LYRASIS Inc.

SOLINET will create staff capacity and strengthen staff skills in 16 public library systems in Louisiana and Mississippi that suffered severe damage and destruction from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In partnership with the affected libraries, SOLINET will provide staff to run temporary library facilities in communities while permanent libraries are planned and rebuilt, and continuing education to build knowledgeable, skilled library staff to support these communities as they rebuild and recover. The two-year Staffing Gulf Coast Libraries Project will work in synergy with a multi-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation project supports recovery of public libraries in Louisiana and Mississippi by providing and operating temporary library facilities where services are currently unavailable due to building loss, assisting libraries with planning for rebuilding, and replacing all lost public access computers.