Norma B. Gandy

LINC

Memphis Shelby Public Library and Information Center Memphis, TN 38104

 

 

The purpose of this article is to provide a methodological approach for the development and implementation of a response plan during a crisis situation.  The article begins with a brief background of the local I&R service and then describes in detail what happened in Memphis, Tennessee, during Operation Desert Storm, with particular focus on the role of the I&R service.  The paper concludes with recommendations for future application in response to routine community and social service concerns. (Author abstract)

 

 

LINC, Library Information Center, is the information and referral service of the Memphis Shelby County Public Library.  LINC has been in existence since 1975, developed within the library system and with cooperative support from community and social service groups.  Through the years, the organizational support for our centralized I&R service has continued to strengthen.  For example, LINC has a unique relationship with United Way of Greater Memphis as the agency responsible for providing United Way's I&R service.  In response to the community perception that LINC is the place to call no matter what the question-the community information and referral service and the quick reference service were combined in 1 990 to offer a total information package and to make it easier for people to find the services they need.  We have community, organizational, and governmental agreement to support the concept that a centralized information and referral service allows the best use of human resources and offers the person needing help the most efficient access to health and human services.

Today, a staff of 32 is kept busy 70 hours per week responding to over 300,000 requests for information annually, with over 80,000 of those specifically classified as I&R requests.  LINC's help is particularly important to the 33% of our local population who have visual or reading difficulties.  As an agency of the public library system, LINC has access to some unique outreach services available through other library agencies, such as WYPL, the library-operated FM radio station, and TLC, The Library Channel on cable TV, as well as opportunities to distribute information through a system of 22 library branches.  This distribution network has been an asset to us as an I&R agency that we would not have had as a standalone operation.  LINC also operates JOBLINC, a mobile job readiness and information and referral unit which travels throughout the county to reach persons who do not normally have access to our services.  JOBLINC provides information on jobs and how to go about securing them, including information on applications, resumes, interviews, and job training programs.

LINC services are provided by an expert information staff who go through a rigorous training program and continually work to upgrade their skills in interviewing, searching for information, and getting needed information back to our clients.  Each day, LINC staff members are in contact with local agencies to gather information and work on behalf of people who need help.

We also work on collaborative projects in the community, such as the information and referral assistance LINC provided during Operation Desert Storm.  We worked closely with the military, community agencies, social service agencies, businesses, and those who needed help because of the impact which Desert Storm had on their lives.  Since LINC is a central information center, everyone involved was able to more effectively coordinate getting appropriate services to those who needed them.

 

 

Method

 

All of us first became aware of Desert Storm through national and local news media.  It became clear fairly quickly that Desert Storm was not only an event with international impact, but one that would affect local social service and human service issues.  Within the library system, we began task force meetings to determine what social service assistance could be offered.  The library system and United Way quickly consolidated efforts and developed a collaborative approach.  A joint invitation to attend a planning meeting was issued from both groups to community service providers and to potential service recipients.  In addition to representatives from governmental agencies and social service organizations, invitations were issued to staff from local reserve and guard military units, relatives of persons being called to active duty, and persons representing the business and legal communities.  The meeting was called to help us determine the concerns of area families and the types of assistance they needed.  We also wanted to coordinate the best possible communication system about available programs and services.

In the planning meeting, we talked briefly about our purpose for calling it and asked each participant to describe their connection with Operation Desert Storm and what they could contribute in response to social service concerns or what they needed in the way of support.  Through this process, we were able to identify the initial concerns of military personnel and those of family members and to discuss assistance programs which were already in place.  We also talked about what additional service assistance shold be developed to respond to unmet needs and what appropriate I&R processes should be developed to communicate service needs and availability to the community at large.

It became apparent from the meeting that an ongoing process was needed to address the changing issues which would arise throughout the duration of the campaign.  At this point, volunteers were recruited to participate in a task force.  Military personnel, United Way, the American Red Cross, the United Service Organization (USO), and LINC representatives gathered weekly to develop and adapt strategies to meet social service concerns.  In between meetings, task force members were in frequent contact to share new information and to resolve problems as they developed.  As the central I&R service, LINC assumed responsibility for communication both within the task force and with the larger community.  Aspects of this communication network included the addition of new service providers in the task force process as need and opportunity occurred, as well as rumor control concerns which were responded to immediately.

