Suggestion #13: Collection recovery procedures. Your library probably already has a document that specifies how and by whom your collections will be salvaged in the event of damage from a disaster. If so, ask that a copy be sent to you for inclusion in the plan. If not, now is the time! Depending on your situation, it may be you who is responsible, or there may another person in your organization who is responsible. If you are starting from scratch, check the internet for some valuable guidance, including SoliNET (“Contents of a Disaster Plan,” SoliNET Preservation Services Leaflet, and the Library of Congress (Library of Congress, Preservation, “Emergency Preparedness for Library of Congress Collections.” There is a wealth of information, virtually something for everyone, available. Most libraries own at least several books on the topic. You can borrow from much information that is free, and then add the information specific to your organization, such as names of point people, how to contact them, lists of recovery companies, etc.

Whether you are including an existing document or creating a new one, keep in mind that all supplies mentioned in the recovery procedures need to be on hand before the disaster strikes (sponges, buckets, rubber gloves, dust masks, paper towels, etc.). Add them to your list of Disaster Supplies if you don’t already own them, and make sure that whoever orders your office supplies is notified about the need.

Suggestion #12:  Observe, inquire, document, follow-up.  There’s nothing like an actual emergency situation to make you think through how well your response procedures work.  In the summer of 2005, our area experienced a severe thunderstorm one afternoon that caused tornado-like damage in our area.  The wind was strong enough to drive sheets of water into our Historical Collections area around the edges of a door that was closed and locked, and the power went off and stayed off for hours.  The next day, reports came in from all departments about problems they had encountered, such as not having emergency lighting in staff areas, no flashlights in the dark areas, not being able to lock doors with magnetic locks when we closed early, since the power was off.  These problems engendered a more active follow-up, superseding the normal Reporting procedure due to its widespread nature.  As a “reality check,” it was a blessing in disguise, because it pointed out many areas in which we needed to make improvements, but did not cause any injury or serious harm.  So take advantage of any incidents your library experiences, and get as much information as possible from people who were on the scene.  

Suggestion #12:  Observe, inquire, document, follow-up.  There’s nothing like an actual emergency situation to make you think through how well your response procedures work.  In the summer of 2005, our area experienced a severe thunderstorm one afternoon that caused tornado-like damage in our area.  The wind was strong enough to drive sheets of water into our Historical Collections area around the edges of a door that was closed and locked, and the power went off and stayed off for hours.  The next day, reports came in from all departments about problems they had encountered, such as not having emergency lighting in staff areas, no flashlights in the dark areas, not being able to lock doors with magnetic locks when we closed early, since the power was off.  These problems engendered a more active follow-up, superseding the normal Reporting procedure due to its widespread nature.  As a “reality check,” it was a blessing in disguise, because it pointed out many areas in which we needed to make improvements, but did not cause any injury or serious harm.  So take advantage of any incidents your library experiences, and get as much information as possible from people who were on the scene.  

Suggestion #11:  Reporting.  An essential part of maintaining and improving your plan is to get as much information about every incident as possible, once the dust has settled.  Set up a section in your plan for Reporting, specifying the people who should be notified, and by whom, as well as what information they will need to provide follow-up.

You can devise a form which will help your first-responders know what information they should provide (see an example in our plan on page 57).  Reporting is most helpful if the chain of command in your library is notified simultaneously, such as by an email to the group (Emergency Response Coordinator to department heads to the manager of your facility and to your Director, for instance).  This way, if a key person in the communication chain is absent, the other members will still be informed about the incident and the follow-up.

Suggestion #11:  Reporting.  An essential part of maintaining and improving your plan is to get as much information about every incident as possible, once the dust has settled.  Set up a section in your plan for Reporting, specifying the people who should be notified, and by whom, as well as what information they will need to provide follow-up.

You can devise a form which will help your first-responders know what information they should provide (see an example in our plan on page 57).  Reporting is most helpful if the chain of command in your library is notified simultaneously, such as by an email to the group (Emergency Response Coordinator to department heads to the manager of your facility and to your Director, for instance).  This way, if a key person in the communication chain is absent, the other members will still be informed about the incident and the follow-up.

