Dealing with Disasters

Vicki L. Ruiz

I spent my adolescence on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I remember the mid-August day in 1969 when Hurricane Camille threatened our beach front community. In a controlled panic, my mother and I packed the family car and traveled north in a caravan with our neighbors. My father chose to ride out the storm onboard our livelihood--a sixty-five foot fishing boat. We had said our good-byes the night before as my father had secured a spot in a sheltered inlet. However, Camille, a Category 5 hurricane, changed course and pounded Mississippi--Pass Christian, Biloxi, and Gulfport, names fresh in the public mind. The sense of connection with and empathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina touched millions of Americans, not just those of us who came of age in a hurricane alley.

In the wake of the storm's damage, I received several e-mails from concerned members who wanted to assist affected history faculty and graduate students as well as support the efforts of local archivists in recovering priceless primary sources. Indeed, the OAH staff had already begun to discuss an array of possibilities. Thanks to Michael Regoli, the first result is a web-based message board, "Historians Helping Historians" (<http://www.oah.org/katrina/>, cosponsored by the Southern Historical Association and the American Historical Association. A multitude of professional societies have responded with message boards and clearinghouses--in terms of their expansive reach, efforts by the Modern Language Association and the American Studies Association have been exemplary. Universities and colleges across the country have opened their doors to faculty and students. Brown and Princeton, moreover, have recently announced a partnership with Dillard University to rebuild the infrastructure of that battered campus.

How can the OAH and its members provide tangible assistance in the coming months? OAH staff will be working with their counterparts in other professional societies to develop the procedures by which members and presses can donate books, journals, and copies of primary documents to rebuild the personal libraries of their colleagues. The volunteers and staff associated with the Society of American Archivists, the American Association of State and Local History, the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, the National Park Service, the National Archives and Records Administration, the American Association of Museums, the National Association for Government Archivists and Records Administration, and the Academy of Certified Archivists are engaged in heroic efforts to save our history in New Orleans, Biloxi, and throughout the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Archival holdings that escaped the wind and flood waters now face the equally devastating effects of mold and mildew. FEMA sent out a call early on for the hiring of fifteen to twenty historic preservation specialists and local archivists and librarians, many of whom have lost their own homes and yet continue in their valiant recovery efforts. The Society of American Archivists has a terrific website with updates and links to relevant newspaper articles (<http://www.archivists.org/news/katrina.asp>), and a thorough damage report can be found in a site sponsored by the American Association of Museums listed below. To contribute funds to assist in the recovery, I refer you to the following sites sponsored by the American Association of Museums (<http://www.aam-us.org/aamlatest/news/hurricane.cfm>) and the American Association of State and Local History (<http://www.aam-us.org/aamlatest/news/hurricane.cfm>). The Historic Preservation Learning Portal, sponsored by the National Park Service, provides a comprehensive assessment of preservation activities (<http://www.historicpreservation.gov/>).

Many college and public libraries were devastated. Dillard and Xavier in New Orleans suffered extensive damage, and the United Negro College Fund has started an ambitious fundraising drive (<http://www.uncf.org/webfeature/lomax_katrina.asp>) that includes updates on the conditions at affected member colleges. The American Library Association has swung into action with book and computer donations, a clearinghouse to help displaced members, an "adopt a library" project, and a national fund-raising campaign. Its website (<http://www.ala.org/ala/cro/katrina/katrina.htm>) provides all of the relevant details as well as damage reports and news links. "Books To You," a New Orleans nonprofit, plans to put two million books into the hands of local children and adults stricken by the storm. Headed by Ken Mask and with a board that includes jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, this community group relies on the efforts by volunteer librarians from Portland, Oregon, to New York City and by individuals. Books in good condition can be sent to "Books to You," 622 Cedar Lane, Ponchatoula, LA, 70454. For more information, I refer you to its website (<http://www.bookstoyou.org>).

Now I make an inelegant segue from addressing recovery efforts from a natural disaster to an OAH response for dealing with potentially academic ones. The leadership of the organization has recognized that in the recent past the OAH has been unprepared in terms of policies and procedures to address breaches of professional ethics that directly affect the organization. This spring the OAH Executive Board adopted the recommendation made by the Ad Hoc Committee on Intellectual Integrity, ably chaired by Karen Halttunen, to establish a committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct. Subsequently, at the business meeting held in San Jose, OAH members approved this amendment to the bylaws. The mission of this standing committee on Ethics and Professional Conduct is to consider issues of professional ethics, integrity, and standards; alert the executive board to problems as they arise; and recommend action to the executive board in instances where the OAH is directly involved, such as the awarding of prizes. The committee will also invite and organize public discussion of professional standards on a regular basis, particularly at the annual meeting in the OAH Newsletter, and in conjunction with the Journal of American History editor and editorial board. The committee will convene for the first time at the 2006 annual meeting in Washington, DC. This summer President-elect Richard White and I made the following appointments and we gratefully acknowledge our colleagues' willingness to serve in this vital capacity: Laura Edwards, Duke University (chair); James Grossman, Newberry Library; Douglas Flamming, Georgia Tech; Sandra Treadway, Library of Virginia, and Kathleen Conzen, University of Chicago.

On a personal note, I would like to extend my gratitude to deputy director John Dichtl for his years of wisdom, good humor, and indefatigable labor in service of OAH and its members. I first met John when he was a graduate assistant at OAH and I wish him every success as the incoming executive director of the National Council on Public History.