ALL OF OUR LIBRARY SPECIFIC COURSES ARE AVAILABLE IN THE CATALOG FOR FREE TO FOLKS WHO WORK OR VOLUNTEER IN LIBRARIES THANKS TO SUPPORT OF OCLC AND STATE LIBRARY AGENCIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE WANT TO BE SURE YOU ARE SUBSCRIBED TO CROSS ROADS, OUR NEWSLETTER GOES OUT TWICE A MONTH TO YOUR E-MAIL INBOX AND AN EXCELLENT WAY TO STAY UP TO DATE ON ALL THINGS HAPPENING TO WEB JUNCTION. THERE IS A LEARNING GUIDE THAT REBEKKAH WORKED ONTO CREATE FOR THIS SERIES. IT'S A TOOL FOR YOU TO EXTEND YOUR LEARNING ON THE TOPIC. THERE'S GREAT QUESTIONS TO BRING TO YOUR TEAM FOR DISCUSSION AS WELL AS A WEALTH OF RESOURCES. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE THESE GUIDES IN YOUR LOCAL CONVERSATIONS. YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THE GUIDE IF YOU'D LIKE THE CREATE YOUR OWN QUESTIONS OR ACTION GOALS. DON'T HESITATE TO USE THE GUIDE TO EXTEND YOUR LEARNING. THIS IS PART OF A SERIES WE'RE HOSTING WITH SUSTAINABLE LIBRARIES INITIATIVE. THIS IS THE THIRD WEBINAR IN THE SERIES. WE HAVE ONE MORE IN OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER. WE ARE REALLY EXCITED TO BE LEARNING ALONG WITH ALL OF YOU. I'M SO EXCITED TO INTRODUCE TODAY'S PRESENTERS. I'M WONDERFUL HOST, REBEKKAH SMITH ALDRICH IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MID-HUDSON LIBRARY SYSTEM AND THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE SUSTAINABLE LIBRARIES INITIATIVE. KEITH ADAMS IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW JERSEY VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER. MICHELE STRICKER IS THE DEPUTY STATE LIBRARIAN AT THE LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT BUREAU AND SARAH LIPUMA IS THE RESILIENCE COORDINATOR. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR EXPERTISE AND EXPERIENCE TO THIS SERIES. WELCOME, REBEKKAH. I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO YOU. >> REBEKKAH: THANKS. HI, EVERY ONE FOR BEING HERE FOR THE THIRD SESSION IN THE SERIES. WE JUST WANT TO THANK WEB JUNCTION FOR HOSTING US AND CELEBRATING US IN THE AREA OF CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING AND UNDERSTANDING THE WHOLE CONCEPT OF THE CORE VALUE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN OUR PROFESSION. TODAY I'M GOING TO TAKE SOME LIBERTIES WITH OUR PANEL HERE. I'M GOING THE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO INTRODUCE SOME CORE CONCEPTS AND LANGUAGE AND MAKE SURE WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME HEAD SPACE BEFORE OUR REALLY WONDERFUL PANEL JUMPS IN BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE ON THE PANEL THAT YOU DON'T ALWAYS GET A CHANCE TO HEAR FROM. I'M GOING SAVE MY INTRODUCTIONS FOR A FEW MINUTES. IN THE MEANTIME, I WANTED TO RAE MAKE SURE WE ARE ALL STARTING FROM THE SAME SPOT. NOT EVERY ONE ON THE SESSION HAS BEEN TO THE FIRST TWO INTRODUCTORY SESSIONS. WE WILL MAKE SURE WE HAVE COMMON VOCABULARY DOWN AND KEY PHRASES THAT WILL COME UP. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ALL THINKING ABOUT THE PHRASES AND THAT LANGUAGE IN THE SAME WAY OR THE WAY WE MEAN TO TALK ABOUT THAT HERE TODAY. SO, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT JP SAID. WE LOVE YOU IN THE CHAT. WE LOVE THE QUESTIONS COMING IN. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SHARE THE RESOURCES THAT YOU'VE COME ACROSS THAT YOU FIND VERY HELPFUL. IT'S ADDING TO THE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORTING WORK IN THIS AREA FOR THE PROFESSION. WITHOUT MUCH FURTHER ADIEU, I WILL ADMIT I HAD COVID LAST WEEK AND MY VOICE IS A LITTLE SHAKY. I HOPE YOU'LL HAVE PATIENCE WITH ME IF I HAVE A COUGHING FIT TODAY. AS WE DISCUSSED IN THE PAST TWO SESSIONS, THIS IS THE MOMENT IN WHICH IT'S TIME TO DO GOOD WORK IN THIS AREA FOR OUR COMMUNITIES. WE SHARE IN THE FIRST SESSION THAT CLIMATE SCIENTISTS LOOK UPON THE YEAR 2023 AS THEY HAVE 2022, 2021 AND 2020, AND THEY CALL THEM THE GOOD OLD DAYS BECAUSE AS WE LOOK FORWARD, I KNOW MICHELE AND SARAH AND KEITH WILL TALK ABOUT IT. IT DOESN'T GET WORSE IN THE SEVERITY OF WEATHER THAT IS BEING SUPER CHARGED BY CLIMATE CHANGE. AS WE THINK ABOUT THE HEADLINES SINCE THE SERIES STARTED, THERE WERE TOO MANY TO LIST AND TALK ABOUT THIS AFTERNOON. THE LAST TIME WE TALKED, WE WERE JUST COMING OUT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN HAWAII. OUR ORIGINAL SPEAKER ON THE PANEL, DEBBY COSTA WAS CALLED TO SERVE AWAY FOR FEMA IN HAWAII. SARAH HAS HELPED. WE ARE SEEING INCREASED FLOODING, HEAT WAVES. MICHELE WILL TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE AND THE DEVASTATING AFFECT THEY CAN HAVE ON PEOPLE MOVING FORWARD. IT'S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER IN OUR GENERATION. IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE UNLESS WE DO AN AMAZING JOB AT CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION, WHICH WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT IN OUR FIRST TWO SESSIONS. THE REALITY OF TODAY IS THAT WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION AT THE SAME TIME. HERE IN THE SERIES, WE'RE BREAKING DOWN THE COMPONENTS OF CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING. IN THE LAST SESSION WE TALKED ABOUT THE BASICS OF CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING, THE COMPONENT PART OF THAT AND TODAY WE'RE TAKING THAT DEEPER DIVE ON THE TOPIC OF ADAPTATION AND BREAKING THAT INTO SOME ACTIONABLE ITEMS THAT YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO YOUR LIBRARY AND PLAN AROUND OR TAKE PLANS YOU ALREADY HAVE AND BRING THEM TO NEXT LEVEL GIVEN WHAT IS PREDICTED TO BE FACING DIFFERENT AREA OF OUR COUNTRY OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. SO, WHEN YOU SAW THIS QUOTE OVER THE PAST TWO SESSIONS FROM THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION'S CALL TO ACTION, I REALLY WANT FOCUS IN ON THIS ISSUE OF A CODE RED FOR HUMANITY NATION. THAT CODE RED IDEA IS PUT OUT THERE TO SPARK ACTION, RIGHT. WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF SUFFERING THAT PEOPLE MAY BE SUBJECT TO IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL IN OUR THINKING. EVEN IF WE ARE REALLY CAREFUL IN OUR THINKING, THERE IS GOING TO BE SUFFERING. CAN WE MITIGATE THAT? CAN WE LESSEN THE EFFECTS OR PREPARE PEOPLE FOR WHAT'S TO COME? THERE'S NOT A BUNCH OF UNKNOWNS HERE. THE SCALE AND SCOPE MIGHT FEEL HARD TO PREDICT, THERE ARE MANY THINGS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE THAT ARE FAIRLY PREDICTABLE. THERE'S HAZARDS THAT ARE MORE LIKELY IN YOUR AREA OF THE WORLD THAN OTHER AREAS OF THE WORLD, WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO PLAN TOWARD WHICH IS PART OF WHAT WE WILL TALK ABOUT. CODE RED MEANS URGENCY. WE'RE DOING THIS WITH URGENCY AND THAT'S WHY WE ARE FOCUSED TODAY. THAT'S WHY WE FOUNDED THE SUSTAINABLE LIBRARIES INITIATE IFR. WE HAD TO GET THE WORK GOING AND GOING FASTER BECAUSE WE HEARD A LOT OF GOOD INTENTIONS. WHAT TODAY CALLS FOR IS ACTION. THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF GOOD IDEAS OUT THERE. THERE'S NO SHORTAGES OF AMAZING RESOURCES THAT WE WILL PUT YOU IN TOUCH WITH, BUT IT REQUIRES LOCAL ACTION. LIBRARIES' CATALYST IN THIS AREA IS AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL IDEA THAT WEB JUNCTION IS HELPING US ACCELERATE. THE REMINDER THAT CHARACTERISTS OF A SUSTAINABLE LIBRARY FOR THE FUTURE, REALLY THINK ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION FROM THE INSIDE OUT. THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE WILL BE DOING HERE TODAY IS THINKING ABOUT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS WORK INSIDE YOUR INSTITUTION AS WELL AS THE WORK YOU'RE DOING THAT'S OUT WARDLY FACING TO CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY AND INCREASE THEIR RESILIENCE BOTH BY ACCESS TO LIBRARY SERVICES AND BY LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS BEING PARTNERS AND CO-CREATORS IN MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES ACROSS A WIDER SPAN OF THINKING. THESE ARE THE KEY COMPONENTS WE COVERED IN THE SESSION SO FAR. HOW WE DO OUR WORK WITH AUTHENTICITY AND LIVING OUR VALUES OUT LOUD. BEING A CATALYST FOR SOCIAL COHESION AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION WHICH IS BIG PART OF WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY. IN ADDITION TO WHAT MOST PEOPLE ASSUME IS CLIMATE ACTION, RIGHT. REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION AND ADAPTING IN FACE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH CLIMATE CHANGE. OUR COMMUNITIES ARE VIBRANT AND THRIVING. BREAKING DOWN THE FORMULA, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE ACTION PLANNING, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THREE MAJOR CATEGORIES OF WORK IN THIS AREA. THAT'S WE DESIGNED THE TEMPLATE AROUND THAT WAS REVEALED DURING THE LAST SESSION. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION, ADAPT ING IN THE FACE OF THE PREDICTED WEATHER AND PATTERNS EMERGING AND DOING ALL OF THIS WITH THAT LENS OF CLIMATE JUSTICE. WE HAVE MITIGATION, REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION, ADAPT AND JUSTICE REREQUIRES EMPATHY, RESPECT AND UNDERSTANDING SO WE MAKE BETTER CHOICES MOVING FORWARD THAT ARE EQUITABLE ACROSS OUR COMMUNITIES AND DON'T JUST SPEAK TO FOLKS OF A CERTAIN INCOME LEVEL, EDUCATION LEVEL, PARTICULARLY CULTURAL BACKGROUND. WE ARE HERE TO HELP ALL PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITIES BE SUCCESSFUL AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT SINCE DAY ONE AS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. NOW WE'RE WORKING ON THIS IN SOME BROADER WAYS AS WE WILL TALK ABOUT TODAY ACROSS COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS WORK. WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION, THIS IS OUR FOCUS HERE TODAY. WE INTRODUCE THIS CYCLE OF THE STEPS TO RESILIENCE FROM THE U.S. CLIMATE RESILL RESILIENCE TOOLKIT WHICH WAS A FABULOUS TOOL PUT TOGETHER BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IT SPEAKS ABOUT THE STEPS THAT WE WENT OVER LAST SESSION OF IDENTIFYING LIKELY HAZARDS. LEARNING HOW OTHER COMMUNITY WHO IS HAVE SUFFERED THROUGH THOSE HAZARDS, HOW DO THEY CONFRONT THOSE THINGS THE, WHAT DID THEY LEARN FROM SITUATIONS LIKE THAT? AND HOW CAN YOU INTEGRATE THAT INTO PLANNING AND THINKING NOT ONLY FOR YOUR INSTITUTION BUT FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. JUST A REMINDER, THERE'S THE STEPS TO GO THROUGH TO HELP WITH THIS ASPECT OF WRITING YOUR OWN LIBRARY'S