Disaster Recovery Kits

[StephGaub]

Cornell University Library has their Disaster Response Plan online. Maybe this will be of help to some of you when creating your own plan.

Here's the link: Disaster Response Plan

[MuseumProfessionals.org]

Thanks to Pat Miller of the Illinois Heritage Association for this list of additional online disaster resources.
Disaster Resources Online

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). The page entitled “Disaster Response and Recovery” offers links to other resources, such as the article: “Emergency . . . If You’re First . . .” and others. It also as information about AIC’s Collections Emergency Response Team (AIC-CERT). Members are available to provide 24/7 disaster assistance to museums, historical societies, libraries, archives, and the general public. The AIC-CERT emergency number is (202) 661-8068. Under some circumstances, on-site assistance can be arranged. In addition, AIC can provide the names of experts in the conservation of paintings, paper, books, photographs, textiles, decorative arts, sculpture, and wooden artifacts as well as architectural, archaeological, natural science, and ethnographic materials.
AIC - Home

Amigos. This site includes a disaster planning template for libraries and archives and a listing of suppliers and resources. Amigos also provides advice by telephone: Contact the Amigos Support Desk between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST, 1-800-843-8482 (972-851-8000 in the Dallas area), ext. 2863 or amigos@amigos.org. After business hours call 469-223-4900. Amigos Library Services.

American Association of Museums. This Web site has selected information on disaster preparedness and response including disaster plan development and recovering business operations. AAM Google Search Results.

California Preservation Program. CPP’s Web site provides information, education, and expert advice on preservation of collections to libraries, archives, historical societies, cultural institutions, and records repositories in California. There is information on disaster preparedness and recovery widely applicable to other places. The site includes an excellent template for a disaster plan. Welcome to the California Preservation Program.

Canadian Council of Archives. This site contains instructions for packing and salvaging library materials, and offers free downloads including Disaster Planning and Recovery; Where to Go for Help; and Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Collections: A Second Glance by Betty Walsh. Canadian Council of Archives.

Center for Great Lakes Culture. A joint project of the Library of Congress, the Center for Great Lakes Culture, and the California Preservation Program. It can be searched by state, by multiple states, or by type of service, expert, or supply.
Disaster Mitigation Planning Assistance

CLRC Disaster Recovery Resource Guide. Prepared by the Central Library Resources Council to help libraries and archives in the Central New York Region locate supplies for disaster preparation and recovery.
Central New York Library Resources Council

Council of State Archivists. CoSA is a national organization of individuals who serve as the principal archivist agencies in each state and territory government. This site includes templates for a Pocket Response Plan, a basic format for a disaster response document with guidance on how to customize it, and a Toolkit that includes a resource directory for disaster preparedness.
Council of State Archivists - CoSA - home, for the CoSA Emergency Property Initiative and the Pocket Response Plan: CoSA - Framework for Emergency Preparedness home.

Disaster Center Index Page. Up-to-the-minute information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on flooding, risk of severe weather, fire, and other disasters.
The Disaster Center - Home Page

Disaster Recovery Journal. Free online journal.
Disaster Recovery Journal - Dedicated to Business Continuity Since 1987 - Home

FEMA--National Response Framework. The National Response Plan was replaced by the National Response Framework, effective March 22, 2008. The National Response Framework (NRF) presents the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies. It establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response.
http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/committ...rial_0566.shtm

Georgia Disaster Preparedness Planning. Links to many helpful resources, not limited to Georgia. Emergency Advice

Harvard Emergencies, Disaster Recovery. Links to useful information about salvage of library materials.
http://preserve.harvard.edu/emergencies/recovery.html

Heritage Emergency National Task Force. The first URL given here concerns resources for disaster planning and response. It contains links to many helpful articles that can be downloaded and information about materials that can be purchased. The second URL is a 2002 report from Heritage Preservation on behalf of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, “Cataclysm and Challenge: The Impact of September 11, 2001, on Our Nation’s Cultural Heritage.”
Heritage Preservation – Heritage Emergency National Task Force
http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Cataclysm.pdf

Inland Empire Libraries Disaster Response Network. Good example of a network in the Los Angeles area. Some emphasis on earthquakes, but includes other information as well.
Inland Empire Libraries Disaster Response Network

Lyrasis. This nonprofit organization has been created from the merger of Palinet and Solinet, two of the strongest and most successful library networks. This site has many useful resources for planning and recovery of library materials. It includes a copy of the template for the Pocket Response Plan for Collections. By clicking on the keyword “mold,” you can access the widely-acclaimed article, “The Invasion of the Giant Spore.” Lyrasis: Preservation.

Michigan State University. This site has well-chosen information on disaster planning and useful links to institutional disaster plans, FEMA hazard maps, and recommended books and articles.
MSU - Disaster Recovery Planning - An Overview

Minnesota Historical Society Emergency Preparedness Plan (pdf). Comprehensive (96 pages) plan. A good model.
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conserv...rgencyplan.pdf

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Records emergency information. Links to cultural and historical organizations and to the general public. Extensive information on salvage of library materials. Some overlap with other resources.
Records Emergency Information, Disaster Response and Recovery

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. National VOAD is the forum where voluntary organizations share knowledge and resources throughout the disaster cycle--preparation, response, and recovery--to help disaster survivors and their communities. VOAD holds a national conference in mid-May each year.
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) > Home

Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC). Preservation Leaflets: Planning and Prioritizing; The Environment; Emergency Management; Storage and Handling; Photographs; Reformatting; and Conservation Procedures. The pamphlets on emergency management are especially useful. NEDCC also offers a phone number for emergency assistance, and dPlan, a free online planning tool for organizations with paper-based collections.
Northeast Document Conservation Center —*Resources: Preservation Leaflets. COSTEP, an initiative of NEDCC provides coordinated statewide emergency preparation for New England states and is a model for other statewide planning. Northeast Document Conservation Center —*Services: Disaster Assistance: Sources of Additional Information

Protocol for Emergencies, by Shelley Reisman Paine. A good sample of steps to follow in an emergency in an art gallery.
Protocol for Emergencies

Recovery from Disaster Handbook. Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM). Written from a community perspective. Includes tips on dealing with officials and the media. Numerous Word documents and pdf documents that can be downloaded.
Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Salvage Procedures for Wet Collections. Specific information on how to salvage many types of materials, excerpted from the Minnesota Historical Society’s Emergency Preparedness Plan.
Salvage Procedures for Wet Items : Conservation : MNHS.ORG


The Web sites given above were accessed on May 20, 2009. If some links are inaccessible in the future, it may be possible to retrieve the information by using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo to search on the titles.

[Ben Gage]

Hello, I was in New Orleans a few days after Katrina, with soldier blockades everywhere, we were escorted into the French Quarter by heavy security to pack a local museum whose collection was compromised. We had to bring everything, including a generator, food, tents/ camper, etc. and the art packing supplies. We brought all this in from Washington DC, nothing was available for rent anywhere. Disasters/ worst possible scenarios in Art and preparing for them on-site is a new discussion which will require a new perspective, especially as it appears to be an inevitable consequence of our changing world. Perspective is usually a result of experience, what's next as other unique situations arrive may have no precedent. How can we talk about it?