Browsing by Author "Tu-Keefner, Feili"

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    During Times of Crisis, Librarians Connect to their Communities
    (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2022-10-07) Hobbs, April; Lyons, Denise; Tu-Keefner, Feili
    Society today expects libraries to be information service providers and serve as catalysts for community engagement. The mission of librarians is to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation, preservation, and dissemination. When the pandemic began, many libraries closed their doors, yet they took the opportunity to transform their services to various types of formats and continue the provision of essential information and innovative services to their user communities. This poster covers and shares examples of how librarians have stepped up to being leaders in the communities they serve, especially focusing on how librarians have gone far beyond to provide non-traditional library services to their communities, during the pandemic and beyond.. It addresses the significance of creating diversified workforces in libraries, as well as how to integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the libraries' strategic plans. The poster also highlights leadership qualifications in times of crisis, taken from the results of three situation-specific studies on the provision of disaster health-information services by public libraries. Additionally, tips for community engagement will be shared based on results from several information professionals from several different countries
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    Library Resilience and Leadership: Lessons from Disaster Research to engage your community and empower your staff
    (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2023-11-14) Lyons, Denise; Tu-Keefner, Feili; Hobbs, April
    When disaster strikes, "something wicked this way comes." Is your library prepared? Librarian first responders need to provide quality, timely, and accurate information during disasters but also often serve in other critical roles, including refuge and intermediary. In this poster, the authors will report the findings from multiple studies (including hurricanes, floods, fires, and the COVID pandemic) on emergency preparedness, risk communication, and disaster/health information services. One focus will be on information professionals' leadership qualifications and competencies and their contributions before, during, and after the disasters hit the communities they serve. Highlights include how libraries step up in leadership roles for their communities, serve children and families, build partnerships with various agencies, and foster essential relationships. Other examples include designing and delivering multicultural programming for youth and families during disasters. Learn about findings that can help libraries better plan for disasters, build resiliency, develop staff leadership proficiencies, and promote community engagement. Tips will be offered on how librarians advocate for the community's needs, create partnerships with various agencies, and reduce the community's literacy deficiencies applicable to libraries regardless of where they are, information valuable to building a shared culture of preparedness.
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    Supporting Library Staff in Emergencies and Natural Disasters
    (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2022-12-16) Tu-Keefner, Feili; Hobbs, April; Lyons, Denise R.; Smith, J. Caroline
    In times of crisis, public libraries, in addition to health, fire, and police departments, are community outreach centers and sources of credible information. Since 2015, three situation-specific studies examining disaster information dissemination and services provided by public libraries have been conducted by research teams from the University of South Carolina's School of Information Science and the South Carolina State Library. The results show that the public libraries in the areas affected by disasters created disaster-recovery centers, illustrating the libraries - value in facilitating emergency response and recovery. However, the findings also show public librarians were not fully prepared to provide disaster and health information for adult users, especially through online venues. It is recommended that public libraries provide reliable, user-friendly disaster and health digital resources for adult users. Public librarians can use social media network sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to increase awareness of these library resources and to distribute real-time messages of interest. Continuing education programs and professional development opportunities need to be developed and delivered to better prepare professional librarians to provide disaster and health information services