As we know, there are many web sites that provide valuable information about emergency preparedness and response, a case in point being the CDC site which we mentioned earlier. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the “mother ship” of other government sites we have mentioned and linked to the toolkit (CDC, Ready.gov, etc.), is another one. The HHS site gathers together the many federal resources that are available to us, weaving them together by topic, and highlighting some we may have missed in looking at other sites, such as the “Emergency Managers National Situation Update” , which is on the FEMA site. The site covers a tremendous amount of territory, but is organized to make information readily available. There’s a lot there that can help us with risk assessment and other preparedness activities for our libraries and localities.

Please see below, at the end of the post entitled “Library Disaster Story:  Hurricane Dolly,” for pictures taken before and after the storm.  Thanks so much to Kathy Carter at Ramirez Library for sharing these photos with us.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have an excellent web site with a wealth of health and safety-related information on a broad range of topics and for many audience types. They have redesigned and reorganized, including more images, and the navigation features lend themselves well to helping users find information quickly. We can benefit particularly from their Emergency Preparedness and Response pages, and today are focusing on their Natural Disasters and Severe Weather subsite. For each event, they have gathered excellent information, some of which they have written, and some that links to other, related sites. Check out the “Earthquake” page, which warns that between 2008 and 2035, seismologists predict a 97 percent chance of a major quake in the New Madrid seismic zone (central US: Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri).

As we know, there is the “all hazards” paradigm for disaster training, and this is to remind us that we NN/LM emergency planners take an “all seasons” approach to preparedness!  Winter weather has brought some of the most memorable disasters to libraries (see the Jan. 29, 2008 post on water damage at Renne Library, Montana State University) because of frozen and bursting pipes.  It poses danger to library staff who face slick roads and sidewalks, and power outages for libraries, staff and patrons (see article on last week’s ice storm in NY, NH, MA and ME).  In addition, the CDC’s “Winter Weather” tip this week details how the cold can endanger one’s heart. 

Some activities to consider this week in preparation for the holiday season and winter weather:

1. make sure your communication information is up to date–cell and home phone numbers for key staff and administrators
2. think about how you can provide information services from home if you can’t get to work; proxy account?  software installed?  alternate voice mail ready for your phone?
3. need any plastic sheeting for protecting your print resources or equipment in case of a water leak?

Also, if your business slows a bit during the holiday, take some time to read some of the “Stories Told” on the Library Disaster Stories page here on the toolkit (click on the “view larger map” link to see the list of stories).  I found myself awed by the strength and resourcefulness of our colleagues in some very trying circumstances, and found that their observations on their experiences can help all of us prepare for events we hope will never occur.

We heard from Claire Hamasu, Associate Director of the MidContinental Region (MCR) of NN/LM at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City about their emergency preparedness and response activities to date.  Claire notes that she and Javier Crespo, the Associate Director of the New England Region (NER) at the University of Massachusetts and the “buddy” RML for MCR, have reviewed MCR’s continuity of service plan.  Instructions were refined to clearly explain how the NER could use the MCR’s communication tools to inform those in the MCR how to contact the NER for assistance.

At the October Regional Advisory Board meeting, one of the discussion topics was Emergency Planning.  The question was, “Assuming that emergency planning is important, how do we, the RML, promote activities that result in emergency plans?  Three themes emerged from this discussion:

1. Libraries need to be part of the institution’s emergency plan.  They must be at the table where it’s being formed.  Librarians need to insinuate the library into the discussion.
2. Libraries should partner with other organizations outside their institution–public library, public health, and other hospitals.
3. Libraries need to protect their core resources.

The NN/LM MCR has made funding available for emergency planning.  Network members can apply for up to $15,000 to fund projects designed to develop partnerships that enhance access to health information in preparation for and during emergencies.  MCR has established two liaisons with other libraries, the Dykes Library in Kansas and the McGoogan Library of Medicine in Nebraska, to create emergency preparedness plans for the libraries.

