Disaster Plan Templates
The process of creating a disaster plan, whether it involves filling out a two-page template or writing a comprehensive plan, is an essential part of being prepared for emergency situations. Because the process begins with risk assessment and continues through developing procedures for personal safety, service continuity, and mitigation of damage to physical property, it creates the awareness, the knowledge and the structure necessary for responding in an effective way to an emergency or disaster. A disaster plan is only as good as the training provided to staff responsible for carrying it out. Ideally, staff should be trained to respond appropriately to emergencies based on the command and communication structures and safety procedures documented in the plan, without the necessity of referring to the actual plan in an emergency.
This page provides a “menu” of disaster plan templates, ranging from basic to comprehensive. Which plan will work best for an institution, or whether a combination will be most effective, depends upon the size of the institution, whether the institution is part of the plan of a parent organization, and other factors including how much time can be devoted to writing the plan, and what resources are available for use in preparing it.
1) NN/LM Template for 10-Step Approach to Service Continuity: the “10-Step” template is designed to complement the 10-Step Service Continuity training that NN/LM is providing to its membership. By completing this one page (two-sided) form, anyone can produce a concise, yet robust mini-plan for emergency response. The document fits onto standard letter-size paper. It is similar to the PReP plan, but smaller, less comprehensive, and more focused on service continuity.
Example of “10-Step” template” filled out for UVa: 10-Steps to Service Continuity template, UVa HSL
2) PReP: as an accompaniment to a disaster plan, “The Pocket Response Plan (PReP)™ is a concise document for recording essential information needed by staff in case of a disaster. Every person having a response-related assignment should carry a PReP with them at all times. The PReP is one component of CoSA’s Framework for Emergency Preparedness.” (Council of State Archivists)
The PReP form customized for health sciences libraries by Julie Page and Deborah Halsted: PReP form for HSLs
The PReP form customized by academic HSLs:
University of Utah Eccles HSL Pocket Plan
3) dPlan: dPlan is a product of the Northeast Document Conservation Center, who recommends it as follows: “dPlan is perfect for small and medium-sized institutions that do not have in-house preservation staff. dPlan is also valuable for large library systems or museum campuses that need to develop separate but related plans for multiple buildings, locations, or branches.”
4) Model Disaster Plans: following are disaster plans from several institutions who have agreed to share them here on the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit. Please feel free to adapt them to your needs.
Resource libraries:
Loyola University Health Sciences Library Disaster Preparedness and Response Manual
University of Utah Eccles HSL Flip Chart photo
University of Utah Eccles HSL Flip Chart contents
University of Virginia Health Sciences Library Emergency Preparedness & Response Plan (Revised 0808) If you would like this document in Word format, please contact Susan Yowell at syowell@virginia.edu.
Hospital libraries:
San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center: many thanks to Joy Graham at SFGH and the emergency response coordinator at her hospital for sharing their emergency response plan. It’s a very nice example of providing the most-needed information in a concise format.
Related Resources
HAM-TMC Colocation Project: the Houston Academy of Medicine/Texas Medical Center Library has shared this document as an example of how a library has developed procedures for storing its essential information resources off-site for use in an emergency or disaster.
