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Puerto Rico's libraries, archives and museums road to recovery: A timeline of events after Hurricane Maria Main Menu Content Table of contents Introduction Introduction to the timeline Acknowledgments Time to say thank you About the Authors A little bit about the contributors Timeline Content for the months of September 2017 through September 2018 Interviews Interviews with libraries, archives and museum professionals about the impact of hurricane Maria at their institutions Contribute Contribute to the timeline

Activities

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The impact of the Hurricane went beyond those first dates. As conditions worsen through the months with unstable environment and mold outbreaks due to the continuos power outages, intense filtrations caused by the lack of proper waterproof membranes (destroyed by the winds) and the slow response from the local authorities more saw the importance of developing specialized workshops and orientation activities. At least 17 different institutions organized activities in topics related to disaster preparedness and response. Most of the activities had a “train the trainer” spirt in order to build local knowledge for future events. Also, various talks and webinars were offered to exposed the state of collections and recovery process.

Contents of this tag:

HENTF Assists Archivists In Puerto Rico
HENTF Assists Archivists In Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico deployment of National Heritage Responders (NHR)
Visit to the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao Library
FEMA orientation by Jennifer Growan for Archives and Libraries at Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín
“Bibliotecas de la UPR se capacitan para enfrentar desastres naturales”
Miriam Centeno performs collections assessment and training for the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico Library staff The NEH Chairman’s Emergency Grant won by the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, allowed Centeno to also provide specialized training for the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico. They also received a donation of preservation tools from the Illinois University Library Friends. In the photo, from left to right: Sigfredo López, Miriam Centeno, Natalia Hernández, Zayra Maldonado, Francheska Ortiz and Natalia Rivera
Managing moisture in non-mechanized environments and disaster situations
Caribbean Heritage Emergency Network (CHEN)
“Puerto Rico Post-Hurricane”
Picking up the pieces: Helping Puerto Rican cultural heritage organizations after hurricanes Irma and Maria
La Borinqueña ha escogido a la biblioteca comunitaria del Proyecto de Apoyo Mutuo para recibir apoyo
Heritage Emergency and Response Training (HEART) Event - The Heritage Emergency National Task Force (HENTF) and the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative, in collaboration with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provided the Heritage Emergency and Response Training to museum professionals in the Island. The training took place at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico and topics ranged from collection salvage techniques, evacuation and long term planning for emergency management in a weeklong intensive course.
Memoria y humedad
Y no había luz takes its art to those that needs it
Beyond the box: Design thinking to rebuild Puerto Rico
Mission possible: Emergency response for cultural heritage institutions in Puerto Rico
When the unthinkable happens: Reconsidering access and preservation after a catastrophic event
Rescate de recursos de información: Manejo de agua y hongos A group of graduate students (future librarians and archivist) from the Escuela Graduada de Ciencias y Tecnologías de la Información (EGCTI) from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras had the opportunity to practice rescuing affected collections after a catastrophic event. The workshop was offered by Soraya Serra, registrar at the Museo de Arte de Ponce, at the Fundación Luis Muñoz Marín.
Conservación básica y catalogación de material audiovisual
Conservación del patrimonio
Bibliotecas, archivos y museos en Puerto Rico luego del embate del Huracán María
HENTF Helps Protect Puerto Rico's Heritage
1era Sesión informativa: El Serrucho – Beta-Local
Hurricane impacts on Caribbean educational and heritage sites: Urgent needs and long term challenges
“Redacción de propuestas competitivas”
Experiencias de adaptación y respuesta: Situaciones de emergencia en centros de información y documentación
After Hurricane Maria - From Prayer to Resilience
Puerto Rico's Libraries, Archives and Museums road to recovery: A timeline of events after Hurricane Maria
"Every drop counts: The recovery of libraries and archives in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria"
Manejo de hongos en colecciones culturales
APOYO sends 30 Emergency Response and Salvage Wheels to Puerto Rico

This page is referenced by:

Introduction This project compiles the available resources (in my possession or found through the Web) related to the impact and recovery process of libraries, archives, museums and other cultural institutions in Puerto Rico. It is not exhaustive, but, hopefully it will provide enough documentation for future generations to understand part of the recovery events that took place immediately after Hurricane Maria or at least inspire other projects that can help tell a more holistic story. There are so many hands and hearts involved in almost a year of activities that I found its dissemination imperative.

Thanks to Dr. Joel Blanco-Rivera from the Escuela Graduada de Ciencias y Tecnologías de la Información (EGCTI) and his students, available links were saved in the Internet Archives to ensure they are preserved for long-term access. Also, videos were preserved using Webrecorder.

Also, thanks to the wonderful support of future library and archives professionals, interviews in Spanish with institutions were performed to gather a deeper insight into the recovery strategies. Again, thanks to Dr. Joel Blanco-Rivera and his students from the Biblioteca Digital Course (August - December 2018) and from my students in the Preservación, Conservación y Restauración de Documentos (January - May 2019).

Navigating the timeline
The timeline is dived into two main sections: Timeline and Interviews. In the timeline, each page represents a month arranged chronologically and where available, a link is provided. The images are screenshots of the original content, a visit to the websites is suggested for full content (this will be a hyperlink at the beginning of the text, according to the three main topics: event, funding or publication). The links will take you to the archive version of the original content to ensure its availability. To view the original content, go to the Details tab and look for "dcterms:isFormatOf". Even though descriptions are in English, most of the content in the links will be in Spanish. In the interviews section, each page contains an interview (in Spanish) from a specific institution. Recordings can be either a video or an audio recording. The author of the interview is listed with the text.

Loading time will depend on Internet connection speed. Be patient. To move around the timeline, use the arrows located on the corners or drag the box to the date or item of your interest. To move between pages, use the navigation menu on the top left corner or the button located at the end of the page.

Exploring visualizations and alternatives paths
The wonderfulness of this tool (Scalar) is its multiple pathways to information and understanding. Each reader can either follow the events by month or use the visualization menu on the top left (the one that looks like a compass) to explore how the content is connected. Also, during the research, I was able to regroup items in four main topics: funding, activities, media coverage and publication, and support. But, it is up to the readers to choose their path (like Cortazar suggested in 1963 with Rayuela).

Fair use & take down notice
All works included in this project are used solely as an educational tool under "Fair Use" as stated under the section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If any copyrighted material needs to be removed, please fill out this form.

Cover image
National Heritage Responders visit to the Library at the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao
Source: Evelyn Milagros Rodríguez

In awe, I leave you a very humble tribute to resilience and solidarity

Puerto Rico's libraries, archives and museums road to recovery: A timeline of events after Hurricane Maria by Hilda Teresa Ayala-González is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.