**National Library of Medicine Funds Seven New Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Projects**For the second year, NLM is funding seven projects for partnerships between libraries and organizations that have disaster-related responsibilities. The partnerships will work together to improve use of disaster medicine and public health informati […]
*** The Disaster Information Specialist monthly meeting is open to everyone - please spread the word and invite others in your organizations and send to your email lists ***The October Disaster Information Specialist Adobe Connect session will be held Thursday, October 11, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET. See connection information below. […]
The sessions are also going to be recorded.SiobhanSiobhan Champ-Blackwell, MSLIS (Contractor)Health Sciences LibrarianAquilent, Inc., supporting the mission of the National Library of MedicineSpecialized Information Services DivisionDisaster Information Management Research Center6707 Democracy Blvd. Suite 510Bethesda, MD 20892-5467301-496-2742, phone301-480- […]
Making HIE Part of Disaster Preparednesshttp://www.information-management.com/news/making-hie-part-of-disaster-preparedness-10023226-1.htmlSeptember 26, 2012 - A new report from a consortium representing six Gulf States lays out how to make health information exchange among states part of disaster preparedness and response.The effort, begun in late 2010 and […]
You may have noticed there have been numerous webinars this month. Happy National Preparedness Month! Here's one more this week.The New York-New Jersey Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (NY-NJ PERLC), a collaboration of the University at Albany SUNY Schools of Public Health and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, wi […]
*Selections from over 100 e-sources**Follow NLM_DIMRC on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NLM_DIMRC***Digital Disaster Relief and Summit for Good***Wendy Harman, Director of Social Strategy, American Red Cross (@wharman); David Kobia, Director of Technology Development, Ushahidi (@dkobia/) and Samantha Murphy, Mashable (@MurphySamanthaJ) discuss the use of social […]
All,For the last installment in our National Preparedness Month resources series, we've provided resources below on taking care of pets and animals during disasters. We understand that pets are an important part of the family, and once again, we encourage you to take some time to explore these resources and to share them with your patrons. […]
FYI: Join a TweetChat today at 1pm. Join DHHS ASPR Dr. Lurie (@phegov) and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden at 1 p.m. EDT tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 21, for a live National Preparedness Month twitter chat. Share your experiences and ideas on how people can be better prepared for disasters. Participate with hashtag #CDCchat. […]
*Join us for the IX Regional Congress on Health Sciences Information (**CRICS9)and the **VI Regional Coordination Meeting of the Virtual Health Library(VHL6)**Topic*: *eHealth: Getting closer to universal access to health**Website*: http://www.crics9.org*When*: VHL6 Meeting October 20-21, 2012 and CRICS9 October 22-24, 2012*Where*: Washington, D.C., USA. Hea […]
Heritage Preservation Receives Grant to Support the Development of Statewide Cultural Heritage Emergency NetworksHeritage Preservation is delighted to announce the receipt of a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS grant will support the development of statewide cultural heritage em […]
Amanda Browe
Categories
Quotation
"By failing to prepare, we are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
Here’s an excellent video from the City of Houston Mayor’s Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security called RUN>>HIDE>>FIGHTSurviving and Active Shooter Event. Before sharing it with a wide audience in your institution, you may want to first run it by your security office. Also, some scenes are rather intense.
Library of Congress/James Madison Building/Mumford Room
Please join us for a morning of speakers and discussion about the impact of a power outage on library services and collections and the roles libraries and librarians can play in their communities or institutions in response to a major power outage. The afternoon sessions will feature a workshop on building your library’s readiness and a disaster information specialization certificate class.
