Braaaiiinnnsss!: From Academics to Zombies

Maintaining Academic Library Services During the Zombie Apocalypse

87 Maintaining Academic Library Services during the Zombie Apocalypse Sarah McHone-Chase and Lynne M. Thomas Why Do We Need Academic Libraries When We Have Google? Although public, academic and special libraries have played important roles in managing information during wars and pandemics , we contend that reliance on academic libraries in particular for information needs during the zombie apocalypse, as opposed to reliance on Google searches or other publicly available internet resources alone, will significantly increase the chances of human survival. Chiefly, academic libraries have access to information resources that are not publicly available. These resources include, but are not limited to, large databases of up-to-date, peer-reviewed, scientific, engineering, technical and medical (STEM) journals, in addition to historical caches of paper versions of the same. “Grey” literature—such as commission reports, theses, dissertations, locally produced datasets, conference proceedings, technical specifications and standards , and other materials “produced on all levels of government , academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers,” as defined by the New York Academy of Medicine—also exists Maintaining Academic Library Services 88 primarily in academic libraries (New York Academy of Medicine Library 2009). In addition to holding these non-public information caches, library professionals have knowledge of how to manage these resources, make them widely available and interpret them accurately , in multiple formats. As such, the resources and the librarians themselves combine to form a centralized information asset. This asset can be used to combat zombies on two fronts: first, in front-line battle; second, in providing information to researchers trying to combat the cause of zombification through medical/scientific research. Libraries and librarians have a deep and abiding commitment to helping the public and making useful information available for the greater good as well as a reputation for being trustworthy sources of information. This commitment is best expressed through the Code of Ethics of the American Library Association, the first tenet of which is this: “We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests” (American Library Association 2008). In other words, librarians are willing to share what they know and to guarantee that their information is correct. However, one should not be so naive as to expect that all of humanity will react in a similar manner. Crucially, libraries in the zombie apocalypse can combat misinformation that will inevitably be spread on the public web, by media outlets, organizations or individuals who have less than altruistic intentions. Given these numerous information types and sources and our commitment to the ethical provision of good information to the public, academic libraries and librarians are uniquely qualified to accommodate and mitigate a wider variety of doomsday zombie scenarios than members of the general public using freely available information on the Web, as we demonstrate below in our history of previous library responses to wars and pandemics, and in our specific response scenarios for future zombie outbreaks. This chapter takes its understanding of zombie infection and pathology from Munz et al.’s (2009) model of a zombie Sarah McHone-Chase and Lynne M. Thomas 89 epidemic. In particular, library responses are predicated on the most likely scenario posited by the authors of the article for survival, the “impulsive eradication” model, which specifically calls for swift, escalating physical attacks to reduce the zombie population while simultaneously searching for a way to provide immunity or treatment for the unaffected population. This model for zombie infection functions as a cross between an epidemic and a war for library disaster-planning purposes. Given the swiftly moving nature of a zombie epidemic, we also assume that any outbreaks will be national or international in nature, not merely localized, which will directly affect planning and response mechanisms by academic libraries. Previous Library Responses to Epidemics and Wars Academic libraries have a long history of public response to epidemics and wars, as evidenced in the literature through articles that recognize user needs in such situations and document previous responses after the fact. For example, Ferguson (2003) and Robertson (2006), both responding to the recent SARS epidemic, emphasize the need for libraries to incorporate epidemics into their disaster plans (plans for continuing library services after a disaster, such as a flood, fire or tornado, have occurred). Robertson in particular emphasizes aspects of...