Effects of Hurricane Katrina
NOPL was severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005. Damage to branch locations ran from two windows broken at the Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch in Algiers to complete destruction of the Martin Luther King Branch in the heavily damaged northern section of the Lower 9th Ward. Photographs of branch building damage are available on the library's website.
With the devastation of the city and the crippling of city government, NOPL was forced to lay off 90 percent of its employees. All libraries were closed for over two months. The 19 remaining staff members, when they were able to re-enter the city, began surveying damage and salvaging assets.
Two branches—Hubbell and Nix (on Carrollton Avenue uptown)—reopened with limited services (no circulation) on 31 October 2005. Part of the Main Library also reopened. Library administrators began looking for outside sources of funds to begin hiring additional staff.
Read more about this topic: New Orleans Public Library
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