{"id":471,"date":"2026-09-17T18:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T18:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/?p=471"},"modified":"2026-09-22T19:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T19:24:43","slug":"september-is-national-preparedness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/september-is-national-preparedness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"September is National Preparedness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Disaster. Crisis. Emergency.\u00a0 Where there is a critical and immediate community need, there is a crisis, an emergency, or a disaster.<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\"> Libraries show up in moments of crisis because they have spent years earning the trust of the people they serve. When disaster hits, when a pandemic reshapes daily life, or when the quieter crisis of mental health need settles into a community, people find their way to the library. The question is whether staff will have what they need to respond in ways that\u00a0meet people where they are.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Join NNLM Region 1 for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nnlm.gov\/training\/class\/ready-now-framework-disaster-response-libraries\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Ready Now: A Framework for Disaster Response in Libraries<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> on September 23<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">rd<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, 11:00am-12pm ET. \u00a0Learn about the Ready Now <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lor.nnlm.gov\/op\/op.Download_Share.php?documentid=6744\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Toolkit,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> which guides organizations and staff in shifting mindsets and strategizing effective ways to navigate response, and learn how it is being used in libraries.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Our Presenters<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Dr. Mega Subramaniam is a Professor at the College of Information at the University of Maryland and lead Principal Investigator of the Ready NOW project. Her research focuses on strengthening the role of libraries in advancing digital literacies among marginalized populations through community-centered approaches. Her work bridges research and practice to enhance the skills of library staff. Dr. Subramaniam\u2019s contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally, including the Library Journal\u2019s Movers and Shakers Award, Young Adult Library Services Association\u2019s Outstanding Achievement Award, and both Fulbright Specialist and Fulbright Scholar Awards.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tyler Hahn is the Director of the Cherokee Public Library in Cherokee, Iowa, where he leads initiatives focused on digital equity, inclusive engagement, and future-ready workforce development. A 2024 Library Journal Mover &amp; Shaker and 2025 Distinguished Leadership Award winner from the Iowa Library Association. He advocates for rural libraries as essential civic infrastructure\u2014empowering communities through innovation, education, and connection.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Register <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nnlm.gov\/training\/class\/ready-now-framework-disaster-response-libraries\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">here<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to reserve your spot! \u00a0If you can\u2019t make it, register anyway. \u00a0The webinar will be recorded.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Disaster. Crisis. Emergency.\u00a0 Where there is a critical and immediate community need, there is a crisis, an emergency, or a disaster. Libraries show up in moments of crisis because they have spent years earning the trust of the people they serve. When disaster hits, when a pandemic reshapes daily life, or when the quieter crisis&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/september-is-national-preparedness-month\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":473,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region-one-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}