Recent natural disasters in the United States have prompted numerous local and voluntary organizations to set aside routine activities and assume crisis‐related roles to meet the needs of the community. Despite such efforts, emergency authorities seldom utilize their capacity effectively. With the shift toward a more collaborative approach to emergency management, scholars and government officials call for identifying existing and potential actors in the preparedness phase. Efforts to anticipate potential decisions and actions of organizations that do not routinely deal with disasters, however, necessitate a better understanding of how managers view their post‐disaster‐related roles and what may account for such perceptions. Focusing on public libraries, I drew on information gathered through surveys and interviews with library officials and found that perceptions and projected behavior vary across libraries. To further investigate variations in willingness to engage in response and illuminate the driving forces behind such projected behavior, I explored context‐related characteristics in which library officials operate as well as factors related to individual managerial practices. Specifically, how managers define themselves in their public service role and the perceptions they hold of their organizations.

中文翻译：

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潜在的应变能力：与公共图书馆经理参与灾后响应和恢复的意愿相关的个人和组织因素

美国最近发生的自然灾害促使许多地方和志愿组织搁置例行活动，并承担与危机有关的角色，以满足社区的需求。尽管做出了这样的努力，应急部门却很少有效地利用其能力。随着朝着更加协作的方式进行应急管理的转变，学者和政府官员呼吁在准备阶段确定现有和潜在的参与者。然而，要努力预测那些不经常处理灾难的组织的潜在决策和行动，就必须更好地理解管理者如何看待灾难后的角色以及可能导致这种看法的原因。专注于公共图书馆，我利用通过对图书馆官员的调查和采访收集的信息，发现在图书馆之间人们的看法和预期行为有所不同。为了进一步调查参与响应意愿的差异，并阐明这种预期行为背后的驱动力，我探索了图书馆官员在与情境相关的特征中所发挥的作用，以及与个人管理实践相关的因素。具体来说，管理者如何定义自己的公共服务角色以及对组织的看法。我探讨了图书馆官员运作中与情境有关的特征，以及与个人管理实践有关的因素。具体来说，管理者如何定义自己在公共服务中的角色以及对组织的看法。我探讨了图书馆官员运作中与情境有关的特征，以及与个人管理实践有关的因素。具体来说，管理者如何定义自己的公共服务角色以及对组织的看法。