Librarian
This page has resources to help you create a disaster plan and prepare for the worst. These resources come from a variety of sources and cover many different forms of disasters. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, the unthinkable is always possible. Don't forget to include pandemics and the temporary closure of your institution in your plan.
Learning From Other Libraries
Image courtesy of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa Library.
- Disaster Planning and Recovery for LibrariesThis guide from the South Central Regional Library Council in New York state covers a broad range of disaster planning and preparedness steps for libraries, including how to write a disaster plan.
- Test your knowledge: Disaster Planning and ResponseThis presentation from University of Illinois Collections Care Coordinator was part of Preservation Week 2020 and discusses preparing for, managing, and recovering from a disaster at your library.
- Preservation: Disaster Preparedness & ResponseThis guide from the University of Washington libraries covers disaster preparedness and recovery in depth.
This webinar from Syracuse University Libraries' preservation department is approximately one hour long and covers planning for disaster. The slides are available as PDFs with working links here. Other webinars are housed on this guide's Videos Page.
Resources
- Emergency PreparednessThis guide from the Public Library Association contains links and resources for disaster planning and recovery.
- IFLA Disaster Preparedness and Planning: A Brief ManualThis manual from IFLA describes how to create a disaster plan. It is available to download in 5 languages.
- Library Disaster Preparedness & Response: HomeThis guide from the American Library Association provides resources and tips for librarians to prepare their library in case of an emergency, as well as recovery information.
- Fire Protection In Cultural Institutions - PresentationThis presentation from J. Andrew Wilson, former Associate Director for Fire Protection & Safety at the Smithsonian, discusses protecting staff, structures, and materials.
- Fire Safety Self-Inspection Form For Cultural InstitutionsThis PDF from the National Archives gives libraries and other cultural institutions a starting point toward fire safety.
- Special Challenges - Fire and Fire SuppressionThis page written by Tom Goonan for the National Archives discusses archival materials housed in spaces not originally created to house them, which presents its own unique challenges.
- Emergency ManagementThis page from the Library of Congress covers the basics of risk management, preparedness, and response and recovery, as well as providing links to further information.
- Mitigate the Impact of EmergenciesThis page from the Library of Congress explains how to mitigate the impact of an emergency before it happens.
- dPlanThis free online tool (created by the Northeast Document Conservation Center and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) helps you write a simple disaster preparedness plan for your institution.This free online tool (created by the Northeast Document Conservation Center and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) helps you write a simple disaster preparedness plan for your institution.
- Protecting Your Collections: Writing a Disaster Response PlanThis series of webinars from the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation covers multiple facets of disaster preparedness and recovery. The page also lists several downloadable disaster plan templates.
- Exercising Your Disaster Response PlanThis webinar from the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation explains how to prepare your staff to use your disaster plan.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: Before Disaster StrikesThis website from the California Preservation Program contains dozens of resources including text and recorded webinars.
- Don’t Forget Your Emergency PlanThis article, published in Public Libraries Online and written by Su Epstein, discusses the importance of not only having a plan and emergency contact list, but updating it regularly.
- Protecting Your Collections: Web ResourcesThis list from WESTPAS contains links to various web resources about preservation and disaster preparedness, as well as a short bibliography of related publications.
- Emergency Preparedness & ResponseThe Foundation For Advancement In Conservation maintains a wiki which houses this page on emergency preparedness and response. The page also links out to many other sources of information.
- Disaster Response And Recovery ResourcesThis page from the Minnesota Historical Society lists dozens of resources from their site and others to help you prepare, manage, and recover from an emergency.
NOTE: This page has been archived. Some of the links are non-active and will not be replaced. - Disaster Planning, Response, and RecoveryThis guide was developed by the Illinois Collections Preservation Network. The information provided covers before, during, and after an emergency, as well as linking to many other sources.
- Emergency ManagementThis page from the Northeast Document Conservation Center lists their many guides and pamphlets about preservation, conservation, and emergency preparedness.
- Disaster Preparedness and ResponseThis page from Conservation Online discusses how to prepare for and respond to disasters in a cultural heritage institution like a library, archive, or museum.