Formal and informal approaches were useful in marketing social services to the public.  Because of the diversity of needs (requests for assistance ranged from assurances of a relative's location and safety to help with complicated legal issues), traditional public service announcements were considered inadequate to reach those most in need.  A speaker's bureau and outreach service was quickly organized.  Representatives from task force member agencies spoke to members of civic organizations, at neighborhood gatherings, and before religious assemblies.  Wherever there was an opportunity to speak, we sent a representative.  No requests for presentations were turned down.  Promotional flyers were posted throughout the community and inserted in telephone bills to publicize.

The media provided generous coverage and assistance in getting the word out to the general public, airing stories on radio and television during the local news hour and highlighting social service issues in the daily and weekly newspapers.  The news media maintained contact with LINC and featured new services as they became available-local support groups for families, for instance.  This publicity proved invaluable when con artists began attempting to sell services to Operation Desert Storm relatives which were available at no cost through local social service programs.  Marketing service availability and detailing service needs also attracted community volunteers.

As Operation Desert Storm came to an end and military units returned to the Memphis area, requests for I&R services specific to the crisis became fewer.  Task force meetings were discontinued.  The military and guard units included in their "Welcome Home" celebrations the groups who participated in the task force and others who provided support and assistance.  Participation in the celebrations gave all of us an opportunity to informally say thanks to each other and to evaluate the effectiveness of the social service and community service processes during the mobilization.

 

Results

 

As a result of a unified I&R approach during Operation Desert Storm community residents impacted by the mobilization received needed assistance in a timely manner.  Most I&R requests were related to either communication with relatives in the military or to emergency financial issues.  In many instances, the person called up for military service was the major income earner in the family and also the person who took responsibility for handling family business matters.

In some cases, durational legal relief had been established for business obligations such as mortgage payments-but that information had not been effectively communicated to either the business or the family members.  LINC staff members frequently assisted in advocacy issues, helping family members and businesses distinguish between immediate obligations and obligations which could be delayed until the end of Desert Storm.

In matters involving the welfare of relatives overseas or the relay of emergency messages, we worked with the local chapter of the American Red Cross and with the guard and reserve units of the Army, Marines, and Air Force, as well as with our local facility, Millington Naval Air Station.  Each guard and reserve unit designated a LINC liaison, and this tremendously facilitated communications and problem solving.  We also worked closely with the Family Service Center at Millington and with other community organizations as diverse as the Memphis Shelby County Chapter of the American Bar Association, the Tennessee Department of Employment Security, Memphis Shelby County Personnel Association, Family Services of Memphis, Mental Health Association of Memphis and Shelby County, and other agencies which provided emergency financial assistance and counseling services.

As the military effort came to an end, we produced and televised programs on the library's cable access television station which focused on issues which would be faced by returning military personnel and their families.  The shows dealt with fam ily reunion concerns and how to cope with family changes and the employment rights of returning veterans.  Representatives from family counseling agencies, personnel officers, Tennessee Department of Employment Security staff, and state and local military officials participated.  We made videotapes of the programs available to military units for their own use.  JOBLINC, our mobile job readiness assistance service, worked closely with military units, the USO (United Service Organization), and the Family Service Center at Millington to provide outreach services to returning veterans who needed jobs and career counseling.  That relationship continues on an ongoing basis.

Military personnel who had never used an I&R service either in their work or in their personal life came to appreciate LINC as an invaluable resource.  Our relationship with local service organizations and community groups was renewed during the mobilization, and agencies and organizations found new ways to use our services-for instance, taking advantage of the publicity opportunities offered through listing events and distributing brochures and promotional literature through LINC and the Library.

Almost three years after the event, LINC staff are often in contact discussing other social service issues with people we first came to know by working together for community service during Operation Desert Storm.  We now routinely apply this model for I&R to addressing the current social service needs of the Memphis area.  We've found that this approach emphasizes a call for organizations to work together in a nonthreatening, win-win manner that enhances the effectiveness of social services to those in need.  We've been able to capitalize on LINC's neutral leadership, bringing together organizations in collaboration and cooperation for improved service delivery.

