Louisiana Library Status Blog

Here is the update from Charlotte Trosclair:

The Cameron Branch has been completely destroyed.  She plans to use the Creole bookmobile as the library in Cameron.

The Hackberry Branch had 5 feet of water, so the branch will need major repair.  She plans to use the Johnson Bayou bookmobile here. 

The Lowry Branch had some wind damage.

The Grand Lake and Grand Chenier Libraries had high water in the area, but it did not get into the libraries.

The bookmobiles were in safe places.

All libraries remain closed until power is restored.

We just got power back on at the State Library. We will remain open with basic services until 6 pm. We will also be here from 9-4 tomorrow and hope we maintain power. Library Development, Reference, Circulation, La. Services will all be here online so do not hesitate to call. I am hoping regular phones will be operational. If not, continue to try our cell.

This is Rebecca again. CRT email is down, so if you send an email to us using our CRT address (crt.state.la.us) we will not get it for an indefinite period of time. However, our state library email is working so please email us @state.lib.la.us if you need us. We are miminally operational at the State LIbrary and can take calls on our cells and blackberries and can receive texts to those as well. We can also receive emails at our state.lib.la.us accounts. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you.

The EOC says that it could be 7-10 days before power is restored at all of our branches. We do not anticipate opening before Monday of next week (September 8th). All staff should monitor this site for further updates and keep in contact with their supervisor.

UPDATE - Saturday August 30th at 11 AM: The Lafayette Public Library will be CLOSED on Sunday, August 31st. We will restore library services as soon as it is safe and possible for us to do so.  By order of City/Parish President Joey Durel, all non-essential employees (including library employees) are on civil leave for their normal Tuesday and Wednesday shifts.  Unless notified otherwise, they are currently expected to report for their normal Thursday shift.  This could change as the storm makes landfall, so please stay in touch.   All Library servers were shut down in preparation for the storm.  We will post here as well as to http://lafayettepubliclibrary.blogspot.com if at all possible when we have updates.

We are closely monitoring TS / Hurricane Gustav. At this time, necessary preparations are being made to secure the facilities.

As of Friday, August 29th at 2:00 PM, no library closings are planned, with the exception of Monday, September 1st - Labor Day. However, this could change over the weekend, especially for Sunday. -Sona.