared to help prevent or minimize the loss or damage to life, property, and the environment, but they also have the ability to quickly return citizens to work, reopen businesses, and restore other essential services needed for a full and timely economic recovery.” - Community and Regional Resilience Institute,

http://www.resilientus.org/about-us/what-is-community-resilience/

“THEY ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO QUICKLY RETURN CITIZENS TO WORK, REOPEN BUSINESSES, AND RESTORE OTHER ESSENTIAL SERVICES NEEDED FOR A FULL AND TIMELY ECONOMIC RECOVERY.”

Ferguson Public Library’s Facebook page, August 15 2014

“WE SAW THE LIBRARY CONTINUED TO OPERATE THROUGH EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON; IT REALLY IMPOUNDED TO US WHAT A COMMUNITY ANCHOR IT IS,” SAID PNC BANK REGIONAL PRESIDENT LAURA GAMBLE.

“THE LIBRARY GAVE THE COMMUNITY A SENSE OF SECURITY AND HOPE.”-CBS BALTIMORE

Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore MDhttp://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/05/16/pratt-library-gets-grant-after-staying-open-despite-riots/

Queens Library, New Yorkhttps://www.queenslibrary.org/sandy

“”

THE IMPORTANCE OF LIBRARIES’ INVOLVEMENT IN DISASTER RESPONSE WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE US IN 2010, WHEN THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA, 2010) CHANGED ITS POLICY TO RECOGNIZE LIBRARIES AS ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IN AREAS IMPACTED BY A DISASTER, THUS MAKING THEM ELIGIBLE FOR TEMPORARY RELOCATION FUNDING IN TIMES OF DISASTER OR EMERGENCY. 

The US Public Library Response to Natural Disasters:A Whole Community ApproachChristine Hagar, PhDhttp://ojsserv.dom.edu/ojs/index.php/worldlib/article/viewArticle/548/472

TANGIBLES…

ELECTRICITYCOMPUTERSHEAT OR ACFOODCLOTHING

INTANGIBLES…

COMMUNICATIONINFORMATIONSAFETYTRUST

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CREATE TRUST?

HOW DO YOU BUILD IT?

COMMUNICATION.

IS YOUR LIBRARY STAFFED ADEQUATELY TO LAY THE GROUNDWORK TO CREATE TRUST?

DO YOU HAVE AN EXPECTATION OF TWO-WAY (OR MORE) COMMUNICATION WITH YOUR COMMUNITY?

YOU HAVE SPACE, AND YOU CAN STOCK UP ON POWER STRIPS AND WATER BOTTLES...

Arlington Public Library, July 2 2012

WHO ARE YOU (YOUR LIBRARY) ONLINE?

WHO IS IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

AND CAN THEY HEAR YOU?

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS ARE YOU USING?

WHAT TOOLS ARE YOU ALLOWED TO USE?

(HOW DO YOU MAKE SENSE OF THE TOOLS THAT YOU TOTALLY DON’T GET?)

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUTREACH AND MARKETING?

(DOES YOUR LIBRARY HAVE A MARKETING DEPARTMENT?)

MANY THINGS TO READ…

- Community Resilience Planning Guide, National Institute of Standards and Technology: http://www.nist.gov/el/resilience/guide.cfm

- Resilience, ALA’s Center for the Future of libraries: http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future/trends/resilience

- Resilient Library, Resilient You, OCLC WebJunction:http://www.webjunction.org/news/webjunction/resilient-library-resilient-you.html

- Librarian’s Disaster Planning and Community Resilience Guidebook and Workbook, New Jersey State Library: http://www.njstatelib.org/news/librarians-disaster-planning-and-community-resiliency-guidebook-and-workbook/

- The US Public Library Response to Natural Disasters: A Whole Community Approach, Christine Hagar, PhD, published in World Libraries, vol.21, no.1 (2011): http://ojsserv.dom.edu/ojs/index.php/worldlib/article/viewArticle/548/472

- The Promise of Social Media in Humanitarian Crises: Community Empowerment and Resilience, Anaide Najikian, Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard T.H. Cjhan School of Public Health, 2012: http://hpcrresearch.org/blog/ana%C3%AFde-nahikian/2012-08-02/promise-social-media-humanitarian-crises-community-empowerment-and-r