Preservation Resources for Cultural Institutions The best way to cope with a disaster is to be ready for one. Ideally, you are prepared to avoid a disaster in the first place (fire and water alarms, etc), but you also have to be ready for the disaster you cannot prevent (hurricanes, floods, blizzards). Here's some useful information to help plan for your disaster.
The Disaster
What do you need to do in the event of a disaster? Who do you call first? A good disaster plan will lay out what needs to be done when disaster strikes.
Bay Area Preservation Network
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/bapnet/
Disaster Preparedness & Response
Disaster Preparedness & Response
In the Face of Disaster is a self-planning manual for disaster prevention, response, and recovery in libraries, museums, and cultural institutions. The manual is in PDF (portable document format) and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and/or print. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system, click here for your free copy: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
http://clrc.org/progs/disastermanualrev.pdf
Sample Disaster Plans
Here are numerous disaster plans, created by libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and municipalities.
Lower Hudson Conference - Emergency Planning & Recovery Techniques
The best time to read a book on emergencies, disasters, and other mayhem is during the relative peace and quiet of an ordinary day at work. You see the way your library, archive, or museum works and how it serves the public. You consider different parts of the collection. And you have a head start in dealing with a future emergency to minimize loss and disruption.
http://www.lowerhudsonconference.org/empart/
Disaster Plans: This site offers many different disaster plans as well as other information relating to disaster preparedness
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/plans/
Disaster Planning
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf33.htm
Disaster Assistance: dPlan: The online disaster-planning tool. A free template
for writing disaster plans.
http://www.nedcc.org/welcome/disaster.htm
Worksheet for outlining a disaster plan
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf34.htm
Disaster Plan Workbook, created by the New York University's Bobst Library, provides an excellent template for the beginning stages of developing a disaster plan.
http://library.nyu.edu/preservation/disaster/toc.htm
Fire Suppressant
Alternatives
to Halon for Special Fire Hazard Protection
http://harc.org/approve.html
Nick
Artim's "Cultural Heritage Fire Suppression Systems:
Alternatives to Halon 1301" in WAAC Newsletter vol. 15,
no. 2, May 1993 pp. 34-36
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn15/wn15-2/wn15-209.html
Risk Management
Be ready for the type of disasters that are more likely in your area.
Fire Protection in Cultural Institutions: Essay by J. Andrew Wilson, Assistant
Director, Fire Protection and Safety. Smithsonian Institution
http://www.archives.gov/preservation/emergency-prep/fire-prevention.html
National Fire Protection Association
NFPA Codes and Standards - Safety is Everybody's Business
NFPA develops, publishes, and disseminates timely consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. Virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation in society today is affected by NFPA documents. http://www.nfpa.org/
An Introduction to Fire Detection, Alarm, and Automatic Fire Sprinklers
Because of the speed and totality of the destructive forces of fire, it constitutes one of the more serious threats.
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf32.htm
Protection from Loss: Water and Fire Damage, Biological Agents, Theft, and Vandalism
Providing the best protection for collections from the most common causes of loss is a basic principle of preventive maintenance.
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf31.htm
Protecting Your Institution From Wild Fires: Planning Not To Burn & Learning To Recover
The fires in Florida have illustrated the need to insure that your institution, whether a library, museum, or historic site, is prepared to face the threat of rural wild fires. It's important, first of all, to understand that there are some dramatic differences between urban and rural fires.
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byauth/trinkley/wildfire.html
Seismic Disaster Planning: Preventive Measures Make a Difference
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/waac/wn/wn13/wn13-3/wn13-306.html
Security
Collections Security: Planning and Prevention for Libraries and Archives
http://www.nedcc.org/plam3/tleaf312.htm
Department of Homeland Security
Emergency Preparedness and Response - Terrorists
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deptofhomeland/sect4.html
Guidelines for the Security of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Other Special Collections
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/guidelinessecurity.htm