To be useful, a disaster plan must include:

• prevention

• includes: documenting and regularly inspecting interior & exterior hazards to the building and collections

• regular maintenance of buildings and equipment

• proper housekeeping and environmental control

• protection

• installation of alarms and fire suppression systems

• establishment of basic building security measures

• assembly of emergency supply kits

• organization of an in-house disaster response team

• response

• actions which are to be taken on the first encounter with the damaged collections

• recovery & rehabilitation

• steps taken to deal with the disaster over the longer term, often with the help of outside expertise and advice

Setting Up a Plan

1. You can:

• Establish a committee to divide up the tasks involved; this generally produces the best results,

or

• Assign the responsibility to one or two staff members or trustees

2. Set up a timetable for the plan preparation within an allotted time

• Those people responsible for formulating the plan should educate themselves on disaster preparedness

• Read other people's plans

• Attend workshops

• Check-online resources (a good place to start is http://www.mlin.lib.ma.us/preswww.htm)

3. Define the scope of the plan;

• What areas of concern need to be addressed?

• Does your library have any special needs?

• What level of detail needs to be included?

• Have collection priorities been set? Setting collection priorities will make action easier and will reduce the losses of irreplaceable items

• Survey the buildings and the collections to determine potential hazards

• Eliminate those which can be dealt with, and make a list of the

others to be checked on a regular basis

• Make an assessment of the protective measures already in place

to determine if they are adequate

• Enter the information gathered in some kind of organized plan, and can be supplemented by whatever lists, floor plans, or narratives that are appropriate for the needs of the library

4. When the plan is finished, distribute it to all staff, volunteers and trustees

• Review and update information on a regular schedule

• Practice some of the procedures to make sure everyone is familiar with the plan