CLIMATE ACTION PLAN. THERE'S LOT OF EXAMPLES ON THIS WEBSITE. A REAL DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE IS OUT THERE. WE'RE NOT RE-CREATING THE WHEEL. WE ARE TAKING THOSE THINGS MOST HELPFUL TO WHERE WE SIT IN THIS WORLD AND INTEGRATING THAT INTO OUR THINKING TO PREPARE FOR WHAT IS COMING, BUT ALSO TO EQUITY -- CONNECT WITH OTHERS FOR WHAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT ADD VALUE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. LIBRARY ARES ON THE LIST BUT THERE'S MANY OTHER PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS THAT NEED THAT ATTENTION AND LIBRARIES SHOULD BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION TO HELP WITH THAT WORK. WE'RE USING THESE PHRASES A LOT HERE TODAY. DISASTERED PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. IN A FEW MINUTES YOU WILL MEET MICHELE STRICKER. I LIKE TO CALL HER MY PARTNER IN CRIME IN MANY DIFFERENT PROJECTS WE HAVE WORKED ON. I KNOW KEITH REFERS TO HER LIKE THAT AS WELL. WE WROTE A CHAPTER FOR A TEXTBOOK. ONE OF THE THINGS WE CONTENDED WITH WAS PEOPLE USE THESE TERMS ALMOST INTERCHANGEABLY BUT THEY ARE VERY DIFFERENT. MICHELE HAS DONE AMAZING WORK WHICH YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT TODAY ON THE TOPIC OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS. PREPARG OUR INSTITUTIONS TO SALVAGE AND MAKE SURE WE CAN GET UP AND RISE UP AFTER DISRUPTION SO WE CAN GET BACK TO DOING WHAT WE DO SO WELL IN SERVING THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE ARE CHARGED TO SERVE. THIS IDEA OF PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IS UNFORTUNATELY A NEWER IDEA IN THE LITERATURE BUT SOMETHING THAT LIBRARIES HAVE ALWAYS DONE IN TERMS OF HELPING FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITIES BE MORE PREPARED FOR THEIR FUTURES, WHICH IS A VERY BROAD STATEMENT DEPENDING ON WHAT AN INDIVIDUAL MIGHT BE CONFRONTING IN THEIR FUTURE BUT TODAY WE'RE USING THIS IN A VERY FOCUSED WAY TO TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY'S RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE FUELED CHANGES TO WEATHER PATTERNS IN OUR COMMUNITIES. THINK ABOUT DISASTER PLANNING, ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT IT'S INSIDE YOUR INSTITUTION, MAKING SURE YOU KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO GET RECOVERED FIRST, WHERE THE PHONE NUMBERS YOU NEED IN THE CASE OF A DISASTER. WHAT DO WE RECOVER FIRST OVER LAST. WHO ARE THE KEY PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN THING. WHERE ARE THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THOSE MOMENTS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IS MORE OUTWARDLY FOCUSED AND HOW OUR LIBRARIES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A COMMUNITY IDEA BEING RESILIENT IN FACE OF WHATEVER DISRUPTION THEY MIGHT BE FACING. EXCUSE ME. SO, IN 2018, I WROTE A REALLY SMALL LITTLE BOOK. IT'S A SHORT READ. I PROMISE. FOR THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS. I'M NOT LOOKING TO MAKE A BUCK OFF THIS. BORROW IT FROM YOUR LIBRARY. WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO IS BREAK DOWN THIS MASSIVE IDEA OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND START GETTING IT INTO BITE SIZED CHUNKS. WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT ARE ACUTE? WE NEED TO WORK ON THIS IMMEDIATELY TO BE PREPARED FOR THE NEXT DISASTER COMING TOMORROW. WHAT ARE THE LONG TERMS THINK WE HAVE TO FOCUS ON AS AN INSTITUTION AND BUILD RESILIENCE OVER THE LONG TERM. I WANTED TO PUT THE CATEGORIES OUT THERE BECAUSE PART OF WHAT IS TO FRUSTRATING ABOUT TALKING ABOUT THIS TOPIC IS THE VARIETY OF THINGS THAT FALL INTO THESE CATEGORIES. AS WE HAVE SAID OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IT CAN FEEL VERY OVERWHELMING. JUST A FRAME WORK TO KIND OF BREAK THINGS INTO THAT MATRIX OF THINGS THAT NEED TO GET DONE RIGHT AWAY WITH URGENCY IN YOUR LIBRARY AND IN YOUR COMMUNITY. THOSE THINGS TO THINK ABOUT LONG TERM IN YOUR LIBRARY AND IN YOUR COMMUNITY. TODAY WE'RE GOING FOCUS MORE ON THE ACUTE READINESS END OF THE WORK. THESE ARE THINGS THAT HELP POSITION YOUR ORGANIZATION AND YOUR COMMUNITY TO BE A AS POSSIBLE REGARDLESS OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT WEEK. SO, PART OF THAT IS BUILDING LONG TERM NETWORKS. THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE TO TALK ABOUT TODAY. THINKING ABOUT WHO ELSE IN YOUR COMMUNITY, CAMPUS OR SCHOOL ARE WORKING ON SOME OF THESE TOPICS AND CONNECTING WITH THEM AND USING THAT COLLECTIVE WISDOM. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IN THIS SESSION TODAY TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO THINK NOT ONLY THE LONG TERM THINKING THAT WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT IN THE SUSTAINABLE LIBRARIES INITIATIVE BUT FIND BALANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP, SOCIAL EQUITY AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION AND COMMUNITY. THERE'S ALSO GOT TO BE MUCH MORE ACUTE WORK DONE THAT IS GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT IMMEDIATE ISSUES TO HELP YOU MANAGE SITUATIONS WHICH CAN BE VERY DISRUPTIVE AND LET'S BE HONEST, SOMETIMES VERY SCARY. ONE MORE THING I WANT TO SAY BEFORE I GET TO OUR PANEL. I KNOW I'M GOING FAST BUT I WANT YOU TO SPEND THE MOST TIME WITH OUR PANEL POSSIBLE. THE OTHER THING THAT PEOPLE GET CONFUSED ABOUT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANS THAT ARE OUT THERE. MICHELE HAS DONE REALLY GOOD JOB IN THE CHAPTER I JUST MENTIONED OF IDENTIFYING THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANS THAT YOUR ORGANIZATION MAY NEED. HONESTLY, AT THIS POINT, I THINK YOU PROBABLY NEED ALL OF THEM. AGAIN, IN OUR PROFESSION, THESE GET USED INTERCHANGEABLY BUT THEY HAVE VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSES. I CREATED THIS LITTLE CHART FOR YOU TO BE A QUICK REFERENCE OF WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLANNING THAT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF THE PLANNING WORK THAT MICHELE HAS BEEN PROMOTING IN THE PROFESSION OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS TO HELP TRANSLATE SOME OF THE WORK BEING DONE OUTSIDE OF OUR PROFESSION TO MANAGE SITUATIONS THAT ARISE WHETHER THEY BE FLOODING OR HEAT WAVES OR CRAZY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN OUR INSTITUTIONS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY RELATED TO CLIMATE BUT WE ALL KNOW ARE VERY DISRUPTIVE TO THE WORK THAT WE DO. LOOKING AT TRADITIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN WHICH IS REALLY THAT BIG, MULTI-SOMETIMES HUNDRED PAGE DOCUMENT THAT LIBRARIES HAVE THAT TALK ABOUT YOUR ASSET, THE BEST WAYS TO MAINTAIN THEM AS WELL AS THE RECOVER THEM IN THE FACE OF VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TIME TYPES OF DISASTER THAT CAN BEFALL YOUR ORGANIZATION. BREAKING THAT DOWN INTO THE REALITIES OF WHAT TO DO IN THE MOMENT COMMUNICATION. OBVIOUSLY AN IMPORTANT PART OF MANAGING SITUATIONS THAT COME UP IN OUR ORGANIZATIONS EVERY SINGLE DAY BUT HAVING A VERY SPECIFIC PLAN FOR MANAGING IN CRISIS AND DISASTER. EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN. THIS IS INCLUDING THINGS LIKE HOW TO EVACUATE YOUR BUILDING. HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE CONNECTED WITH THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY THAT SERVES WHERE YOUR FACILITY IS TO HELP THEM HELP YOU IN THOSE MOMENTS. THIS MORNING I JUST SAT THROUGH ACTIVE SHOOTER TRAINING DONE BY MY CITY'S POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THEY MENTIONED WAS HAVING THAT EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN. HAVING IT POSTED SO PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT. MAKING SURE YOU PRACTICE HOW TO EVACUATE THE BUILDING. THESE ARE OFTEN THINGS THAT GET PUSHED TO THE SIDE AS WE'RE DEALING WITH THE EVERY DAY, EVERY DAY WORK OF OUR LIBRARIES. THEN MICHELE IS INTRODUCED THIS PLAN WHICH I FIND HIGHLY VALUABLE. WE HAVE INTRODUCED IT INTO TRUSTY EDUCATION THROUGHOUT NEW YORK STATE THANKS TO MICHELE'S WORK ON THIS TOPIC. THE IDEA OF CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN. NOT JUST HOW TO SALVAGE WHAT WE HAVE IN OUR ORGANIZATIONS, BUT HOW DO WE GET UP AND RUN AND SERVING THE PUBLIC OR OUR PARTICULAR CONSTITUENT GROUP AS FAST AS WE CAN IN THESE MOMENT S? WE ALWAYS SAY LIBRARIES ARE ESSENTIAL AND WE HAVE TO GET BACK ON OUR FEET AND SERVE THE PEOPLE AS FAST AS WE CAN AFTER A DISASTER. A CONTINUITY OF DISASTER PLAN ARE WHAT HELPS US GET THERE. ALL OF THESE MIGHT FALL UNDER DISASTER PLANNING BUT THERE'S PARTICULAR OUTCOMES WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE. I WILL ASK MICHELE TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE SHE'S THE REAL EXPERT ON THESE TOPICS. I WANT TO LAY THOSE OUT BEFORE WE START THROWING OUT THESE TERMS DURING THE PANEL. I SEE THE CHAT IS ALIVE. PEOPLE ARE GETTING LINKS TO THE DIFFERENT RESOURCES BEING MENTIONED AND SHARING OUT THINGS WHICH IS FANTASTIC. I REALLY WANT TO GET YOU IN THE HANDS OF OUR PANELISTS AT THIS POINT. I WILL FORMALLY INTRODUCE THEM AND GET YOU IN FRONT OF THEM AT THIS POINT. WE HAVE KEITH ADAMS, THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NEW JERSEY VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER. OR VOAD. KEITH WILL EXPLAIN WHAT THAT IS. SARAH LIPUMA FROM FEMA WHICH IS PRETTY COOL TO HAVE AN EXPERT IN THE AREAS OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE OUTSIDE OF OUR PROFESSION HERE TO JOIN US TODAY. MICHELE STRICKER, WHO I MANAGED TO MENTION IN ALMOST EVERY PRESENTATION I DO BECAUSE SHE'S DONE HEROIC WORK IN OUR PROFESSION OVER THE PAST DECADE. PARTICULARLY, IN THE AFTERMATH OF SUPER STORM SANDY IN THE AREAS OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. WE WILL HEAR FROM MICHELE AND SOME OF THE WORK SHE'S BEEN DOING AND EVOLUTION AND THINKING ON THE TOPICS OVER THE PAST DECADE AND A HALF NOW. I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THAT. I WILL START BY ASKING EACH OF OUR PANELISTS TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES BETTER THAN I CAN DO AND SHARE WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM AND WHY WE PROBABLY INVITED THEM TO BE ON THE PANEL. I'M GOING TO START ALPHABETICALLY KEITH. I'M GOING TO START WITH YOU. >> KEITH: THANKS. I'M KEITH ADAMS. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF NEW JERSEY VOAD. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT VOAD IS, WHICH IS PROBABLY MANY OF YOU, WE ARE A NONPROFIT SUPPORT ORGANIZATION AND WE'RE ACTUALLY HERE IN NEW JERSEY. THE NEW JERSEY AFFILIATE OF A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION WHICH IS ACROSS ALL 50 STATES AND OUR SIX TERRITORIES. IT WAS FOUNDED ON COORDINATING VOLUNTEERS AND VOLUNTEER AGENCIES EVERYWHERE FROM THE AMERICAN RED CROSS AS THEY RESPONDED AND HELP FOLKS RECOVER FROM DISASTERS. AS YOU'RE ALL HERE AND AS YOU WENT THROUGH REBEKKAH'S SLIDES, THE GROUND HAS CHANGED A BIT. CERTAINLY, WE LEARNED AND THIS WAS MY FIRST ASSOCIATION WORKING MICHELE THROUGH SUPER STORM SANDY AND WE LEARNED A WILL THE OF LESSONS. ONE OF THE LESSONS WE LEARNED IS COMMUNITIES THAT HAD THIS THING CALLED RESILIENCE AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT MORE AS THE PANEL GOES ON RECOVERED QUICKER, MORE EFFECTIVELY. THEY WERE MORE COHESIVE. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY RESILIENCE IN THAT WAY? THAT IS COMMUNITIES THAT HAD A VISION FOR THE RECOVERY. A VISION THAT WELL CONNECTED AMONGST THE ORGANIZATIONS AND WERE ONGOING IN CONVERSATION. THEY WERE ABLE TO GET THINGS UP AND RUNNING SO MUCH QUICKER. OUT OF SANDY, WE REALLY EVOLVED AS AN ORGANIZATION NOT JUST LOOKING AT MANAGING THE WORK OF NGOs AND COORDINATING IT AND MORE TOWARDS HOW TO BUILD A RESILIENCE IN EACH COMMUNITY. WE DO THAT WITH SOME ASSET BASED PRACTICE PRINCIPLES THAT HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO YOU. WE SEE OURSELVES NOW ESPECIALLY IN OUR WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. THAT'S OUR PRIMARY GOAL. HOW CAN WE BUILD RESILIENCE OR HELP COMMUNITIES BUILD RESILIENCE? THAT'S WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT AND WHY I'M HERE TODAY. >> REBEKKAH: YOU'RE BEING HUMBLE. YOU HAD A CAREER BEFORE VOAD. CAN YOU SHARE WHAT YOU DID? >> KEITH: I WAS WORKING FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS. I WENT FROM THAT WORK, WHICH WAS A STRONG BACKGROUND IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. I WENT TO WORK FOR AN ORGANIZATION OF RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT WHERE I COORDINATED THEIR SANDY RECOVERY PROGRAM HERE IN NEW JERSEY. THEN I MOVED ON INTO THIS ROLE. I STARTED OUT WITH AN ORGANIZATION AND THEN IT WAS PRE-BISITINE AND I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE WITH YOU. >> REBEKKAH: AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. SARAH, SHARE A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND WHAT BRINGS YOU TO THIS TOPIC HERE TODAY. >> SARAH: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. IT'LL IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO SPEAK TO YOU ALL ESPECIALLY THE LIBRARY WITH SUCH WONDERFUL, NECESSARY INSTITUTIONS. I LOVE THEM. I'M SARAH LIPUMA. I WORK ON HAZARD MITIGATION AND RESILIENCE BUILDING AT FEMA REGION 2 WHICH IS THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY FOCUSED ON NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDSS. I HELP IMPLEMENT INTO PLANNING AND OPERATIONS. I HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY WHERE I RESEARCHES RISK MITIGATION AND A BACHELORS DEGREE FROM STOCKTON UNIVERSITY. I'M FROM THE JERSEY SHORE AND LIVING THROUGH HURRICANE SANDY AND WORKING FOR A HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE MADE ME UNDERSTAND THAT CLIMATE CHANGE WASN'T JUST SOMETHING ABSTRACT OR PROBLEM FOR THE FUTURE, FOR POLAR BEARS, FOR SOMEONE ELSE BUT SOMETHING THAT COULD INFLUENCE THE WEATHER PATTERNS THAT HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON MY OWN COMMUNITY. I WAS ONCE A TEEN READING BUDDY FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN AT SUMMER READING PROGRAM. REALLY GREAT PLACE. THANK YOU. >> REBEKKAH: SARAH, SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE OUR PEOPLE. >> SARAH: YEAH. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE AND KIND OF STEPPING IN LAST MINUTE. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT YOU. ALL RIGHT. DO YOU MIND INTRODUCE YOURSELFING NEXT? >> MICHELE: THANK YOU. I HAVE A TEAM OF PEOPLE THAT WORK WITH ME IN LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT AND WE ARE THE OUT REACH ARM OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE LIBRARY. WE PRIMARILY DO PROGRAMMING, WRITE GRANTS, DO PILOT PROJECTS WITH ALL OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. THERE'S A WILL THE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES. IF I HAD TO COUNT LIBRARY BUILDINGS, I THINK IT WOULD BE CLOSE TO 450 LIBRARY BUILD NGS THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, WHICH MEANS THERE'S PRETTY MUCH A LIBRARY IN EVERY SINGLE COMMUNITY. SOMETIMES ESPECIALLY IF YOU GO UP IN NORTH JERSEY AND YOU GO EVERY COUPLE OF BLOCKS THERE'S A LIBRARY BUILDING. THERE'S A LOT OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN NEW JERSEY. I TRAIN FOR PROGRAMMING FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING. A NUMBER OF OTHER THINGS. BASICALLY ANYTHING THAT STATE LIBRARIAN ASKS ME TO DO. I HAD A STRONG FOCUS ON PRESERVATION WHEN I FIRST CAME TO STATE LIBRARY. PRESERVATION IN THE VERY TRADITIONAL SENSE OF LET'S DO PROGRAMMING AND LET ME SHOW YOU HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIBRARY. THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING STARTED OUT UNTIL HURRICANE SANDY HIT THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT'S WHERE THE GREAT PIVOT CAME IN THE WORK THAT I DID WHICH SHIFTED FROM, THE TRADITIONAL WORK OF PRESERVATION MORE INTO SORT OF ADAPTING ALL OF THESE PLANS BASED ON THE RESPONSES THAT I SAW FROM LIBRARIES ACROSS THE STATE IN THE WAY THAT THEY HELPED THE COMMUNITIES AFTER HURRICANE SANDY. THAT LED ME INTO CONTACT WITH FEMA REGION 2, DEBBIE COSTA WHO WASN'T ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY, BUT WE WERE HAPPY TO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE HERE FROM FEMA AND KEITH. WE STAYED IN CONTACT ALL THESE YEARS. I'M HAPPY TO SAY THAT HAVING THIS PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND VOADs AND OUR FEMA IS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER. WE ALL PRESENT TOGETHER. WE ALL BEEN TO EACH OTHER'S CONFERENCES. IT'S THIS NICE COMBINATION FOR ALL THREE OF US TO BE WORKING TOGETHER. WE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT CAN GO FROM STATE LEVEL TO THE COMMUNITY LEVEL. FEMA CAN DO THAT IN OUR REGION AND LIBRARIES CAN DO THAT BECAUSE WE'RE SO MANY LIBRARIES IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. WE CAN WORK ON STATEWIDE LEVEL BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, AS NEEDED WE CAN ALL THREE BREAK DOWN TO THAT COMMUNITY LEVEL BECAUSE WE HAVE THE CONNECTIONS TO DO SO. REBEKKAH, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO YOU. >> REBEKKAH: BEFORE WE GET TO OUR PLANNED QUESTIONS, YOU DIDN'T DO PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL DWROMT TO MEET WITH FOLKS IN FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY AND VOAD AND FEMA. YOU TRANSLATED WHAT YOU LEARNED INTO A REALLY HELPFUL TOOL KIT FOR THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY. I SEE THE WEB JUNCTION HAS POSTED IT. THE COMMUNITY AND RESILIENCE TOOLKIT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT? THAT IS REALLY, IT WAS MY GATEWAY DRUG TO MICHELE STRICKER, WHICH IS FANTASTIC. >> MICHELE: I CAN TALK A BIT ABOUT THAT. AFTER HURRICANE SANDY AND AS THE REPORTS WERE COME NG THROUGHOUT THE STATE THE WAY THE LIBRARIES STEPPED UP, I MEAN AS SOON AS THE STORMS PASSED, IF THE LIBRARIES COULD OPEN, THEY OPENED EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE POWER. THERE WERE LINES AROUND THE BLOCK WITH PEOPLE WAITING TO GET IN BECAUSE IN SANDY, THE DAMAGE WAS DONE TO HOMES AND BUSINESSES. THE LIBRARIES, THERE WERE SOME LIBRARIES THAT WERE KIND OF SUSTAINED A LOT OF DAMAGE IF THEY WERE RIGHT ALONG THE MIDDLE SHORELINE WHERE THE HURRICANE HIT BUT THEIR BUILDINGS WERE OKAY. EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE THE LIBRARY IS IN THE COMMUNITY WHETHER THEY USE IT OR NOT. I NOTICED FROM ALL THE REPORT COMING IN AND THE PHOTOGRAPHS, THE WAY THE LIBRARY STAFF STEPPED UP TO HELP AND RECEIVE THE COMMUNITY INTO THEIR BUILDINGS AND WHETHER THEY WAS, YOU KNOW, CHARGING DEVICES, WHETHER THAT WAS PUTTING ON STORY TIMES TO KEEP THE KIDS BUSY WHILE THE PARENTS WORKED FROM HOME ON THEIR LAPTOPS, WHETHER THAT WAS GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND HELPING FEMA FILL OUT FORMS, HELPING PEOPLE FILL OUT FORMS, INTAKE FORMS FOR FEMA. I NOTICED EVERYTHING THEY WERE DOING. MY THOUGHT WAS LIBRARIES ARE NATURALLY DOING THIS WITH NO SORT OF GUIDANCE JUST LIKE PIVOTING THE WAY WE PIVOTED DURING COVID. THE RESOURCES WE HAD FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS REALLY DID NOT OFFER ANY KIND OF SUGGESTIONS, TRAINING, PREPAREDNESS FOR HOW YOU SERVE THE COMMUNITY. IT WAS ALL ABOUT HOW YOU SAVE YOUR BOOKS AND HOW YOU SAVE YOUR STUFF. THAT'S IMPORTANT. THAT'S FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH IF YOUR LIBRARY IS GOING THROUGH ANY KIND OF DISASTER. I MEAN YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE SURE YOUR BUILDING IS SAFE AND CAN GET REOPENED. YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR STUFF. HOWEVER, THE BIG ROLE THAT WAS HAPPENING WAS THE COMMUNITY COMING INTO THE LIBRARY FOR HELP FOR ALL OF THESE PEOPLE SERVICES THAT THEY NEEDED. I THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, WOW, SINCE THE LIBRARIES WILL BE DOING THIS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP THEM THINK ABOUT THIS AHEAD OF TIME. THE COMMUNITY WILL COME TO YOU WHETHER YOU ARE READY FOR THEM OR IN THE. IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN PUT TOGETHER, A TOOL KIT OR SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PUT TOGETHER THAT THEY CAN THINK ABOUT AHEAD OF TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE COMMUNITY PIECE. I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT WAS DOING. CAN WE TAKE PIECES AND MAKE THAT INTO A NEW RESOURCE FOR LIBRARIES TO USE. THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THAT CAME FROM THE TRADITIONAL KIND OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN TO THAT DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCY TOOLKIT. IT'S A GUIDE BOOK AND A CHECKLIST. I WANTED IT SIMPLE. YOU CAN TAKE WHAT YOU NEED OUT OF IT, CHECK OFF WHAT YOU NEED. THAT WAS ACTUALLY WRITTEN BY MYSELF AND SOMEONE WHO WAS IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BECAUSE I FELT THAT WILL WAS THE PERSPECTIVE THAT WE NEEDED TO GO FORWARD WITH THIS. IF WE'RE GOING TO DO A NEW KIND OF TOOLKIT