Agenda
9:00-9:10 Dan Wilson, Coordinator, NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative
9:10-9:35 Sonya Williams, Risk Manager, DC Public Libraries/Markus Rauschecker, Continuity Planner, Homeland Security & Emergency Management Agency
9:35-10:00 Michael Salmons, Director of Emergency Management in the Office of Security, Library of Congress
10:00-10:25 Andrew Robb, Preservation Department, Library of Congress
10:30-10:55 Pete Pedersen, Pepco (Potomac Electric Power Company)
10:55-11:05 Break
11:05-11:20 Cindy Love, Disaster Information Management Research Center (DMIRC), National Library of Medicine
11:20-12:00 Sue Taylor, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD)/ Lisa McGee, American Red Cross
12:00-12:30 Panel Discussion
12:30-1:30 Lunch
1:30-4:30 Class: Information Roles in Disaster Management
Workshop: Improving Your Library’s Readiness
There is no charge to attend the morning or afternoon sessions. Seating is limited. Please register at:http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/register.html. Use the dropdown menu on the form to register for the Summit and, if you wish, then use the back arrow on your browser to register for either the Information Roles in Disaster Management class or the Improving Your Library’s Readiness workshop.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM)
Pepco (unless they are in emergency operation mode)
District of Columbia Public Library
Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA)
Library of Congress (Preservation Directorate and Office of Security & Emergency Preparedness)
National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC)
National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD)
American Red Cross
Sponsors: NN/LM, Library of Congress, FEDLINK
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00004-C with the University of Maryland Baltimore.
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) announces a funding opportunity for small projects to improve access to disaster medicine and public health information for health care professionals, first responders and others that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response and recovery.
NLM is soliciting proposals from partnerships that include at least one library and at least one non-library organization that has disaster-related responsibilities, such as health departments, public safety departments, emergency management departments, prehospital and emergency medical services, fire/rescue, or other local, regional, or state agencies with disaster health responsibilities; hospitals; faith-based and voluntary organizations active in disaster; and others.
NLM encourages submission of innovative proposals that enhance mutually beneficial collaboration among libraries and disaster-related agencies. For example, projects may increase awareness of health information resources, demonstrate how libraries and librarians can assist planners and responders with disaster-related information needs, show ways in which disaster workers can educate librarians about disaster management, and/or include collaboration among partners in developing information resources that support planning and response to public health emergencies. Summaries of the seven projects funded for 2011-2012 can be viewed at http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/2011disasteroutreachawards.html.
Contract awards will be offered for a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $30,000 each for a one-year project.
The deadline for proposals is Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 2 pm ET. Proposals are limited to six pages plus supplemental materials such as resumes, letters of support, and a budget.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for this requirement has been split into two solicitations; one Partial Small Business Set-Aside (RFP No.: NIHLM2012411) and; one Full and Open (RFP No.: NIHLM2012412). The solicitation notices are on FedBizOpps.gov as follows:
The National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov) is the world’s largest biomedical library and provides extensive online health information resources. Visit the NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center site (http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov ) to learn more about disaster-related health information from WISER (hazardous materials information for emergency responders), REMM-Radiation Emergency Medical Management, CHEMM-Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management, and other resources.
Elizabeth Norton, Dan Wilson, and Siobhan Champ-Blackwell
The DC SLA Military Librarians sponsored a program on disaster preparedness and response yesterday evening in the beautiful Charles Sumner School, Museum & Archives, in downtown Washington, DC. Speakers included Elizabeth Norton, NLM Disaster Information Management & Research Center, Dan Wilson, Coordinator of the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative, and Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Librarian, Aquilent, Inc, at NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center.
Ms. Norton kicked off the program with a presentation about the objectives of the Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC), which include 1) organize and provide access to disaster health literature and resources, 2) develop emergency response tools, 3) conduct outreach and develop partnerships, including the support of disaster information specialists, and 4) conduct health IT research and development. She spoke of NLMs disaster-related topics pages and the Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, and covered free disaster tools, such as WISER, CHEMM, REMM, and TOXNET. She ended her presentation with a description of the NLM/MLA Disaster Information Specialization program and courses. Question: What are your priorities of new tools going forward? Answer: Looking at providing CHEMM within WISER and integrating the updated 2012 Emergency Response Guide. In addition, we’d like to keep up with apps development. Question: Is there a topics page for mental health? Answer: Not yet, but is on the list. (Person asking the question offered to help develop the page.) Question: How are you getting information out to the emergency management community? Answer: We exhibit at their conferences. (Person asking the question offered to help push out the information.)