In the interest of helping NN/LM members to put together a concrete plan based on the “10 Steps to Service Continuity” training, I’ve created a template that members can use to draw up a basic plan for their libraries or information centers.  It is attached to the “10 Steps to Service Continuity” page here on the toolkit (see the menu bar above) as a Word document.  Anyone is welcome to download it and customize it at they see fit.  I hope it will serve as a good starting point for us in trying to meet our goal of having plans in place, and that it will be especially helpful to smaller libraries, hospital libraries, or other entities who may not need a comprehensive disaster plan.

The template is designed to focus on service continuity, but it does include space for some personal safety and preservation information.  My goal was to keep the template on standard size paper (8 1/2 x 11), so that nothing special would be required for printing.  I introduced the template to the Tidewater Health Sciences Librarians group two weeks ago, and in discussing it, we realized that the template would be a good thing to complete, print and post in our work areas, especially in smaller libraries that are minimally staffed, or staffed part-time by volunteers who would profit by having the information close by in an emergency.

The 10 Steps template is an addition to the other ones available here and elsewhere, such as PReP, dPlan, and the customized PReP developed by Julie Page and Deborah Halsted (see the Disaster Plan Templates page, menu above), and isn’t intended to replace any of them.  Rather, it is intended to provide another option, given that no two institutions are alike, and needs for emergency planning vary accordingly.  One of this year’s initiatives for NN/LM will be to focus on best ways to help hospital libraries, and we hope that the 10 Steps template will be a good start.

Those of us who viewed the MLA Fall webcast this week saw Julie Page showing a version of the Pocket Response Plan (PReP) from the Council of State Archivists that she and Deborah Halsted have customized for use by health sciences libraries.  Click on the link below  to access the form from the toolkit, and the form will also be added to the toolkit page, “Disaster Plan Templates/Samples.”

PReP form for HSLs

Boston University’s online newspaper contains an article today about how the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX weathered Hurricane Ike with flying colors, despite the beating taken by the island as a result of the storm. There is a really interesting account from their associate director of research, who said that “the positive outcome was no stroke of luck, but the result of wise engineering and a comprehensive emergency plan that includes a long-term weather-tracking strategy.” She also noted that “preparedness is attainable, and it works.”

At the University of Hawaii, roof repair work led to some major water leaking into their library. The account in the “Star Bulletin” today underlines how a quick response, based on excellent preparedness activities, can minimize damage and speed recovery. Based on their experiences with major flooding in 2004, the library has a well-developed disaster response team, who was actively watching for damage from the heavy rains, had the needed supplies on hand, knew what to do with wet materials and where to put them, and had a salvage company on site quickly to restore air quality and help with cleanup.

News reports of flooding:

KHON TV

KHNL TV

It’s nice to hear that preparedness efforts really do pay off–a huge return on a relatively small investment!

Dan asked Javier Crespo, Associate Director of the NER, about his region’s activities in promoting emergency preparedness and response recently, knowing that NER had been planning a presentation to one of the chapter meetings in their region, and here’s what’s been happening (or about to happen) in the NER…thanks Javier!

• last week, presented the RML Emergency Preparedness Open Forum at the annual meeting of the North Atlantic Health Sciences Libraries (NAHSL)
• provided a brief overview to Massachusetts Health Sciences Library Network (MAHSLIN)
• presentation to the Maine Health Sciences Libraries and Information Consortium (HSLIC) (Dan spoke at their June meeting)
• presentation to the Southeastern Massachusetts Consortium of Health Sciences Libraries (SEMCO)
• presentation to the New Hampshire/Vermont Health Sciences Library Association
• presentation scheduled for November to Association of Rhode Island Health Sciences Libraries (ARIHSL)

In addition, Javier and his staff are putting together a multi-part workshop that will teach the “10 Step Service Continuity Plan” piece of the NN/LM National EP&R Plan in a series of modules, via AdobeConnect webconference. The end result will be a cohort of members who have documented plans for response and recovery during an emergency. They hope to have the training sessions ready for presentation in early 2009.

I know that the other NN/LM regions have been busy promoting the plan also–please send me any information you’d like to share and I’ll post it here!

Dan’s presentation on September 23, 2008 to the combined PSR and MCR NN/LM members was recorded and is now available for viewing at any time.  Please click here to access the presentation.