The next section of this paper applies the specifics of Operation Desert Storm to the broader strategic application processes of I&R services addressing community crisis situations.  These processes that can also be employed to respond to routine social service concerns and not just crisis events.

 

  Conclusions and Implications

An important aspect of any relief effort is a centralized I&R service.  Failure to coordinate relief efforts through a centralized I&R system can result in lack of access to information about assistance programs, duplication of services, and inappropriate use of personnel and resources, resulting in increased expenses and reduced effectiveness.  The following recommendations for I&R in community crises are based on methods developed by the Memphis Shelby County Public Library and Information Center's I&R program, LINC, during Operation Desert Storm.  They can be used as strategies in response to social service issues as well as major disasters.

The obvious first step is to recognize the crisis or problem as it is announced in the news media or in community planning groups.  Crises and disasters become readily apparent, but agencies have more latitude in deciding which non-crisis social service and human service issues they wish to address.  Careful consideration of the agency's resources, capabilities, and service parameters help guide administrators in making decisions about the level of I&R assistance the agency can offer and how pro-active it should be.

Once an area of concern is selected, the next crucial step is to identify agencies involved in service delivery and to meet with those organizations.  Don't overlook the business community and planning groups; both may be able to help with the networking and media process and to provide additional financial resources which may be useful both in the I&R efforts and in service delivery during the crisis period.

Another group that is crucial to include is those in need of service. (Typically, potential service recipients are not involved in crisis response planning; as a result, the services provided may not be the ones needed, or the delivery mode may not be appropriate to the recipients.)

To assure maximum involvement, both an invitation letter explaining the purpose of the meeting and a follow-up phone call should be used.

The meeting itself provides an opportunity for you to determine what services are needed, what services are currently available, what additional services can be developed, and what I&R process will be required to match individual service needs with available services.  Committees and task forces should be established to make these determinations.

It's important to maintain accurate meeting minutes and records of participants (names, addresses, phones, areas of interest and responsibility), and it's probably appropriate for the I&R service to accept responsibility for centralizing communication within the group so that all participants can be kept informed.

Plan to stay in touch and meet with task force chairs on a regular basis as long as the crisis exists.  Depending on the nature of the situation, this could involve daily conference telephone calls or meetings.  Again, it is critical that service recipients be involved as well as service providers.

These are the meetings where new problems surface and new problem-solving techniques are developed.  You may find that service providers not previously called upon to help are now needed and that concerns that appeared to be important earlier in the process no are no longer relevant: These are the meetings where participants adapt their crisis plan to respond to changing needs.

Another important aspect of the crisis response is communicating and marketing your services to the public.  Even the most carefully planned and effectively implemented services are useless unless those in need are aware of their existence.  Press releases and ready-to-air public service announcements should be sent to the media on a regular basis during the crisis.  Typically, television, radio, and newspapers will be eager to help.  Speaking before public assemblies (civic groups, neighborhood associations, and churches) can also be useful in getting the word out and can provide an additional mechanism for distribution of informational flyers.

 

Winding Down from the Crisis

 

As the crisis situation comes to an end (apparent by fewer I&R requests for disaster services and fewer task force coordination meetings and phone calls), participants will find it useful to have an end-of-crisis evaluation.  This process need not be elaborate; task force chairs may meet together or reassemble the participants from the initial planning meeting.  It's important to celebrate the end of the crisis and to examine what measures were successful, what needs were inadequately addressed, and what aspects of the outcome could be applied to addressing other community problems. This kind of wrap-up gives everyone an opportunity to enjoy recognition for their contributions to the problemsolving process and the chance to applaud the application of the group approach.                                                                                    

As you look to your own community for problem-solving opportunities, your selling point is that coordination of services and information in this way allows the best use of human resources and charitable and taxpayer dollars.           

Because efforts are focused, organizations are encouraged to put aside issues of territoriality and turfdom to apply their maximum efforts for the public good.  Centralized communication through your I&R program assists all of those involved and, more importantly, those persons most in need during the crisis period.                                

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