TO MAKE LIBRARIES MORE RESPONSIVE TO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH AFTERMATH OF A DISASTER WHEN THE PEOPLE COME TO THEM THEN I FELT THE NEED TO BRING IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES IN THAT TOOLKIT WHICH WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE, THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN ANY OTHER KIND OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS TOOLKIT. THAT'S WHERE THE WHOLE THING STARTED. >> REBEKKAH: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE KEY ELEMENTS TO DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FOR LIBRARY PLANNING? SOME OF US HAVE SAT THROUGH THE DAYS LONG COURSE ON THIS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT KEY ELEMENTS FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FOR LIBRARIES? >> MICHELE: THE TRADITIONAL PREPAREDNESS? >> REBEKKAH: WHAT ARE THE KEY THINGS THAT LIBRARIES HAVE TO MAKE SURE ARE IN PLACE? >> MICHELE: ALL THE WORK WE TALK ABOUT WHEN TALK ABOUT GOING TOWARD WITH COMMUNITY RESILIENCE SI, THE BACKBONE OF ALL OF THIS IS STILL HAVING A LIBRARY, A VERY TRADITIONAL LIBRARY DISASTER PLAN THAT WILL FOCUS ON THINGS LIKE HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET YOUR -- HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DEAL WITH THE WATER, FIRE DAMAGE, WHATEVER DAMAGE IT'S GOING TO BE. YOU'RE GOING TO NEED TO FILL OUT THAT VERY TRADITIONAL PLAN. THE MOST FAMOUS OF THEM, I THINK IS THE D PLAN WHICH IS BY THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER. THAT'S AROUND 100 PAGES. YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT ALL RIGHT, WHO IS YOUR EMERGENCY STAFF THAT'S GOING TO COME IN. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ANY FLOODING? WHAT KIND OF -- WHERE ARE YOUR RESOURCES? WHAT'S THE PLUMBER'S NAME? WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE FREEZER TRUCKS THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO BRING IN AND YOU'RE GOING TO PUT YOUR WATER SOAKED MATERIALS? WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GO? ALL THAT VERY PRACTICAL STUFF ABOUT TAKING CARE OF YOUR BUILDING, MAKING SURE IT'S SAFE TO ENTER AND HAVING THE LIST OF PEOPLE YOU'LL BE IN CONTACT WITH IMMEDIATELY. WHO ARE THE STAFF GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN THE AFTERMATH OF DISASTER AND MAKING SURE YOU'RE TAKING CARE OF THESE KEY PIECES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH YOUR LIBRARY FACILITIES. WHAT ABOUT MY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS BUT THERE'S ALSO THE IMPORTANCE OF YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT, WHAT ABOUT ALL YOUR BUSINESS RECORDS? YOUR OFFICES, YOUR OFFICE STAFF AND ALL THAT, THOSE ARE YOUR VITAL RECORDS OF YOUR INSTITUTION TO THAT. YOU'LL NEED TO THINK ABOUT AND THAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE IN ORDER TO GET THE LIBRARY UP AND RUNNING AGAIN, TOO. THAT'S THE VERY, VERY TRADITIONAL PIECE AND THINGS YOU THINK ABOUT IN A VERY TRADITIONAL DISASTER PLAN WHICH YOU SHOULD HAVE. IT'S THE KIND OF THING THAT PEOPLE, LARGER LIBRARIES PROBABLY LIKE IT. I WAS THE DIRECTOR OF A VERY, VERY SMALL LIBRARY. FOR ME, YOU KNOW, D PLAN WAS JUST TOO BIG. EVEN 25 PAGES YOU FILL IT OUT AND PUT IT ON A SHELF. WHO UPDATES THOSE? LET'S BE HONEST ABOUT IT, THEY ARE NEVER UPDATED. LET ALONE FOUND IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. THAT WAS THE NEXT STEP WAS WHAT REBEKKAH MENTIONED. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE ON OR STOP THERE. >> REBEKKAH: LET'S HOLD OFF ON THAT. THAT WAS A GREAT INTRODUCTION. TRADITIONAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLAN. I'M GOING TO TURN NOW TO SARAH TO ASK YOU THE SPEAK ABOUT SOME OF WORDS IN YOUR TITLE AND THE DIVISION YOU WORK FOR. YOU SPECIALIZE IN RESILIENCE AND MITIGATION. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THOSE WORDS AND WHAT THEY MEAN IN YOUR WORLD, YOUR WORK WORLD? >> SARAH: OKAY. I'LL START WITH MITIGATION BECAUSE THAT'S THE MORE TRADITIONAL SENSE. I WATCHED YOUR PRESENTATION, THE FIRST ONE ON CLIMATE ACTION. YOU GO INTO CLIMATE MITIGATION. USUALLY IN THE WORLD OF CLIMATE SCIENTIST, THEY SPEAK ABOUT MITIGATION AS THE ACTION TO LIMIT CLIMATE CHANGE BY REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS THAT ARE THE HEAT TRAPPING GASES IN OUR CAUSED PREDOMINANTLY BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES. THAT'S CLIMATE MITIGATION. WE WANT TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TO SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. FOR THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, WE USE THE SAME TERM MITIGATION TO MEAN HAZARD MITIGATION. BASICALLY TO LESSEN. HAZARD MITIGATION IS ACTION TAKING TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE LONG TERM RISK TO HUMAN LIFE AND PROPERTY FROM FUTURE HAZARDS. I WANTED TO LAY DOWN THOSE TWO WAYS THAT YOU MIGHT HEAR MITIGATION BEING SPOKEN ABOUT. AS FOR RESILIENCE, THAT'S THE CAPACITY OF INDIVIDUAL, COMMUNITY SYSTEMS, ECO SYSTEMS OR SOCIETIES TO ANTICIPATE, WITHSTAND, ADAPT AND RAPIDLY RECOVER FROM DISRUPTIONS DUE TO DISASTERS, EMERGENCIES AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS WITH MINIMUM DAMAGE TO SOCIAL WELL BEING, TO THE ECONOMY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. THIS DEFINITION IS THE MOST COMMON DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE, BUT IT MIGHT ENCOMPASS A LOT OF THINGS LIKE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, FINANCIAL RESILIENCE, THE WAYS THAT PEOPLE INTERPERSONALLY ARE RESILIENT TO EMOTIONAL SETBACKS. THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS TO LOOK AT THIS BUT IN TERMS OF CLIMATE RESILIENCE, HOW DO WE ANTICIPATE, WITHSTAND, ADAPT AND RECOVER FROM A CHANGE, A MAJOR CHANGE. TO BECOME RESILIENT TO FUTURE CLIMATE CANS, FEMA IS DEVELOPING TOOLS AND ALLOCATING RESOURCES INFORMED BY FUTURE RISK ESTIMATES ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE TO TARGET INVESTMENTS AND TO CREATE A MORE EQUITABLE AND RECIPIENT NATION. THAT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT WE'RE ALL FOCUSED ON. >> REBEKKAH: I LIKE YOUR USE OF THAT PHRASE, "A WORK IN PROGRESS." IT'S SUCH AN ENORMOUS TOPIC. I WANT TO TURN TO KEITH ABOUT THE NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT EMERGE. I THINK YOU USED THE PHRASE OF SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERISM AND RECOGNIZING THE ASSETS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY THAT EMERGE IN THESE MOMENTS OF NEED. THAT PATTERN CAN ACTUALLY BE HARNESSED. I THINK THAT'S PERHAPS WHERE WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM IN THIS. I'D LOVE FOR YOU TO TALK ABOUT VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE IN DISASTER, VOAD AND HOW YOU HELP COMMUNITIES. >> KEITH: SURE. THE ORGANIZATION WAS FOCUSED ON THOSE KIND OF GROUPS WHETHER THEY BE FAITH BASED OR SECULAR WHO YOU WOULD NORMALLY THINK OF AS HELPERS. FRED ROGERS MOTHER TOLD HIM LOOK FOR THE HELPERS. AMERICAN RED CROSS, YOU KNOW, VARIES DIFFERENT FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES. THEY ARE INVOLVED IN, THE SALVATION ARMY AND OTHERS. THEY WERE OUR TYPICAL VOAD MEMBER. THEY ARE STILL VERY IMPORTANT TO US IN A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE EQUATION. I WANT TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT SPONTANEOUS PIECE IN THAT COMMUNITY PIECE, IF YOU WILL. THAT IS THAT WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED IS THE GROUND IS CHANGING. WE HAD -- WE HAVE AN EVOLVING DISASTER SYSTEM IN THIS COUNTRY. IT WAS BASICALLY PREMISED ON THIS IDEA THAT WE HAVE FIVE TO SIX MAJOR DISASTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AT A TIME. THEN WE'RE ABLE TO SHIFT RESOURCES FROM PLACE TO PLACE TO HELP COMMUNITIES RECOVER. THAT'S BREAKING DOWN BECAUSE EVERY DAY IS A DISASTER. AS WE STARTED LOOKING AT THAT AND SAYING, HOW DO WE REORGANIZE, WE FOUND THAT THE KEY IS THAT THESE COMMUNITIES HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. THEY HAVE REALLY EVERYTHING IN PLACE. THESE MAJOR DISRUPTIVE EVENTS KIND OF RESULT IN THE SAME THING WE SEE EVERY DAY IN COMMUNITIES. EVERY DAY IN EVERY COMMUNITY, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOOD OR HOUSING INSECURE. THERE ARE PEOPLE ECONOMICALLY INSECURE. WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDER EDUCATED, UNDER EMPLOYED, SUFFERING FROM ECONOMIC, RACIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE. WE HAVE A SLEW OF AGENCIES AND NON-PROFITS AND FAITH-BASED FOLKS IN THOSE COMMUNITIES EACH DAY THAT ARE WORKING IN SOME WAY. TO ALLEVIATE THAT INDIVIDUAL SUFFERING AND MAKE THE COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE TO ENVISION WHAT A BETTER COMMUNITY WOULD BE FOR ALL THEIR FOLKS. THE PROBLEM IS THESE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A CENTRAL HUB. THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT EACH OTHER. DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF COVID, WE HAD A LOT OF FOOD INSECURITY HERE IN NEW JERSEY. WHAT WE REALIZED IS THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE ALL OF POINTS OF DISTRIBUTION WERE FOR FOOD. WE KNEW OUR MAJOR FOOD BANKS AND THEY COULD TELL US HOW MANY BOXES OF FOOD BUT WE COULDN'T TELL IF THERE WERE FIVE BOX OF WITHIN A FIVE BLOCK AREA. MAYBE THERE WERE NO FOOD BOXES. WE SAT ABOUT TO DO A GIS MAPPING OF THIS. WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THAT IS WE FOUND IN ONE OF OUR COUNTIES AND ONE OF OUR COMMUNITIES THERE WERE 12 DIFFERENT POINTS OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION. WHEN WE TALK TO THEM ALL TOGETHER, WE FOUND OUT THAT FOUR OR FIVE OF THEM DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER ONES IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY. WE SAID WE WILL WORK WITH COMMUNITIES NOT ONLY IN THE TRADITIONAL ROLE BUT HOW DO WE GET COMMUNITIES TO IDENTIFY THEIR ASSETS AND CONNECT THEM TOGETHER. THIS IS AS A COMMUNITY CENTER OF LIFE. HAVE A KEY ROLE TO PLAY. THEY HAVE CONNECTION. YOUR SOURCE OF INFORMATION, YOUR MEETING SPOT FOR A LOT OF FOLKS. THIS ISN'T ABOUT HAVING THEM MERGE INTO SOME KIND OF MAJOR, YOU KNOW, NON-PROFIT THAT WILL BE ALL HAZARDS. HOW DO WE START A CONVERSATION. HOW DO WE PRESENT POINTS OF COLLABORATION AND MAKE THIS NETWORK THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY STRONGER. GOING BACK TO REBEKKAH'S SLIDE AND I'M GLAD IT WAS FUNNY THAT SARAH GOT THIS QUESTION ABOUT WHAT'S RESILIENCE. WE HAD A CONFERENCE THAT WE'RE IN NATIONAL CONFERENCE