Mr. Wilson introduced the audience to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) and provided a background to the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Plan, which was activated in January 2008. Following the background information, he spoke about the NN/LM EP&R Tookit, the one-page service continuity plan, the 10-Step Approach to Service Continuity Planning training program, and the newly created 15 Elements of a Library at a High State of Readiness. He then talked about an outreach project with the Library of Virginia and spoke about the importance of getting at least two of the following elements for successful outcomes: 1) a strong network, 2) a motivated audience, and 3) a shared geography. Mr. Wilson ended his presentation talking about the NN/LM summit meetings in Miami and San Francisco. Question: What are your plans for the future? Answer: Create a training program around the 15 Elements of a Library at a High State of Readiness and develop an NN/LM Tornado Summit. Question: Talk a little more about how much training you’ve done with the 10-Step Approach to Service Continuity Planning and the type of response you have been getting. Answer: The training program has been rolled out in all eight regions of NN/LM. Training can be done by me, staff at NN/LM, or self-paced virtually. (Most of the training is now being done by NN/LM staff.) Response has been very positive from class participants.
Ms. Champ-Blackwell highlighted communication tools used by DIMRC, including their listserv, Twitter feed, and monthly teleconferences. She then spoke about how NLM uses Hootsuite to manage their tweets. She then spoke on “apps” and mobile optimized websites. In addition, she explained what a native app is and briefly talked about the importance of gaining awareness about the different mobile platforms and operating systems. Finally, she promoted the NLM Gallery of Mobile Apps and Sites (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mobile/index.html). Question: You do a great job tweeting. Is it from experience? Do you have guidelines? Answer: It’s a team effort. First of all, we have a list of over 100 resources that we follow our twitter streams. We push out NLM resources two times a day. On Hootsuite you can schedule when your tweets go out, which I sometimes do while commuting to work on the bus. We developed a spreadsheet of every page on the DIMRC site that we have linked to and we use go.usa.gov to shorten the URLs. All of June’s two tweets per day are already scheduled. We then focus time of doing the social part: the re-tweeting, and the thanks for tweeting our stuff. Question: Where do you see Twitter two years from now? How do you archive tweets? Answer: That’s a tough question and one that I’m working on, including exploring Twitter API. Question: Some of us are not allowed to access Twitter or Facebook. Any suggestions? Participant response: We just got an exception. It’s worth a try. Answer: Develop a plan to present to your supervisors with a list of who you will follow, how you will use the account. I’ll share a list of approved DIMRC sources on the Disaster Outreach listserv that can be used to try to get exceptions. Question: Following a disaster, if you see tweets from non-approved sources, can you do original reporting via Twitter? Answer: Our job at NLM is to support other libraries who would like to send reports of resources during and following disasters.
This morning I presented with Cindy Church at the Virginia Library Association Paraprofessional Forum. Cindy, Continuing Education Consultant at the Library of Virginia (LoV), has been working with us since the summer of 2010 when we needed a strong network to sponsor an EP&R conference we were planning for the state of Virginia. Partnering with Cindy and the LoV afforded us the five elements below, which proved to be a major factor in the successful completion of our project. If you work with outreach programs, it might behoove you to consider partnering with you state library.
Marketing
Cultural awareness
Communications
Registration
Logistics
Cindy Church and Dan Wilson. Photo by Susan Yowell
Claire Hamasu, Associate Director, NN/LM MidContinental Region, shares her experiences during the Great Utah Shakeout drill, which lasted three days, from April 17th to 19th. This is a great example of the value of incorporating drills into your emergency planning strategy.
