September is National Preparedness Month

Posted by Carolyn Martin on August 27th, 2026 Posted in: Blog

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The national health observance for September is National Preparedness Month. During this month, individuals, families, and communities are encouraged to take time to prepare for events both natural, such as wildfires, and human caused, such as chemical spills. Emergencies can happen at any time and preparation is key to keeping as safe as possible and recovering from the aftermath.

We encourage you to attend the free online Disaster Preparedness webinars, hosted by NNLM. Recordings will be available if you are unable to attend the live sessions.

• September 3: Informal Weather Education Outreach
  This session explores best practices in informal weather education outreach and shares successful examples from the Extreme Events Institute and International Hurricane Research Center.
• September 18: Severe Weather Engagement: A New Resource from The Healing Library
  This one-hour webinar dives into The Healing Library and its most recent toolkit: Severe Weather Engagement.
• September 22: Heat, Health, and Disasters: The Role of Libraries
  This training will examine the health impacts of extreme heat and other disasters and consider how libraries may be affected by and respond to these events.
• September 23: Ready NOW: A Framework for Disaster Response in Libraries
  The Ready NOW Field Guide is a free, research-based toolkit that helps library staff at every level move from good intentions to grounded action during a crisis through two core mindsets and three essential tasks focused on relationship-building, co-creation, and internal capacity.
• September 24: What the Thermometer Misses: Heat Risk Perception and Trusted Intermediaries
  This session examines why official heat-risk measurements and community perceptions do not always align. Using research from South Carolina residents, participants will explore how trusted intermediaries, including libraries and community organizations, can help reach populations missed by formal communication channels and assess local risk perception more effectively.

Perhaps your library or organization plays a significant role in assisting the community before, during, and after such events. Many of you rely on state, county, and even federal assistance and have plans and resources in place. Here at Region 5, we posted an “Emergency Preparedness and Recovery” blog series from September 2025 – April 2026. Each monthly post included information resources focused on a specific disaster to add to your emergency preparedness resource arsenal.

• Extreme Heat
• Typhoons and Hurricanes
• Landslides
• Earthquakes
• Winter Weather
• Wildfires
• Drought
• Volcanoes

American Library Association has also put together information for libraries.

• Emergency Preparedness
• Disaster Preparedness and Recover