AND REPRESENTING ON A PARTNERSHIP WITH JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH ABOUT STUDYING A COMMUNITY'S RESILIENCE. FIRST HAND THAT WENT UP BEFORE WE STARTED THE PRESENTATION WAS THIS GUY AND HE GOES WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY RESILIENCE. ALL I HEAR IS RESILIENCE, RESILIENCE AND YOU WILL ACROSS A WILL THE OF SECTORS. I LOVE THE WAY SARAH, THAT YOU DEFINED THAT. GOING BACK TO THAT KIND OF NETWORK, HOW DO YOU CREATE THESE OPPORTUNITIES? HOW DO YOU BRING FOLKS TOGETHER NOT IN THE GUISE OF A DISASTER BECAUSE THE THINKING FOR MOST PEOPLE IS DISASTERS ARE SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO OTHER PEOPLE FAR AWAY. I SEE IT ON THE NEWS. THERE ARE MAJOR DISRUPTIVE EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN EVERY COMMUNITY. WE ARE SEEING THE TRADITIONAL NATURAL DISASTERS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. HOW DO YOU GET THAT COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO VISION WHAT THEY THINK -- BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT. WHAT DO THEY THINK IS A RESILIENT COMMUNITY? HOW DO YOU PROVIDE PLATFORMS TO BRING THEM TOGETHER AND SUPPORT THEM? I WANT TO GO BACK TO THAT KIND OF SLIDE THAT REBEKKAH PUT UP ABOUT CLIMATE ACTION IN TALKING ABOUT MITIGATION. KEEPING IN MIND SARAH'S DEFINITION AND THEN I WANT TO ADD THAT SECOND PIECE THAT TALKS ABOUT JUSTICE. IT TALKS ABOUT EMPATHY AND PEOPLE BEING EMPOWERED. IT TALKS ABOUT PEOPLE BEING INCLUSIVE. HOW DO WE PROVIDE THESE NETWORKS THAT ARE NOT CONTROLLED? HOW DO WE GET THE LOCAL FAITH LEADER TO COME AND TALK ABOUT THIS? FOR US THE CHALLENGE HAS BEEN, BECAUSE FOR ME, I'M PLANNER. THAT'S MY BACKGROUND. I COME FROM, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY RESPONSE BACKGROUND. HOW DO WE GET THESE LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO BUY INTO THIS. IT'S POINTS OF COLLABORATION SO EVERY DAY WE'RE BUILDING THAT RESILIENCE. WHEN THE WIND STARTS THE BLOW AND THE RAIN FALLS AND THE BLOODS RISE, WE ALREADY HAVE THAT NETWORK. WE HAVE A MESH. I'M JUST SO EXCITED TO SEE KIND OF THE EVOLUTION OF THIS THINKING IN LIBRARIES. 20 YEARS AGO, I THINK PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO SAY LIBRARIES ARE DEAD. IT'S THE COMPUTER AGE AND NOBODY NEEDS BOOKS ANYMORE. WHO NEEDS THAT. THEY ARE COMMUNITY CENTERS. THEY ARE A PLACE FOR RELATIONSHIPS. THEY ARE A PLACE FOR INFORMATION. THEY ARE PLACE FOR DOING THIS WORK. IT'S BEEN SO EXCITING WORKING WITH THIS TEAM TO PROMOTE THAT IDEA. WE HAD TREMENDOUS SUCCESS HERE IN NEW JERSEY. WE PARTNER A LOT. THAT'S HOW WE REACH DOWN. WE STARTED A NEW INITIATIVE HERE IN NEW JERSEY NAP WAS AROUND THIS IDEA THAT COMMUNITY GROUPS DON'T REALLY WANT THIS STRONG, KIND OF PRESCRIPTIVE IDEA OF HOW TO BUILD RESILIENCE. THEY NEED A PLATFORM. THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DETERMINE, ESPECIALLY HERE IN NEW JERSEY. WE HAVE 567 DISTINCT MUNICIPALITIES IN OUR SMALL STATE. A LOT OF PLACES THEY DON'T SEE THEMSELVES AS MUNICIPALITY. IT'S BY NEIGHBORHOOD. IT'S CENTERED AROUND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHERE FOLKS CAN COME TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT BUILDING RESILIENCE BRICK BY BRICK. WHAT HAPPENS, YOU RUN A SOUP KITCHEN? WHAT HAPPENS IN YOUR COMMUNITY WHEN 500 PEOPLE SHOW UP? DO YOU HAVE A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FOOD SUPPLIER WHETHER IT'S IN THE CORPORATE WORLD OR A FOOD BANK? DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO VOLUNTEERS THAT YOU MAY NEED? DO YOU KNOW WHO IS GIVING OUT FOOD AROUND THE CORNER? THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT THINGS. PLANNING IS VERY IMPORTANT. ALL THESE THINGS AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH. WE'RE HERE TO HELP IN EVERYTHING THAT MICHELLE TALKED ABOUT. IT'S ABOUT BUILDING THAT FABRIC AND MAKING IT STRONGER. WE AIM TO MAKE IT DIM. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. >> REBEKKAH: HOW WIDESPREAD ARE VOADS IN THE U.S.? >> KEITH: WE HAVE VOAD'S ACROSS ALL 50 STATE AND THERE'S A NATIONAL ORGANIZATION. WE HAVE A FAITH BASED STAFF HERE. THIS IS OUR WORK. IT GOES TO SOME OF THE SMALLER STATES OR IT MAY BE KIND OF A COALITION OF ORGANIZATIONS. ALL HAVE THE SAME AIM. THEN, WHEN SOMETHING DOES HAPPEN, FILLING WHAT WE CALL UNMET NEEDS OF COMMUNITY THROUGH OUR STATEWIDE AND NATIONAL MEMBERS. >> REBEKKAH: COOL. THANK YOU. I ALLUDE TO THIS, I WAS GOING TO ASK MICHELE ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUESTIONS I LIKE TO TALK TO HER ABOUT BECAUSE YOU TOOK THIS IDEA OF TRADITIONAL DISASTER PLANNING AND YOU HAVE EVOLVED IT OVER TIME TO GROW AROUND THE TOPIC OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR EVOLUTION OF THOUGHT AND BRINGING URGENCY TO THIS TOPIC. >> MICHELE: I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR OVER A DECADE NOW AND IT ALL REALLY WENT BACK TO KIND OF RIGHT THERE WITH HURRICANE SANDY. THE WHOLE EVOLUTION HAD TO DO WITH HURRICANE SANDY AND THE WAY I SAW LIBRARY RESPONDING AND SO THAT WAS FIRST CAME OUT WITH WHEN WE FIRST DID THE TOOL KIT THAT I TALKED ABOUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER. THE WHOLE EVOLUTION TURNED TO BEING PRO-ACTIVE AND GETTING OUT THERE INTO THE COMMUNITY WHETHER YOU'RE GOING TO BE LETTING THEM KNOW AHEAD OF TIME THE KIND OF SERVICES THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEM AFTER A DISASTER BUT BEING ABLE THE MOVE FORWARD LIKE ON THAT SPOT, LIKE AS SOON AS THE CRISIS IS OVER AND MOVE AHEAD IN PROVIDING THE SERVICE. THERE IS PRE-PLANNING FOR THAT AND THERE'S TOOLS THAT EVOLVED FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SO THAT LIBRARIES CAN SPRING FORWARD IMMEDIATELY AFTER A DISASTER. I THINK THAT ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, THAT TOOK AND AGAIN THAT HAPPENED AROUND HURRICANE SANDY BUT IT WAS ALSO HAPPENING WITH OTHER DISASTERS, TOO, UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I DID PROGRAMMING WITH SOME OTHER PEOPLE ON THIS TOPIC. WE STARTED THINKING ABOUT THE BIG DISASTER PLANS. HOW CAN WE GET THEM INTO SOMETHING THAT IS MUCH SHORTER. THAT'S WHERE THE IDEA OF THE CONTINUITY OF THE OPERATIONS PLAN CAME INTO SORT OF A PURVIEW WHERE WE TOOK, WE TOOK SOMETHING THAT WAS ACTUALLY CALLED, IT WAS BY THE COUNCIL START ARCHIVIST. IT WAS A ONE PAGE DISASTER PLAN. IT PUT IT DOWN TO ONE PLAN, FRONT AND BACK THAT YOU FOLD IT UP TO THE SIZE OF THE CREDIT CARD. THAT WAS DONE BY THE COUNCIL START ARCHIVIST AND WE ALL TOOK A LOOK AT THAT DOCUMENT AND MORPHED THAT INTO A CONTINUE -- CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN. I DO HAVE SOURCES FOR THESE ON OUR WEBSITE. THESE ARE THINGS THAT IT'S ALL GEARED THAT ONE PAGER INTO OPENING, GET YOUR LIP OPEN UP IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE DISASTER. WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU NEED TO DO. WE'RE REALLY LUCKY THAT, THAT FEMA RECOGNIZES HOW IMPORTANT LIBRARIES ARE. THAT WE ARE AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. THAT'S WHY FEMA HAS US WRITTEN IN TO THEIR STAFFORD ACT. THAT HAPPENED SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND THE STAFFORD ACT, THEIR ACT AND PLANNING MAYBE SARAH COULD TALK ABOUT THAT MORE. BUT WHAT ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL IN THE COMMUNITY THAT YOU NEED TO GET OPEN RIGHT AFTER A DISASTER. IT WAS NOT TOO LONG AGO THAT FEMA ADDED LIBRARIES INTO THE STAFFORD ACT SO WE COULD QUALIFY FOR FUNDING WHETHER WE WOULD OPEN UP IN THE SAME PLACE OR MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE AND REOPEN THE LIBRARY IN A LIMITED FORM TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY. WE RR REALLY GRATEFUL THAT FEMA RECOGNIZED THE LIBRARY AS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE. SO, YEAH, IN THE CRISIS SINCE THEN, LOOKING SPECIFICALLY IN NEW JERSEY, WE THINK OF NEW JERSEY, THINK OF THE JERSEY SHORE AND HURRICANES AND STORMS AND YES YOU HAVE ALL OF THOSE THINGS AND THE EMERGENCY PLANS THAT WE HAD ALL ADDRESS THOSE THINGS, BUT WE START MOVING FORWARD NOW TO RECOGNIZE. LIKE KEITH SAID, THERE'S A DISASTER EVERY DAY. ONE OF THINGS I LEARNED FROM THE TRADITION PLAN, LET'S OPEN AGAIN THE CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLAN. ANOTHER THING I LOOKED AT WAS OUR EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN WHICH I JUST, I TOTALLY SWIPED FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. JUST HAD IT REFORMATTED FOR LIBRARIES. THAT'S THE PLAN THAT RIGHT AFTER THE DISASTER LITES, YOU CAN HAVE ALL THESE NICE PLANS THAT WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO BUT EVERY DISASTER IS DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW. YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO HAVE TO SORT OF FLY BY THE SEAT OF YOUR PANTS ALMOST AND REACT TO THE DISASTER THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. THAT MORPHED INTO THIS EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN WHICH THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS USED. YOU WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S HAPPENING AND YOU'RE GOING TO SPRING INTO ACTION AND THAT EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN OFTEN IS NOT EVEN WRITTEN DOWN AT FIRST. IT WILL BE EVENTUALLY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT CHANGES THROUGH THE FIRST HOURS AND THROUGH FIRST DAY OF THE DISASTER AND THE WAY YOU WILL RESPOND TO IT. YOU KEEP REVISING THIS SHORT LITTLE EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN AND THAT WAS SORT OF, THAT WAS SORT OF THE LAST STEP THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IN THE EVOLUTION OF, YOU KNOW, GOING OVER THIS DECADE FROM THE TRADITIONAL PLAN TO, YOU KNOW, A SHORT CONTINUITY OPERATIONS PLAN TO RESILIENCY TOOLKIT WHICH WAS A CHECKLIST AND LET'S GO EVEN QUICKER THAN THAT, WE HAVE TO RESPOND AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE THE EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN. YOU'LL HAVE SOME SORT OF ALL OF THOSE AT SOME POINT IN A LIFE CYCLE, YOU KNOW, OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCY. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU, MICHELE. KEITH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE VISUALS, WHICH IS THE SOCIAL FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY AND I LOVED HOW YOU SAID WE NEED TO KNIT IT CLOSER UNTIL IT'S THICK AND STRONG LIKE DENIM. I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU AND SARAH WHAT YOU THINK SOME OF THE KEY ATTRIBUTES OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE ARE HOW DO WE STRENGTHS THAT SO MORE FOLKS ARE CONNECTED? DO YOU MIND STARTING ON THAT ONE, SARAH? >> SARAH: I THINK THAT SOME OF THE KEY ATTRIBUTES FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND STRENGTHENING IN OUR, ANY WAYS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL CAPITAL, HOW PEOPLE ARE FEEL INVITED AND EMPOWERED TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THE WAY THEIR COMMUNITY WORKS, ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND CRITICAL RESOURCES, WHICH IS A HUGE ATTRIBUTE OF ALL LIBRARIES, SOCIAL SOLIDARITY AND RECIPROCITY, AS WELL AS THE CONFLICTS OF NATURAL EVENTS THAT MIGHT AFFECT COMMUNITIES LEVEL OF RESILIENCE THAT WE DON'T QUITE HAVE CONTROL OVER. I THINK THAT MICHELE'S GOING THROUGH THE EVOLUTION OF ALL THE WAYS THAT LIBRARIES HAVE DONE PLANNING SHOWS HOW MANY, YOU KNOW, SHOCKS TO THE SYSTEM THERE HAS BEEN AND HOW WE HAVE TO KEEP ON DEVELOPING HOW WE PLAN SO THAT IT'S BOTH EASY AND COMPREHENSIVE. ONE THING I WANT TO NOTE ON YOUR CLIMATE JUSTICE PORTION OF THE CHART THAT YOU SHOWED EARLIER IN THE PRESENTATION WAS THAT WE HAVE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS SOCIAL VULNERABILITY INDEXES TO SHOW LIKE A COMMUNITY MIGHT, ONE COMMUNITY MIGHT BE MORE VULNERABLE THAN THE OTHER. ONE COMMUNITY MIGHT BE LESS RESILIENT BUT THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE BECAUSE SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE LOWER INCOME OR DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO A CARTO EVACUATE WITH MIGHT NOT BE LESS RESILIENT. THEY JUST HAVE FEWER RESOURCES. WHAT'S SOMETHING THE LIBRARY CAN DO IS ASSIST IN ALTERNATE WAYS TO PROVIDE THE RESOURCES LIKE BEING A PLACE FOR GETTING KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS, HELPING OUT NEIGHBORS AND CHECKING IN ON OLDER RESIDENTS OR PEOPLE WITH ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES, TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE SAFE. OFFERING ASSISTANCE FOR RESOURCES WHEN THEY ARE NEEDED. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT IS TO KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY, INCLUDE EVERY ONE'S PERSPECTIVES AND VOICES AND NOT JUST ASSUME BECAUSE A COMMUNITY IS MORE VULNERABLE OR HAS LESS RESOURCES DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY ARE LESS RESILIENT BUT PERHAPS THEY ARE JUST UNDERSERVED AND UNDER RESOURCED BUT THEY ARE NOT INCAPABLE OF DOING THE WORK OF GETTING TO RESILIENCE. >> REBEKKAH: AWESOME. THANK YOU. I SHARED THE NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FROM FEMA. LIBRARIANS LOVE DATA. I'M SURE, LIKE ME, THEY WILL GEEK OUT WHEN THEY SEE THAT. KEITH, CAN YOU SPEAK A BIT TO YOUR KIND OF VIEW OF WHAT REALLY CONSTITUTES COMMUNITY RESILIENCE? >> KEITH: I WANT TO KEY OFF OF MICHELE TALKED ABOUT PLANNING AND HOW VALUABLE PLANS WERE. SARAH JUST TALKED ABOUT HOW VALUABLE INFORMATION IS. I WANT TO PRESENT THE THIRD LEG WHICH IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS. PLANS ARE GOOD. INFORMATION IS GOOD. I'M NOT TALKING AGAINST EITHER ONE OF THEM, BUT IT COMES DOWN TO -- AS A MATTER OF FACT WE RAN A PROGRAM WE WERE OFFERING AND I ENTITLED IT WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD? IF YOU'RE OF A CERTAIN AGE YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH THAT SONG. YES, I HAD THE PARTICIPANTS SING IT BECAUSE THAT WAS ALWAYS A HOOT. IT IS THIS IDEA OF WHO ARE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, I THINK THE LINE THAT SAYS THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW THE BEST. TO ME, IT'S ABOUT IF YOU LOOK AT IT, IT'S AN ASSET BASED APPROACH HERE. WHAT WE SAY IS A RULE. EVERY COMMUNITY HAS ASSETS. PEOPLE HAVE TALENT AND DREAMS, EXPERIENCES THAT THEY LEND TO THE COMMUNITY IN SOME WAY. THAT INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, THE GREATER ORGANIZATIONS. WE ALL HAVE PERSONAL NETWORKS, BUSINESSES HAVE NETWORKS. THERE'S NETWORKS THROUGHOUT THE FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY SO AND SO FORTH. HOW DO WE BRING THESE FOLKS TOGETHER? ONE OF THE THAT I THINK CHALLENGES IS, IN MY MIND, THAT, AGAIN, I FOUND IT NOT SO HELPFUL TO TALK ABOUT THE BIG DISASTER. WHAT I'VE SAID IS THAT HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THESE KIND OF EVERY DAY DISASTERS? THAT WAS MY TAG LINE FOR A WHILE. EVERY DAY IS A DISASTER FOR SOMEBODY IN NEW JERSEY. THAT'S USUALLY A LAUGH LINE. IT'S THIS IDEA OF HOW WE VIEW OURSELVES AS A COMMUNITY. WHAT OUR VISION OF RESILIENCE IS, AND WHAT'S REALLY IS MISSING FACTOR HERE IS WHAT WE CALL A CONNECTER. THAT CONNECTER CAN BE, YOU KNOW, ANY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT HAS A WIDE REACH. I THINK THAT LIBRARIES REALLY FIT INTO THAT. I THINK WE HAVE TO CONNECT TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, ESPECIALLY, THAT THIS IS PART OF THEIR COMMISSION. IF IT'S A FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, DO YOU CARE ABOUT PEOPLE? DO YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR? IS THAT YOUR PRACTICE? THAT FITS INTO THIS. IF YOU'RE A LIBRARY NEEDS TO BE A KEY PART OF YOUR MISSION. YOU NEED TO ENVISION IT HAS A KEY PART OF YOUR MISSION AS WELL. IF YOUR MISSION INCLUDES THINGS LIKE COMMUNITY CONNECTER, MEETING SPACE, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION SHARING, WHICH I KNOW ALL YOUR LIBRARIES DO SEE THEM AS CORE MISSIONS. THEN YOU ARE A NATURAL CONNECTER IN YOUR COMMUNITY. AGAIN, TO BUILD RESILIENCE. HOW DO WE CONNECT? THERE'S A TON OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE FROM MY ORGANIZATION OR THE STATE LIBRARY ORGANIZATION OR FEMA OR ANY ONE OF THE PUBLICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED HERE. THEY ARE ALL RESOURCES THAT YOU CAN USE TO WORK BUT THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO DO IS HAVE RELATIONSHIPS. I USED TO TELL PEOPLE I WAS INVOLVED IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND, YOU KNOW, THEN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE NGO SECTOR. I'VE CHANGED MY TUNE NOW. USUALLY I TELL PEOPLE THAT I'M A COMMUNITY DEVELOPER WITH A FOCUS ON DISASTER. BE A LIBRARY, OKAY, BE A COMMUNITY DEVELOPER, YOU KNOW ALONG WITH YOUR WORK. SEE THAT AS ONE OF YOUR CORE MISSIONS AND THE WORK YOU DO EVERY DAY TO BUILD STRONGER COMMUNITIES IS BUILDING RESILIENCE. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU, KEITH. EXCUSE ME, FOLKS. WE TALKED ON THE TOPIC OF LIBRARIES AND IT BEING A CRITICAL ASPECT TO CLIMATE ACTION WHICH IS CONNECTING PEOPLE AND BUILDING THE SOCIAL COHESION SO WE WORK ON EVERY DAY DISASTERS AND ANOMALOUS DISASTERS THAT CAN HIT OUR REGIONS. I THINK THE NETWORKS THAT YOU BUILD, THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU BUILD IN YOUR COMMUNITY OR YOUR CAMPUS CAN BE DIFFERENT THAN HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST. YOU KNOW, WE THINK ABOUT CONNECTING WITH THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY, MICHELE IS CALLED LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS INFORMATION FIRST RESPONDERS. WE'RE NOT FIGHTING THE FIRE BUT WE'RE HELPING PEOPLE BOUNCE BACK AND RECOVER IN THE AFTERMATH OF THAT EVENT. THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY IS REALLY KEY COMPONENT TO THAT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, TO MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHAT ASSETS ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM OUTSIDE OF PERHAPS THE TRADITIONAL ASSETS OF FIRST RESPONDERS. SO, I THINK ALL THREE OF YOU CAN PERHAPS SPEAK TO THIS BUT WHAT KIND OF TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR LIBRARY FOLKS TO CONNECT WITH THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY IN PRODUCTIVE WAYS? THAT'S SOMETIMES NOT A REALM WE'RE NOT USED TO COMMUNICATE WITH OR DEALING WITH. WHAT'S AN APPROPRIATE WAY FROECH THE COMMUNITY AND PARTICIPATE? MICHELE YOU WANT TO GO FIRST? YOU KIND OF HELPED ME UNDERSTAND HOW YOU BROKE THE ICE ON THAT ONE. >> MICHELE: AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT IN NNG JERSEY, MOST OF OUR LIBRARIES ARE STAND ALONE WITH OUR OWN ELECTED OFFICIAL AND OWN FIRST RESPONDERS WHETHER IT'S IN A MUNICIPALITY OR A REGION. WE DO HAVE TOOLS AND WAYS THAT YOU CAN LEARN TO REACH OUT TO THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU DO THIS ALL AHEAD OF TIME BECAUSE YOU CAN'T WAIT FOR SOME DISASTER TO HIT AND SAY LET ME GO AND SEE. LET ME SEE WHAT I CAN DO WITH THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IT'S A RELATIONSHIP THAT YOU REACH OUT LOCALLY TO WHOEVER IS THE HEAD OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY OR IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE, MAYBE THE FIRE CHIEF, THE CHIEF OF POLICE, WHATEVER. YOU REACH OUT AND YOU MEET WITH THEM. YOU TELL THEM ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THAT THE LIBRARY CAN DO AND YOU HAVE THIS DISCUSSION WITH THEM AND BRING THEM TO THE LIBRARY AND TELL ME THEM WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN. YOU ASK HOW YOU CAN HELP THEM IN AN EMERGENCY. MOST OF THE TIME, IT'S GETTING A LOT BETTER NOW, ACTUALLY. WE HAVE A LOT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COME TO US NOW REALIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS THE LIBRARY CAN MAKE AFTER A DISASTER, BUT MANY TIMES THEY PROBABLY WILL NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF THE LIBRARY AS A HELPER IN THAT KIND OF WAY. YES, INFORMATION FIRST RESPONDERS IN THAT WE CAN GIVE YOU VETTED, CLEAR INFORMATION, BUT WE'RE REALLY SECOND RESPONDERS. