Examines the impact of Hurricane Andrew on the Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS). Topics discussed include the community's response to the sudden lack of library services; the use of library branches as emergency relief centers and communications centers; library disaster policies; and visions for MDPLS under a new director. (LRW)

If the nation's economy over the past 10 years can be described as a roller coaster, North Carolina was riding in the first car. The 1990s offered the promise of North Carolina's moving to the forefront of the nation's prosperity, since it outranked most states on many positive indices and outranked other southern states on most of them. North…

The unexpected loss of a loved one, a car accident, or exposure to a violent experience is familiar to many. Everyone reacts to such events, but the responses vary widely, ranging from numbness and withdrawal, to crying, nervousness, and agitation. Because traumatic events are prevalent, cause profound suffering, and may lead to life altering…

The Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth, and their families and protecting every child from harm. By publishing a diverse range of views on a wide array of topics, "Children's Voice"…

Findings from a March 1980 Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) survey on preservation indicated that more than one-fourth of the members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) had written disaster plans, and many other plans were in preparation. This SPEC kit on preparing for emergencies and disasters comprises excerpts from…

This manual is intended to provide guidance for the protection of school buildings and their occupants from natural disasters, and the economic losses and social disruption caused by building damage and destruction. This volume concentrates on grade schools, K-12. This publication covers earthquakes, floods, and high winds. Its intended audience…

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States on August 29, 2005, and triggered one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the nation. New Orleans, in particular, and the schools that served the community's children, suffered severe storm damage and massive flooding. Central to the city's strategy of getting back…

Five days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, a convoy of 142 air-conditioned school buses from the 209,000-student Texas district rumbled to life. Loaded with food and bottled water, staffed by 350 school employees, and accompanied by bus-repair trucks and a phalanx of school police cars, the yellow buses traveled all night to reach the…

The entire world saw the images of Black New Orleans residents left homeless, jobless and helpless by the arrival and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The pictures and stories dominated mainstream news outlets for weeks. What hasn't been widely publicized, however, are the Katrina-related ordeals of Vietnamese Americans, another socio-economically…

Hurricane Katrina devastated the American gulf coast, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without food, water, shelter, and clothing. Men, women, and children perished, crushed by the effects of violent winds across four states, or drowned in massive ocean waves and in floodwater that swamped New Orleans and made the city…

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC)'s Bushfire Program is unique amongst conservation organisations. The Program has been running for over ten years, focusing its campaign work mainly on government policy, legislation and commissions of inquiry. However, the Program was originally initiated to provide support to over 70 conservation…

This report describes how, in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health activated its Emergency Preparedness Plan to assist mental health centers and their staff in providing crisis counseling services to the general public. The first section explains the history and structure of the involvement by the…

Provides an overview of various types of explosives. Classifies and describes explosives as initiating or primary explosives, low explosives, and high (secondary explosives). Discusses detonating devices, domestic explosive systems, the sensitivity of explosives, explosive reactions, and emergency responses. (TW)

Discusses five South African writers for young adults and highlights representative works dealing with family relationships, AIDS, natural disaster, interracial relationships and marriage, racial prejudice, and incest. Although most of the books are not currently available in the United States, a bibliography and a list of addresses for the South…

Description of the effects of the revolution, U.S. government policy, and natural disasters on the economic climate in Nicaragua focuses on problems faced by the country's libraries and library school. Support and funding provided to Nicaraguan libraries by American library groups are reviewed, and attitudes of Nicaraguan librarians toward the…