On a cool, rainy, overcast morning among good natured grumbling about “why couldn’t we choose a different day to have an earthquake” the Great Utah ShakeOut shook the Eccles Health Sciences Library. The Great Utah ShakeOut (http://www.shakeout.org/utah/) was an earthquake drill that tested the state’s emergency response systems and, for the responders, lasted three days, April 17-19, 2012. For those of us in the library it lasted 45 minutes, from the time the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit at 10:15 am till we returned from the evacuation area at 11 am. The whole university participated, even construction workers building the new pharmacy building. In the health sciences center, only hospital employees providing direct patient care were exempt.
The official communication via text announcing the start of the drill didn’t reach everyone. There were library employees who did receive the message and communicated with others to “duck, cover and hold on.” As I was “cowering” under my desk, I used my cell phone to alert my designated contact in the RML to initiate the RML’s emergency plan. I let her know that we had just had an earthquake, I wasn’t able to provide the status of the rest of the staff, and the library would soon be evacuating. The contact notified the rest of the MCR staff about the drill in Utah. RML staff went through the pretend process of putting Eccles Health Sciences DOCLINE on hold and adding details to our emergency template message to go out on communication channels.
Library staff merged into the parade of colorful umbrellas walking to the designated evaluation area. I located the individuals reporting to me, noting that everyone had made it out of the library safely. I tried calling my contact to give her an update, but she couldn’t hear me. I sent her an email and later learned her computer was down so she didn’t receive the message.
Some things we learned in the library. We needed to reinstitute a staff reporting system. People didn’t know who to notify that they had made it out safely. We have a collection of emergency reference books on a book truck. The triage location was set up down the road and a book truck is not a viable way to get the resources to the health care providers. We need a container that is totally enclosed and on wheels. The emergency contacts for libraries and museum meeting location needed to more centralized and closer to the emergency command center. If transportation and communication was down, this would reduce the distances people would have to walk and the environmental dangers they would encounter in order to produce a status report on the libraries and museums.
The RML reviews its emergency plan annually. Despite this regular review we discovered that much had changed with our communication tools. We need to revise how we use them, incorporating the new communications we now employ. We also need to verify that staff is receiving messages from the disaster site.
Utah is overdue for its next big earthquake that happens every 30 years. Drills like this will ensure that we’re better prepared.
1. Where to get information on HOW TO WRITE A DISASTER PLAN. Click on the Writing Your Disaster Plan page. Download the template for the Service Continuity Pocket Response Plan (PReP) and fill it out. For some libraries, the PReP may be enough. Others may want to start with the PReP and then develop a comprehensive plan as time permits.
2. Where to GET HELP following some kind of disaster or service disruption. Click on the Calling for Help page. Listed is contact information for your Regional Medical Library as well as library networks that provide consultation services (some at no cost), 24/7.
3. How to get TRAINING ON SERVICE CONTINUITY and libraries. Click on the Training Opportunities page and select the option that best fits your needs. Contact your NNLM RML at 1-800-338-7657, or the Coordinator, Dan Wilson, at danwilson@virginia.edu, to inquire about scheduling or participating in a class.
4. What else does the Toolkit offer? The Toolkit is a comprehensive collection of resources and tools for helping you prepare your library for a disaster or service disruption. In addition to the items listed above, you'll find news reports (NEPR Times), sample table-top exercises and model MOUs, library disaster stories, links to supporting resources for our training program, and information about the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Plan.
Emergency Access Initiative
EAI provides free access to full text articles from major biomedicine titles to healthcare professionals, librarians, and the public in the United States affected by disasters.
Flu Report
CDC Map showing current incidence of influenza in the U. S.
Heritage Preservation
Creators of the popular Emergency Response & Salvage Wheel and the Field Guide to Emergency Response. Offer many free resources on disaster planning and response. Co-sponsor — with FEMA — of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force.
Homeland Security
Current news and resources for preparedness; see especially the “Preparedness, Response, Recovery” section.
Lyrasis
Library services including disaster planning and preservation, primary areas are Mid-Atlantic, Southeastern and New England regions of U.S.