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET IN THEIR WAY. WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET OUT THERE WITH THEM SAVING LIVES. WE WANT TO BE RESPECTFUL OF THAT AND NOT GET IN THEIR WAY WHEN A DISASTER HAPPENS. YOU HAVE DO FIND OUT WHO YOUR CONTACTS ARE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AND ASK THAT YOU MEET WITH THEM AND PREPARE. YOU JUST PREPARE WAYS IN WHICH YOU SAY THIS IS THE CAPACITY. THIS IS WHAT MY LIBRARY, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN DO AFTER A DISASTER TO HELP THE COMMUNITY. EVERY SINGLE LIBRARY IS DIFFERENT. EVERY LIBRARY CAN DO SOMETHING. YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE THING, THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS THAT EVERY LIBRARY, KEITH MENTIONED WE HAVE TO EMBRACE THIS ROLE, AND I BELIEVE IT IS OUR CORE MISSION TO EMBRACE THIS ROLE AS THIS CONNECTER AFTER A DISASTER TO HELP THE COMMUNITY. I THINK WE'RE OBLIGATED TO DO IT. I DO THINK WE HAVE GOT DO LET THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS KNOW WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER IN SOME WAY. THEN WE HAVE TO PREPARE OURSELVES TO SERVE IN THAT WAY TOO. THERE ARE LOTS OF RESOURCES OUT THERE IF YOU'RE NOT QUITE SURE HOW TO START AND HOW TO APPROACH, THERE ARE RESOURCES OUT THERE THAT CAN HELP YOU CONNECT WITH YOUR EMERGENCY, YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND YOUR LOCAL RESPONDERS. BEAR IN MIND, IT'S ONGOING. YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE RELATIONSHIP GOING. PEOPLE COME AND GO IN THEIR ROLES. THINGS HAPPEN. IT'S EASY TO FORGET, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE AN ANNUAL THING. YOU MIGHT WANT TO MEET EVERY YEAR WITH WHOEVER IS IN CHARGE AND JUST REVIEW THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, ARE GOING, THAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER. YEAH, EVERY DAY IS A DISASTER LIKE KEITH SAID AND ESPECIALLY NOW WITH THESE HEAT RELATED, THIS IS THE BIG ONE. THESE EXTREME HEAT EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING TO SO MANY OF US. ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP. KEEP IT GOING ALL THE TIME. >> REBEKKAH: KEITH OR SARAH, ANY OTHER TIPS TO THE LIBRARY COMMUNITY? >> KEITH: I THINK KEEP IT SIMPLE. THAT'S WHAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THESE COMMUNITY COALITIONS THAT WE'RE STARTING TO FORM. THAT IS THAT IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU MEETING WITH EMERGENCY MANAGER AND SAYING THIS IS WHAT THE LIBRARY CAN DO AFTER THE DISASTER. THAT IS PART OF THE CONVERSATION. I THINK IT'S MORE A QUESTION OF HOW YOU INVOLVE EMERGENCY MANAGERS TO COME IN AS RESOURCES TO THAT WHOLE COMMUNITY WHO IS SAYING WE WANT TO BE MORE RESILIENT. WE WANT TO DO THAT INCLUDE COLLABORATIONS, PARTNERSHIPS AND THEN THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BECOMES LIKE WE GOT THIS PROGRAM OR WE'VE GOT THIS GRANT OR WE'VE GOT THIS TO HELP BECAUSE I THINK IT'S NOT EVEN, YOU KNOW, GETTING BACK TO EVERY DAY IS DISASTER, I DON'T THINK IT'S LIKE THIS IS WHAT A LIBRARY CAN DO AFTER DISASTER AND CERTAINLY YOU CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS. WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? YOUR LIBRARIES ARE PUBLIC BUILDINGS. YOU HAVE AIR-CONDITIONING WHEN IT'S REALLY HOT AND YOU HAVE HEAT AND WINTER. THERE'S PEOPLE ALREADY COMING IN, THE GUESTS HOPEFULLY THEY ARE READING AND TAKING PART OF A PROGRAM. SOME OF THEM ARE THERE TO STAY WARM AND SOME ARE THERE TO BE COOL. YOU'RE ALREADY KIND OF DOING THAT, WHICH IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT THING THAN SAYING TO AN EMERGENCY MANAGER, I WANT TO OPEN UP A HEATING AND COOLING CENTER. IT'S ABOUT YOU BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY. IT'S JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO BE CONNECTED TO THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY, BUT I WILL JUST CAVEAT THAT WITH SOME OF OUR EMERGENCY MANAGERS ARE MORE INTO THIS IDEA OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THAN OTHERS. SOME ARE VERY FOCUSED ON RESPONSE. THEY MAY ONLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE MICHELE SAID, WHAT CAN YOU DO AFTER A DISASTER. THE CONVERSATION COULD BE HOW DO WE, AS IMPORTANT, COMPONENTS OF THIS COMMUNITY, WHAT RESOURCES DO WE HAVE TO BUILD THIS RESILIENCE EVERY DAY. IT'S THE SAME CONVERSATION BUT MAYBE A LITTLE DIFFERENT. >> REBEKKAH: SARAH, DID YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING ON THIS ONE? >> SARAH: I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT MICHELE AND KEITH SAID. IN ADDITION THERE ARE SOME ITEMS THAT LIBRARIES HAVE PARTNERED WITH FEMA TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR SURVIVORS TO UPLOAD DOCUMENTS AND THEY ACT AS A LOCATION FOR FEMA APPLICATION AFTER DISASTER AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY TO SUPPORT POST-DISASTER AID TO COMMUNITIES. I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT BECAUSE. >> MICHELE: MICHELE AND KEITH HAD GREAT RESPONSES. >> REBEKKAH: SOME EXCELLENT QUESTIONS HAVE COME THROUGH THE CHAT THAT PEOPLE REALLY APPRECIATE HEARING FROM YOU ON. ONE IS RELATED A BIT, KEITH, TO WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT WHICH IS THE NUANCE OF COMMUNICATION AROUND SOME OF THESE TOPICS AND UNDERSTANDING HOW TO FRAME THINGS. ALEXIS ASKED HOW DO YOU APPROACH WORKING ON DISASTERED PREPAREDNESS WHEN SOME LIBRARY PATRONS RESIST CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND MAY PREVENT THE LIBRARIAN FOR TRYING TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS. IT'SLIKE THE TOPIC BUT WE GOT TO GET STUFF DONE. ANY TYPES TO TALK ABOUT THIS STUFF THAT DOESN'T TRIGGER THE POLITICALIZATION AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE? >> KEITH: THAT'S HARD TO ESCAPE AROUND ANY TOPIC. I GO BACK TO IF WE THINK ABOUT THIS MOTIVATIONAL THEORY WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE TRUE. I'M GOING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THINGS THAT I'M PERSONALLY MOTIVATED TO DO, RIGHT? WHEN I SAY THIS IS, THAT WHEN YOU'RE KIND OF REACHING OUT TO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, LIKE THE FIRST RESPONDER COMMUNITY, THEY MAY BE FOCUSED ON RESPONSE KIND OF THINGS. THE LOCAL FAITH-BASED LEADER MAY HAVE A THOUSAND PROBLEMS BECAUSE IT'S LIKE OH, MY GOODNESS, ATTENDANCE IS DOWN AND THERE'S HOLE IN MY ROOF. HOW THE YOU KIND OF NOT FOCUS ON THIS AS WELL. DISASTERS ARE BEING CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE TO THINGS ARE CHANGING AROUND US. WE'RE SEEING MORE STORMS, MORE FLOODS. WE'RE SEEING MORE SUNNY DAY FLOODING. THOSE KIND OF ASPECTS AND, AGAIN, WE'RE SEEING HUNGRY PEOPLE AND WE'RE SEEING -- SO HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO OUR ABILITY? TO ME IT'S FRAMING RESILIENCE IS GOING BACK TO THAT, HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THE EVERY DAY FLOODING, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THE NEW JERSEY SHORE, OUR INCIDENTS OF SUNNY DAY FLOODING. IT'S VERY, DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BIG STORM FOR PEOPLE TO WALK OUT THEIR DOORS AND THERE BE A FOOT OF WATER ON THEIR STREET. THAT AFFECTS THE BUILDING, BUSINESS COMMUNITY. IN OTHER WORDS, FOCUS ON WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT'S RELATABLE TO THOSE FOLKS IN YOUR COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO TRYING TO TIE IT ALL INTO THIS IS ALL BEING CAUSED BY FOSSIL FUELS AND THAT'S MANMADE AND WE HAVE TO REDUCE EMISSION. ALL THAT MAY BE TRUE AND FOR THE RECORD, I DO. PERHAPS THE CONVERSATION JUST GOT TO BE WHAT'S IN FRONT OF US NOW. HOW DO WE STAY COOL WHEN IT'S HOT? HOW DO WE STAY HOT WHEN IT'S COLD? HOW DO WE DEAL WITH MORE RAIN, MORE FLOODS, MORE WHATEVER AS A COMMUNITY? >> REBEKKAH: YOU TAKE IT DOWN A FEW NOTCHES. >> KEITH: YEAH, I THINK WE GET IN TROUBLE. I USED TO TELL PEOPLE, NEW JERSEY VOAD HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT AND PARTNERSHIP WITH WATER FRONT ALLIANCE AND ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE BECAUSE WE'RE VERY -- WE SEE THE CONNECTION HERE. I THINK THAT WHEN YOU START TO TALK ABOUT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE GET KIND OF WRAPPED UP IN THE POLITICS OF IT AND THE OTHER THING IS THE OLD ADAGE, DON'T TRY TO EAT THE WHOLE ELEPHANT. MAYBE START AT THE TRUNK. THINKS THAT PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO. YES, THIS SUMMER WAS REALLY HOT. THIS WINTER WAS REALLY SNOWY. I'M NOTING THAT THERE'S MORE WATER IN MY STREET AFTER EVERY RAIN. I'M NOTICING THAT THERE'S MORE HOMELESS PEOPLE, HUNGRY PEOPLE, WHATEVER THE CASE, WHATEVER IS APPARENT IN YOUR COMMUNITY IS TO KIND OF FOCUS IT. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED AS A LIBRARY BECAUSE IF THIS HAPPENS, HOW CAN WE HELP. >> REBEKKAH: DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THE ISSUE ABOUT FRAMING AND MESSAGING WITH FOLKS? >> MICHELE: I WOULD SAY IF YOU HAVE RESISTANT PATRONS, I WOULD -- IN MY MIND, HAZARD MITIGATION IS CLIMATE ADAPTATION. AND, SO, ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE RISK FROM HAZARDS IS BASICALLY THE SAME THING AS CLIMATE ADAPTATION. SO, IF IT IS A TOUCHY SUBJECT, IF IT IS A TRIGGERING SUBJECT WHERE SOMEONE MIGHT IMMEDIATELY GO INTO A RANT OR SOMETHING. I'M NOT SURE WHAT EACH PERSON MIGHT INDIVIDUALLY DO IF THEY FEEL IT'S EXTREMELY POLITICIZED TOPIC FOR THEM. YOU DON'T WANT TO TOUCH ON THAT WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL, TALK ABOUT HAZARD MITIGATION AS KEITH SAID. TALK ABOUT THE FLOODS THAT ARE GETTING WORSE, THE DROUGHT, THE WILDFIRES, THE INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF ORANGE SKIES WE HAD IN NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY AREA OVER THE SUMMER BECAUSE OF THE WILDFIRES IN CANADA. TALK ABOUT HURRICANES BECOMING WETTER AND STAYING OVER LAND LONGER. I THINK THAT ISN'T NECESSARILY, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, STOP YOURSELF FROM TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE BUT SOMEONE IS ESPECIALLY BELLIGERENT, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT HAZARD MITIGATION. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU. WE'VE GOT ANOTHER QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE THEN I'LL ASK YOU EACH ONE MORE QUESTION AFTER THAT. WE HAVE A REALLY, I THINK, TIMELY QUESTION ABOUT DISASTER CAPITALISM. AND WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN THE FIELD TO HELP PEOPLE KIND OF FOR ANYONE NOT FAMILIAR WITH DISASTER CAPITALISM, IT'S TO WELL EXPLAINED IN THE CHAT. THE OPPORTUNISTIC EXPLOITATION AFTER A DISASTER. TELL US WHAT YOU'RE THINKING. >> KEITH: I LOVE THAT QUESTION. SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME, SOME HUMAN BEINGS HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, YOU KNOW, LET'S KICK THEM WHILE THEY'RE DOWN. THAT'S PROBABLY NOT GOING TO CHANGE. ALTHOUGH, I MEAN, WE HAVE DONE THINGS CERTAINLY AFTER SANDY WITH CONTRACTOR FRAUD AND THERE WAS FRAUD IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL, TOO. TO ME, THE BEST THING IS AGAIN, THE BEST DEFENSE IS A RESILIENT COMMUNITY. THAT WORK IS LONG AND IT'S HARD. IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN START AFTER THE DISASTER. COMMUNITIES THAT ARE WELL CONNECTED WHERE THE FABRIC IS DENIM AND WHERE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION BEFORE THIS OCCURS, WHERE THEY CAN ADVOCATE FOR THE REVISION, NOT A VISION THAT'S BEING IMPOSED ON THEIR COMMUNITY. THOSE ARE THE BEST SAFEGUARDS AND IT'S NOT GOING TO COMPLETELY INOCULATE THAT SITUATION FROM HAPPENING. AS YOU CAN SEE TODAY, IN TODAY'S WEBINAR YOU'RE SEEING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOUR COMMUNITIES. WE'RE ALL IN THE SAME TEAM. TO ME, AGAIN, THE STRONGER YOUR COMMUNITY IS, THE MORE RESILIENT YOU ARE TO MISINFORMATION TO BEING MANIPULATED, TO BEING PUSHED, PRODDED INTO SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE AS CONSISTENT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY'S VISION. I'M JUST GOING TO SAY THAT IT'S HARD WORK TO BUILD RESILIENCE BRICK BY BRICK. THIS IS WHEN IT PAYS. >> REBEKKAH: SARAH, ANYTHING TO ADD ON THE DISASTER CAPITALISM SIDE OF THINGS? >> SARAH: YES. IN A SORT OF ON THE GROUND SENSE OF FEMA IS ATTEMPTING TO RESOLVE A SPECIFIC ISSUE IN DISASTER CAPITALISM, WHICH IS HEIRS RIGHT TO LAND SO HEIR IS IMPORTANT WHERE PEOPLE HAVE GENERATIONAL RIGHTS TO LAND BUT THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE PROPER TITLE, PROPER PAPER WORK SO ONE REALLY SPECIFIC THING THAT FEMA TRIED TO SOLVE RECENTLY THROUGH RULE MAKING WAS TO SAY, YOU CAN SHOW US -- YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOW US LITERAL TITLED PAPERWORK FOR YOUR LAND. MAYBE IT GOT LOST IN THE FLOOD OR THE FIRE AND THEN YOU DON'T HAVE IT SAVED ON A COMPUTER OR SOMETHING OR ON THE CLOUD. YOU CAN SHOW US DOCUMENTATION LIKE PAYING THE MORTGAGE SO THAT YOU DON'T, THAT THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE IN SOUTHEASTERN U.S., AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WHO IS HAVE HAD THEIR LAND FOR GENERATIONS AND WHERE DISASTER CAPITALISM COMES IN AND THERE'S FLOOD OR FIRE AND THEY LOSE THE HOUSE THEY MIGHT LIKE LITERALLY LOSE THAT GENERATIONAL LAND AND THEN IT GETS BOUGHT UP BY DISASTER CAPITALISTS WHO TURN IT INTO A McMANSION NEIGHBORHOOD. IT'S A PROBLEM WE TRY TO SEW UP THAT WHOLE IN OUR PROCESS TO BE MORE EQUITABLE TO PEOPLE'S ACTUAL LIFE EXPERIENCES. YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE PROPER TITLE TO THE LAND BUT IT'S STILL YOURS. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ASSIST YOU PROVIDE PUBLIC AND INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THAT SITUATION, SO THAT THEIR LAND DOESN'T GET BOUGHT UP AND TAKEN WAY FROM THEM. >> REBEKKAH: THAT'S SO INTERESTING. I'M GLAD TO HEAR FEMA HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT AND FINDING COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS TO HELP FOLKS RETAIN THEIR PROPERTY. THAT'S AMAZING. I'M WATCHING THE CLOCK. WE'RE ALL BUSY PEOPLE. I WANT TO GIVE EACH OF YOU A CHANCE, IF THERE'S ONE TIP OR ONE ITEM OR SOMETHING YOU FEEL LIKE WOULD REALLY HELP A LIBRARY PERSON GOING BACK TO THEIR LIBRARY TO GET STARTED IN WORKING ON THIS STUFF, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PARTING THOUGHTS YOU WANT TO LEAVE PEOPLE HERE WITH? MICHELE I'LL START WITH YOU. >> MICHELE: I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST STARTED THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS IN THE SHIFT OVER DISASTER PREPAREDNESS INTO COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND IT WAS LIKE THIS HUGE, BROAD TOPIC THAT I JUST DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO START WITH MY THINKING, YOU KNOW. I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT JUST A FUNNEL. IT STARTS AND FINALLY AS THE YEARS WENT BY IT GOT TO A FINE POINT WHERE I COULD FEEL LIKE I CAN GO FORWARD WITH SOME KIND OF AN ACTION PLAN. AND, SO, FOR LIBRARIES OUT THERE, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE TOPIC IS VERY HUGE AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. I WOULD SAY START, PICK ONE THING AND START. I THINK THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU COULD START DOING AND KEITH KIND OF MENTIONED THIS, I ALWAYS THINK OF LIBRARIES AS A NEIGHBOR. WE'RE A GOOD NEIGHBOR. GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS IS A LOT OF THINGS I WOULD SAY LIKE IN SOME OF THE PRESENTATIONS THAT I DO. WE'RE THE NEIGHBOR. WE'RE OPEN TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. WE WANT TO GET TO KNOW NOT ONLY THE PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. KEITH I'M TALKING THIS ALL FROM YOU. I BELIEVE THE SAME THING. WE WANT TO KNOW WHO OUR PARTNERS ARE AND WE CAN FIND A WILL THE OF OUR PARTNERS WITH THE VOLUNTEER GROUPS IN OUR FAITH BASE-BASED GROUPS AND WANT KNOW WHO OUR PEOPLE ARE. I WOULD START BY GETTING TO KNOW THE PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND BEING A GOOD NEIGHBOR TO THEM AND REACHING OUT AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT YOU'RE THERE. YOU'RE THE ANCHOR IN THE COMMUNITY. LET'S START MEETING AND WORKING TOGETHER AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO GOING FORWARD TO HELP PREPAREDNESS ALL THE WAY AROUND. I ALSO THINK THAT AS WE MENTIONED ABOUT SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS. THAT'S A REAL IMPORTANT ROLE WHERE THE LIBRARY CAN STEP INTO THAT ALONG WITH THE LOCAL VOAD ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP ORGANIZE, YOU KNOW, THE SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS WILL COME OUT AND WANT TO HELP AFTER A DISASTER. WE WANT TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS SINCE THEY'RE NOT TRAINED BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK LIBRARIES CAN WORK DISASTER. THEY HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY WITH THE SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS ALONG WITH THE VOADS. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU. SARAH, ANY PARTING THOUGHTS OR TIP FOR THE AUDIENCE? >> SARAH: DEFINITELY CHECK OUT THE U.S. CLIMATE RESILIENCE TOOLKIT. SEE IF YOU PURCHASED FLOOD INSURANCE. YOU CAN FLOOD PROOF FACILITIES. HAVE YOUR LANDSCAPING WORK WITH WATER, BE DROUGHT RESISTANT. USE WATER EFFICIENTLY. PURCHASE AND MAINTAIN A GENERATOR SO THAT YOU CAN BE A SORT OF RESILIENCE HUB FOR YOUR COMMUNITY AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO USE THE LIBRARY IN BLUE SKIES AND POST-DISASTER TO ASSIST THEM WITH GETTING BACK TO NORMAL LIFE. I ALSO ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO ATTEND THE HAZARD MITIGATION PARTNERS WORKSHOP OCTOBER 16th TO 19th. THIS YEAR WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON ALL TOGETHER FOR CLIMATE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES TO TALK ABOUT BUILDING MITIGATION CHAMPIONS, DRIVING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND TALKING ABOUT GRANT PROGRAMS AND HOW TO GET MONEY TO DO THESE RESILIENCE PROJECTS. I'M GOING PUT THAT IN THE CHAT. I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL FOR GIVING A VENUE TO TALK ABOUT THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC. >> REBEKKAH: THANKS FOR THAT SHOUT OUT, FOR THAT WORKSHOP. THE MINUTE YOU SAID HELP WITH GRANT, I'M SURE EVERY ONE IS LIKE WHAT'S THE LINK FOR THAT. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT. KEITH WHAT KIND OF PARTING THOUGHTS. >> KEITH: I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FOLLOW. MICHELE TOOK ALL MY STEM AND SARAH JUST OFFERED MONEY. IT'S HARD FOR ME, BUT I'M GOING THE TRY BECAUSE I ALWAYS DO. I'M GOING TO SAY THIS AND THAT IS THAT DISASTERS, MAJOR DISRUPTIVE EVENTS, WHATEVER WE WANT TO CALL THEM, THEY ALWAYS START AND END IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES. LOCAL COMMUNITIES AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, IT HAPPENS TO YOU, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN FOR A LITTLE WHILE. YES THE HELPERS COME AND HELP YOU BUT THEN SOME DAY THAT HELP GOES AWAY AND THE HARD JOB OF BUILDING RESILIENCE, RECOVERING FROM THAT EVENT IS YOURS. IT'S IMPORTANT NOT TO WAIT FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BUILD THESE STRONG RELATIONSHIP, START COLLABORATING. LIBRARIES, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, HAVE A KEY ROLE AND POSITIONED WELL TO BE CONNECTERS IN THEIR COMMUNITY. YOU'VE BEEN CONNECTED WITH A WILL THE OF RESOURCES THROUGH THIS WEBINAR SERIES. WE'RE ALL HERE TO HELP. WE'RE NOT GOING AWAY UNLESS SARAH OFFERS ME MORE MONEY SO I CAN SAIL OFF SOME PLACE. WE'RE HERE TO HELP. WE HOPE THAT THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVED TODAY HELPS YOU TO GO BACK AND WE HOPE WE OFFERED YOU SOME ENCOURAGEMENT TO DO SO. >> REBEKKAH: THANK YOU. KEITH, SARAH AND MICHELE, YOU ARE SUCH TROOPERS TO BE A PART OF THIS SERIES AND TO LEND THE PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND HOW LIBRARIES CAN BE HELPFUL IN THESE MOMENTS. I LOVE THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE ANSWER COMES BACK TO RELATIONSHIPS, CONNECTING PEOPLE NOT ONLY WITH RELATIONSHIPS BUT EACH OTHER. OUR NEXT SESSION IS ON THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE JUSTICE AND HOW DO WE HAVE JUSTICE CENTER DESIGN IN OUR THINKING IN FUTURE HERE. I'M GOING TO DO SLIDE WHIPLASH HERE. WATCH OUT. OUR NEXT SESSION WE'LL BE TALKING IN GENERAL ABOUT CLIMATE JUSTICE. THE SIX PILLARS OF CLIMATE JUSTICE AS WELL AS HEARING FROM MICHAELA PORTA WHICH YOU MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF BUT IS THE FIRST LIBRARY TO USE JUSTICE CENTER DESIGN TO BUILD THEIR FACILITY. THINKING IN DIFFERENT FRAME WORKS ABOUT HOW WE DESIGN LIBRARIES FOR THE FUTURE IS A VERY INTERESTING LENS TO WHICH TO THINK ABOUT THE TOPIC, BUT WE'LL BE COVERING THE BASICS OF SIX PILLARS AS WELL. I WANT TO CLOSE BY THANK OUR PANEL FOR BEING SUCH GOOD SPORTS AND HELPING OUT EVERY TIME MICHELE AND I ASK. ALSO TO THANK THE AUDIENCE FOR BEING HERE. I SAW GREAT STUFF BEING SHARED IN THE CHAT AND CREATING THIS COMMUNITY IN OUR PROFESSION BECAUSE IT TAKES ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT THIS AND ADVANCE THESE TOPICS AND TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE THERE FOR OUR COMMUNITIES IN THE WAY TO BE MOST IMPACTFUL. THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE WHO IS HERE TODAY, INCLUDING OUR HOST WEB JUNCTION FOR CONTINUING TO HELP EVERY ONE ACCELERATE THIS WORK BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S CALLED FOR IN THIS MOMENT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH EVERY ONE FOR BEING HERE TODAY. HOST:I WILL SEND YOU A SHORT LINK. IT'S IN THE E-MAIL. THAT E-MAIL IS IN THE -- THAT LINK WILL BE IN THE E-MAIL THAT YOU WILL BE SENT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU REBEKKAH FOR LEADING THIS AND WE WILL SEE YOU ALL NEXT WEEK. THAT'S OCTOBER 3rd, NEXT WEEK. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.