Ready to Roll to the Rescue
Even though our library is not in an area prone to experiencing hurricanes or flooding, we, like everyone, experience the occasional incursion of water into places it shouldn’t be. In order to expedite getting salvage materials to the site of the incident, we have adopted a practice we heard about from Holly Robertson, Head of Preservation at Alderman Library, University of Virginia. We’ve purchased a plastic cart to hold our “quick response” materials: water absorbent “socks,” tri-fold paper towels for interleaving, a flash light, duct tape, plastic sheeting, scissors, paper and markers, latex gloves, etc. The cart is readily accessible to the areas most likely to need it. Most office supply stores offer a variety of carts–look for one that won’t be damaged by water, that rolls easily, and has shelves with sides on them so your supplies won’t slide off when you move the cart. It would be nice if it also had a flashing light and a siren on it, but we can’t have everything…
