Libraries are a refuge in extreme weather crises

One painful part of living through the pandemic for me was the sense that Americans were failing one another. Recent catastrophic weather events have brought back that same sense of unease. When deadly Hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall in October, conspiracy theorists suggested they were manufactured for political benefit. Federal relief efforts were stymied by online misinformation, and a man was arrested for threatening FEMA workers. America, we’re not okay.

As the Noveber issue goes to print, we do not know the outcome of the presidential election, but there’s no question that the next administration will be faced with the consequences of a warmer, wetter, and wilder climate. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report, the scale of recent climate changes are unprecedented. Rising global temperatures contribute to more frequent heat waves, droughts, precipitation, and intense tropical storms.

While I worry that societal divisions weaken our ability to confront the challenges ahead, libraries have largely proven to be compassionate partners stepping in to help—and library buildings are often key assets in a crisis.

I recently spoke with Erin MacFarlane, who, just a few months into her role as director of Phoenix Public Library, grappled with Phoenix’s hottest summer on record. After 113 consecutive days of temperatures reaching 100+ degrees, she needed local heat relief extended so that her buildings could continue to stay open late. Some libraries in Phoenix serve as after-hours cooling centers because the city discovered that vulnerable residents were dying not during the peak of midday sun, but at night, when there were fewer indoor places to escape the brutal heat.

On the other side of the country, heavy rainfall from Hurricane Helene unleashed devastating floods that destroyed communities in western North Carolina. With damage to roads, power lines, and cellphone towers, the free public Wi-Fi at Pack Memorial Library in Asheville, NC, became a lifeline for residents experiencing a communications blackout.

Libraries share in the undeniable social costs of environmental events. What can we do to secure the resources they need to support their communities? For starters, we should ensure that the studies on library facility conditions currently underway by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, respectively, will fully consider how well library buildings are prepared to withstand extreme weather. At the ALA Annual Conference in June, representatives from both organizations indicated that facilities in locations impacted by climate events would be prioritized in their research. It’s imperative that climate resilience be factored in the assessments.

Second, we need to advocate for resources now to help us prepare for what’s to come. The Ready NOW project at the University of Maryland is working with library cohorts on crisis preparation, with some case studies on extreme weather. Its research will inform the field on what it will take to support climate-impacted communities.

Further, in a recent New York Times guest essay, sociologist Eric Klinenberg highlights the urgent danger of extreme heat and calls for a national effort to name heat waves, similar to tropical storm and hurricane designations. Libraries should join in petitioning FEMA to classify extreme heat as a major disaster, which would give state and local governments access to relief funds to support social infrastructure, including libraries.

Finally, many libraries are taking steps to address their own environmental footprint. The ALA and Sustainable Libraries Initiative recently announced a new National Climate Action Strategy for Libraries, complete with an implementation guide to help libraries incorporate climate action into local plans.

The projects in LJ’s Year in Architecture feature showcase the many ways that libraries are weaving more sustainable practices into their buildings. We can also see in these libraries a commitment to holding community together and to creating the shared spaces that remind us: When it comes to natural disasters and extreme weather, there’s no going it alone.