Response to the Unthinkable

From Oklahoma City to Columbine to the Boston Marathon finish line, individuals around the world have responded to violent mass deaths publicized in mainstream media by creating ever-larger temporary memorials and sending expressions of sympathy—such as letters, flowers, tokens, and mementos—by the tens and even hundreds of thousands. Increasingly, there is an expectation that some, if not all, of the condolence and temporary memorial items will be kept or saved. This unusual and unexpected task of archiving so-called “spontaneous shrines” often falls to libraries and archives and few protocols, if any, exist for librarians and archivists in this role. This chapter aims to provide insight and guidance to librarians or archivists who must develop their own unique response to unanticipated and unthinkable tragedies. Response strategies are covered in both a discussion of the history and literature surrounding temporary memorials and three disaster case studies: the 1999 Texas A&M Bonfire Tragedy, the 2007 Virginia Tech Campus Shooting, and the 2012 Sandy Hook School Tragedy.

Disaster and Digital Libraries in Developing Countries

Digital libraries have become a modern day phenomenon. Their roles in information generation,organization, dissemination and storage cannot be overemphasized. This chapter articulates the importance of digital libraries and the need to preserve them from disasters. It highlights the causes and effects of disasters in digital libraries. Prevention and management of disasters were also discussed. Issues and challenges around information and communication technology (ICT), that has direct bearings on digital libraries and disaster management in developing countries were raised. In addition, recommendations were made on how to improve on disaster prevention and control.

The Library as Lifeboat

According to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (2006), emergency management professionals realized first-hand that preplanning and coordination is essential when mounting an effective reaction to natural disasters. This chapter describes how leaders in Chesterfield County, VA learned similar lessons in 2001 during Hurricane Irene. In comparison to Katrina the amount of damage caused by Irene was minimal but the impact on county leaders was severe. Based on lessons learned during Irene and an unexpected wind storm nine months later, Chesterfield County leaders now include the Chesterfield County Public (CCPL) in their official disaster relief plans. When activated, CCPL will serve as an information hub, double as a daytime relief shelter and participate in mass feeding if necessary. Selected library branches are available to be used as overnight relief shelters for mass care when the activation of a standard sized shelter facility is not warranted. These changes have made a notable difference.

Quality Control and a Method for the Drying of Flooded Archive Collections

This chapter is based on the very real experience of a flood in one of the repositories of Barcelona's Municipal Archive, introducing a quality control methodology for the air-drying of wet documents. It is a simple monitoring system that allows you to quantify the degree of drying during treatment. The data derived from it will help reduce intervention to a minimum, optimizing resources, reducing losses and minimising the risk of mould formation. Disaster Plans include many possible scenarios. Because of their vast scope they cannot contain detailed practical information that would be helpful for those who have to intervene. All the steps of the process are reported here, from the choice of the most suitable methodology (forced airing through plastic mesh ventilation) to the completed stabilization of the holdings. The goal is to inform the reader of the measures adopted at each stage, providing practical advice.

Prepared for Anything and Everything

There are ample resources to help with large scale disasters in libraries and archives, but what about those small, unknown events that happen rapidly and cause as much damage and destruction as larger disasters? This chapter will examine several seemingly small-scale disasters that, if left alone, will become big problems. Solutions to these may sometimes be less obvious than with large-scale issues. This chapter will also provide useful techniques and procedures that will aid both libraries and archives to be prepared for almost any small-scale disaster.

One Plan, Four Libraries

The University of North Georgia, a recently consolidated university, has four libraries of varying sizes with different types of collections – ranging from libraries with larger sized book collections to libraries that rely on electronic resources. In addition to the differences in size and collections, the libraries also face the challenge of distance. This chapter follows the creation of an emergency plan, a recovery plan, and a continuity of operations plan for an academic library with four unique campus locations. The creation process begins with risk assessments of all four libraries, creating a team to write the plan, writing the plan and implementation and training for faculty and staff. The policies were written by a committee of five and included at least one representative from each campus.

Beyond the Collection

It is inevitable that library staff will need to respond to natural disasters and emergency situations – often with little or no advance warning. An important part of emergency planning is addressing public and staff safety prior, during, and immediately following emergencies. All libraries need to develop a comprehensive emergency plan with clear, consistent, and concise policies and procedures for staff. The plan needs to provide detailed instructions for all types of potential emergency situations and should be periodically re-evaluated and updated to address new concerns or when new information or resources become available. This chapter will discuss the process of creating an emergency plan for public and staff safety, including reviewing resources, consulting with experts, developing new policies and procedures, and disseminating the information to staff.

Planning for a Disaster

In this paper the authors discuss what a disaster plan entails and the steps that need to be taken for an institution to create such a plan, including taking advantage of all the new opportunities to provide a more comprehensive disaster plan through new technologies such as mobile applications, cloud storage and online reference tools. A disaster is a sudden change of situation, because of this, the planning for such an event needs to be done well ahead of time so that adequate training can be implemented and the response to the disaster can be quick and effective. As much as apathy, avoidance and lack of resources can be excuses as to why we have not created an institutional disaster plan, being prepared and trained to handle the different types of emergency disasters that can befall a library or archive is the best way to ensure that the materials will remain protected and the damage done to them in the case of an actual disaster is minimized. The steps outlined in this chapter will help any library or archive in the creation of a successful disaster plan and help them understand why some disaster plans fail.

Disaster is in the Eye of the Beholder

This chapter explores preservation and disaster issues in Singapore and Uganda from the point of view of the author's volunteer experiences in the summer of 2012. This is a snapshot of how two very different institutions, on different sides of the world, preserve materials and prepare for disaster, the many obstacles they encounter, and how they work with and through those obstacles. Preservation and disaster concepts are briefly discussed with the main focus on the historical context of the cultural institutions of education and the access to and preservation of their materials.

Shortcomings and Successes

Through the presentation of a case study, this chapter will address the lessons learned from a small scale, anthropogenic water disaster that occurred in the stacks area of Miami University's Wertz Art and Architecture Library. The purpose of this chapter is to assess the shortcomings and the successes of the incident response, and to show how even small-scale disasters can highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of a disaster plan. Key lessons learned include the importance of an updated and usable disaster plan; the importance of clear communication before, during, and after an event; and the importance of developing a good relationship with outside responders. Recommendations and solutions taken by MU Libraries are also discussed.