![]() is largely the same regardless of the type of disaster. In her day-to-day research, she often discusses all-hazard planning, the idea that whatever needs to be done following a disaster - restoring power, getting people back into their homes, etc. Take, for instance, the disaster-specific memoirs in her collection. She seeks out books that not only feed her personal curiosities, but those that help her better understand how to support people in need when disaster strikes. This is how Gerber-Chavez’s collection grows. The handful of books from Pacific Island nations and European countries she received inspired her to continue collecting children’s books. At several of their displays, Gerber-Chavez found picture books that explained these concepts for children. Countries and companies attending the meeting share what they are working on to combat climate change. “We can talk until we’re blue in the face, but there are some actual things that need to happen at the local level and will take some work to do,” Gerber-Chavez said.īut that was hardly her only take-away from the experience. There, she realized things need to happen at the local level if high-level plans to respond to and prevent disasters, like climate change, are to come to fruition. This desire to be a part of real, on-the-ground change was partially motivated by the 2017 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Germany, which Gerber-Chavez attended as a student delegate. Her aim is to help those in need deal with the emergency situations they find themselves in. Prior to this program, she had focused on hard sciences, but with her doctorate, she wants to see where her studies impact people. In the Disaster Education Program, Gerber-Chavez specifically studies compound disasters - when more than one disaster happens at a time. It is a collection defined and expanded by Gerber-Chavez’s experiences, education and natural curiosity. They share survivor stories and provide insights on emergency management, environmental justice and disaster response. These books recount stories of tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, mining spills, climate change, toxic chemical exposure, pandemics and more. “I can’t just walk in and say, ‘Let me go find disaster books!’ ” Instead, Gerber-Chavez scours bookstores whenever she travels to find titles that speak to the theme of disasters, pulling together an impressive array of books.Īmong the more than 80 titles in Gerber-Chavez’s collection, you’ll find dystopian fiction, memoirs, textbooks and reference books, case studies and picture books designed to teach children about disasters. “There’s not a specific place to find them,” Gerber-Chavez said with a laugh. It’s a robust collection you won’t find replicated in your local Barnes and Noble. School of Public Policy and Administration, Gerber-Chavez has settled in Delaware long enough to finally build a collection of her own - Once Upon a Tornado: A Disaster Book Collection. Now a fourth-year doctoral student in the Disaster Science and Management Program at the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Still Gerber-Chavez kept reading and learning, borrowing book after book from her local libraries. ![]() While that allowed her to experience a wide variety of weather, it made it difficult to start a book collection of her own. ![]() The next day, Gerber-Chavez checked out every book on weather that she could find in the library, kickstarting a lifelong quest for knowledge and an unyielding interest in weather. Yet a week later, then-7-year-old Logan Gerber-Chavez watched in anxious horror as a tornado descended over downtown Salt Lake City while she was at recess. Research and Public Service ProfessionalsĪrticle by Allison Ebner Photos courtesy of Logan Gerber-Chavez and iStockĮditor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles highlighting the winners of the 2021 third annual Seth Trotter Book Collecting Contest, sponsored by the Friends of the University of Delaware Library.Stavros Niarchos Foundation Ithaca Initiative.IPA - Institute for Public Administration.CHAD - Center for Historic Architecture & Design.CEEP - Center for Energy and Environmental Policy.CCRS - Center for Community Research & Service.CADSR - Center for Applied Demography & Survey Research. ![]() ![]()
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