Suggestion #10:  Document your Evacuation plan for staff and patrons.  Your library probably already has an Evacuation procedure in place, but you may need to elaborate on it to ensure that everyone knows how to safely exit the building from any location.  It is a good idea to have a narrative page that explains the Evacuation routes from all areas of the building, as well as maps based on floor plans (similar to those found on the inside of the doors to hotel rooms) showing the location and the route out.  Your Evacuation plan should include a specified site outside the building where your staff should gather after being evacuated.  You might need to specify two sites; one can be fairly near your building, in the event of a routine evacuation (such as power outage), and one farther away for more urgent situations such as earthquake or fire.  There should also be a procedure to follow after evacuation, such as:

• go directly to the designated evacuation site
• do not re-enter the building until directed by a person in authority
• report to your supervisor to find out the status of the building, your work area, and whether you are to continue your work responsibilities at the present time

It is very important that all staff be trained and re-trained regarding Evacuation procedures.  There is no guarantee that everyone will be at their own workstations when an evacuation is ordered, so all staff need to know all routes.  When training staff in Evacuation procedures, it is helpful to train in small groups and actually walk through the routes from each part of your building.  Remember to account for anyone, either staff or patrons, who might have mobility issues and need help, especially if elevators are not available because of the emergency.  Your goal is to ensure that everyone knows and can access the safest possible route from any part of your building, and is aware of follow-up procedures that will ensure that everyone is accounted for after an evacuation.

Suggestion #10:  Document your Evacuation plan for staff and patrons.  Your library probably already has an Evacuation procedure in place, but you may need to elaborate on it to ensure that everyone knows how to safely exit the building from any location.  It is a good idea to have a narrative page that explains the Evacuation routes from all areas of the building, as well as maps based on floor plans (similar to those found on the inside of the doors to hotel rooms) showing the location and the route out.  Your Evacuation plan should include a specified site outside the building where your staff should gather after being evacuated.  You might need to specify two sites; one can be fairly near your building, in the event of a routine evacuation (such as power outage), and one farther away for more urgent situations such as earthquake or fire.  There should also be a procedure to follow after evacuation, such as:

• go directly to the designated evacuation site
• do not re-enter the building until directed by a person in authority
• report to your supervisor to find out the status of the building, your work area, and whether you are to continue your work responsibilities at the present time

It is very important that all staff be trained and re-trained regarding Evacuation procedures.  There is no guarantee that everyone will be at their own workstations when an evacuation is ordered, so all staff need to know all routes.  When training staff in Evacuation procedures, it is helpful to train in small groups and actually walk through the routes from each part of your building.  Remember to account for anyone, either staff or patrons, who might have mobility issues and need help, especially if elevators are not available because of the emergency.  Your goal is to ensure that everyone knows and can access the safest possible route from any part of your building, and is aware of follow-up procedures that will ensure that everyone is accounted for after an evacuation.

Suggestion #9:Create a list, ordered by priority, of the items or collections in your library that should be rescued in the event of a disaster. In the event that you had only a limited amount of time to rescue collections from your library, designate what materials should be retrieved. You might set up a table with the first column naming the collection, the second describing where it is located, and the third column designating the person on your staff who is the contact person for that collection. For instance, in our library, different people are responsible for our rare items, our Reference collection, and our monograph and journal collections. This list would be of help not only to your own staff, but to any emergency personnel who might be on site. This document would most likely be the beginning of your Collection Development section in the Appendix of your plan. Other elements of the Collection section might include whatever list you have determined as your core book collection (Doody’s, other?) and journal collection (the AIMS list, in our case).

Suggestion #9: Create a list, ordered by priority, of the items or collections in your library that should be rescued in the event of a disaster. In the event that you had only a limited amount of time to rescue collections from your library, designate what materials should be retrieved. You might set up a table with the first column naming the collection, the second describing where it is located, and the third column designating the person on your staff who is the contact person for that collection. For instance, in our library, different people are responsible for our rare items, our Reference collection, and our monograph and journal collections. This list would be of help not only to your own staff, but to any emergency personnel who might be on site. This document would most likely be the beginning of your Collection Development section in the Appendix of your plan. Other elements of the Collection section might include whatever list you have determined as your core book collection (Doody’s, other?) and journal collection (the AIMS list, in our case).

Suggestion #8:Now that you are accumulating information for your plan from various sources, decide how you want your plan to be organized; i.e. what will go into the body of your plan, and what will go into an Appendix. In researching disaster plans, we found many different systems of organization. We started our own by using the outline provided by SoliNET. The PDF of their recommendations is located at http://www.solinet.net/emplibfile/displan.pdf . We adapted this outline and found that it provided an excellent structure. We did move the Collection Priority list to the Appendix of our plan, so that it is with our core collection information in the Collection Development section. We also focused on personal safety as the priority of our plan, with collection/preservation of the collection as our last priority, due to having electronic access to so much of our core collection.

Once you have decided on a structure for your plan and have begun to collect material for it (as covered in the previous and following Suggestions), begin saving your documents electronically into a master file on your library’s server. Print a copy of each document, get a three-ring binder and start creating a master copy of your plan so that you can see order evolving out of the chaos of too much information! Set up other applicable folders within your “Disaster Plan” folder on your server, especially one for the Appendix, so that your electronic version mirrors your paper copy.