REopening
Archives, Libraries,
and Museums
News > Insights on responding to public health crises
The REALM project recently hosted a series of three online forums with representatives from archives, libraries, and museums, as well as local, state, and national organizations and the public health sector. The participants shared their experiences and insights gained from the COVID-19 pandemic, to help inform future initiatives and projects that can bolster capacity and resilience of cultural heritage institutions.
The first forum examined the resources organizations need to prioritize, prepare, and respond to needs for future public health crises. The second forum gathered perspectives and insights from representatives of public libraries and museums that community members turned to for information, resources, services, sanctuary, or programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final forum discussed how networks and other collaborative partnerships among organizations have bolstered the collective capacity of libraries, archives, and museums to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in our communities. Participants reflected on the roles their organizations played to build, strengthen, or maintain a network; and how their network responded to the needs of their communities during this crisis.
The findings from these conversations can help inform future public health crisis planning for archives, libraries, and museums. Summaries of all three forums are now available.