School of Information Professor and FSU Information Institute Director, Marcia A. Mardis, presented alongside CCI Senior Research Specialist, Dr. Faye R. Jones, and Institute Research Coordinator, Dr. Denise M. Gomez, at the American Library Association (ALA) 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 28, 2025. Their presentation, “Is Your Library Ready? Strengthening Community Resiliency with Inclusive Public Library Disaster Planning,” addressed the accessibility of public library community resources designed to support the planning, response, and recovery of libraries that may experience natural disasters.

“Every person who has been in a disaster has a story, and those stories will tell you what went right, what was forgotten, and what’s needed for next time,” Mardis said.

The ALA conference is the largest library event in the United States, connecting over 20,000 members across the book and library industry.

Mardis, Jones, and Gomez’s presentation was born out of their 2020-2025 project funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, “iSmart for Disasters: Exploring Smart and Connected Disaster Planning for Small and Rural Libraries,” which focused on the leadership, policies, procedures, and roles of public librarians as first responders to library disasters in their communities. Throughout their project, this team has also led disaster planning workshops nationwide and presented numerous webinars and sessions informed by their research.

Attended by well over 100 librarians, Mardis, Jones, and Gomez’s presentation discussed library disaster planning through storytelling. Mardis shared, “Since we have a natural inclination to tell stories, we helped the audience understand how to translate those stories into action and better policies and procedures.”

Mardis, Jones, and Gomez helped their audience learn how to identify disaster plan necessities for their respective library communities, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their current disaster plans, and identify strategies to improve their library and community disaster plans.

“The number of librarians that attended our session shows a real need for continued work on research and resources for all phases of disaster management. This could help our libraries and the communities they serve be better prepared and more resilient in the aftermath of disasters,” Gomez said.

Mardis also noted that the funding landscape and the local, state, and federal support for disaster research are unclear, encouraging this research team to sustain their findings by working with as many librarians and library communities as possible.