Disaster response in Chile: The critical role of libraries and telecenters

Two years ago on February 27, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Chile, followed by a tsunami that devastated several coastal communities. Libraries and telecenters played an important and unexpected role in responding to the crisis, helping to restore communication and promote recovery.

Produced in partnership with the Assocacion de Telecentros Activos de Chile (ATACH), the Technology & Social Change Group's latest series of publications -- Disaster response in Chile: The critical role of libraries and telecenters -- examines post-disaster information and communication needs, services provided by libraries and telecenters, response times, and factors contributing to successes and shortfalls. It also provides recommendations to improve emergency planning efforts.

The series includes:

This work was conducted under the Libraries, Telecenters, and the 2010 Chile Earthquake project, part of TASCHA's Crisis Informatics research area.

This research was made possible by Microsoft and the Global Impact Study, a project co-funded by Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The original post by Rebecca Sears can be found on the TASCHA website.