Marking 10 Years Since the Napa Earthquake

Following the 2014 earthquake, and because of the impact to our collection-as you can imagine, many books were on the floor!-we were closed for several days.

The Napa Library also hosted house guests. The offices of the District Attorney and Public Defender as well as the Law Library were damaged in the quake. All three agencies moved into the library. The District Attorney set up office in the Community Meeting Room and classroom, and the Public Defender used our Teen Room and study rooms. The Law Library transferred some of their collection to our library, and their staff member worked near our Reference Desk.

Fun fact: Many doors and offices in the Napa Library had to be rekeyed to ensure that the Public Defender and District Attorney did not have access to each other's work areas.

Another fun fact: The historic Napa courthouse was so damaged that a previously unknown time capsule was found in one of the stairway banisters. It included a wallet with photos, newspapers, a bottle of wine that had not aged well, and a few other tidbits.

Final fun fact: Our current Director, Anthony Halstead, had recently lost a book he'd checked out and had just received his first overdue message. The book was nowhere to be found until the earthquake knocked over one of his son's bookshelves and, voila, there it was! The title in question? Magic Tree House: Earthquake in the Early Morning.

Many of the lessons we learned during and after the 2014 earthquake were used again during the 2017 and 2020 fires, such as having large whiteboards posted at the library with up-to-date information about evacuations, emergency service providers, and other timely updates in both English and Spanish. Our libraries served as a place where the public could use the facilities, connect to Wi-Fi, charge devices, and more, when they were without power.

How can you get ready for the next unexpected event?

• Remember that your library is a resource. In the past, we've maintained on-site information boards outlining evacuation areas, emergency service providers, and other updates in both English and Spanish.
• Use the Napa Library's Memory Lab to digitally preserve important documents and photographs. Find out more and book your appointment.
• Bookmark readynapacounty.org, a great resource before, during, and after a public emergency. The earthquake page is a wealth of information.
• Follow the Napa County Facebook page, which provides timely information in both English and Spanish.
• Set up alerts to receive notifications about emergencies, evacuations, power outages, and more.
• Know your evacuation zone.
• Make a plan in advance so you won't have to think about these things during an active emergency.
• Create a Go Bag.
• Review your recovery plan. The County offers these guidelines for recovery after a wildfire, which can be tailored for other situations.

Our library also has dozens of books, both physical and digital, to help prepare for an emergency or recover from one. Visit our catalog and digital resources to start browsing, or check out a few of our recommendations.

We encourage you take a few moments to create a plan so that should something like this earthquake happen again, you and your family are prepared to stay safe and support those around you.

Our best to you and yours,

Napa County Library

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