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Memory Rising: September 2023
In this month’s edition:
- New York City’s libraries and climate change adaptation
- Ithaka S+R interview about *A Green New Deal for Archives*
- Library Juice Academy course
- This month’s recommendations
This has been a summer marked by increasingly severe and frequent disasters due to climate change. Even in a so-called “climate haven” like Cincinnati (more on that in the recommendations at the end), we experienced air pollution from northern wildfires like nothing I could ever recall from growing up here. I hope you and your loved ones and communities are staying safe amidst everything going on everywhere. -Eira
# New York City’s libraries and climate change adaptation
Memory Rising recently partnered with METRO to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of climate change exposure and adaptation strategies for libraries within New York City and Westchester County.
New York City faces immediate and long-term climate-related risks in the form of increased heat waves, heavy rainfall events (which can cause flooding), and sea-level rise. The city’s various infrastructure systems are especially vulnerable to flooding scenarios. These risks will impact the everyday experiences of METRO’s members. As metropolitan regions around the world assess their adaptive capacity for climate change, much of the focus remains on the built and natural environment. Although libraries are recognized as vital social and civic institutions in other contexts, libraries are all too often overlooked in climate adaptation planning.
You can read the report on [METRO’s website](https://metro.org/climate-change-exposure-metro). Many thanks to Nate Hill and Traci Mark at METRO!
# Ithaka S+R interview about *A Green New Deal for Archives*
I recently joined Dylan Ruediger at Ithaka S+R [for an interview](https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/archives-in-the-anthropocene/) about *A Green New Deal for Archives*. Our wide-ranging conversation explored the need for major public investment in recordkeeping, the challenges of working in understaffed archives, how my family history influences my perspectives on labor and the environment, and what we can learn from the legacy of the original New Deal.
# Library Juice Academy course
Are you a librarian or archivist who wants to prepare your archive or library for climate change? Sign up for **Climate Change Impacts on Libraries and Archives** for Library Juice Academy. I will teach this course asynchronously between January 1-28, 2024. [Registration is now open](https://libraryjuiceacademy.com/shop/course/328-climate-change-impacts-on-libraries-and-archives/), and the course costs $200.
During this course, participants will learn about the basic science of climate change, study its public policy implications and climate trends in their local region and institutions, and develop practical strategies for beginning to address climate change within the scope of their work.
# This month’s recommendations
[**“Looking for a US ‘climate haven’ away from heat and disaster risks? Good luck finding one”**](https://theconversation.com/looking-for-a-us-climate-haven-away-from-heat-and-disaster-risks-good-luck-finding-one-211990) (short article) - A recent article in The Conversation by Julie Arbit, Brad Bottoms, and Earl Lewis questions the idea of “climate havens,” cities or regions that will supposedly be less affected by climate change.
[**“Troubled Waters: The National Flood Insurance Program in Historical Perspective”**](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-policy-history/article/troubled-waters-the-national-flood-insurance-program-in-historical-perspective/3F9481EC44EBC8F83AD93A5689E33A14?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark) (journal article) - Have you ever wondered why the federal government is the primary insurer for flood damage? This 2014 review by Scott Gabriel Knowles and Howard Kunreuther goes into detail about the history of American flood insurance.
[**The Great Displacement**](https://worldcat.org/en/title/1359047900) (book) - Jake Bittle’s book on how climate change is reshaping where Americans live and work is an accessible introduction for anyone new to the concepts of managed retreat and voluntary buyouts.
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