Do You Have a Disaster Plan?

Do you have a disaster plan in place in the event that your institution experiences a destructive event? A good disaster plan can be your guide when sorting through the whos, whats, whens and hows that come after such a happening. By asking yourself some simple questions now and assessing your space and collection, you can prevent a lot of confusion and provide yourself with a light at the end of the tunnel when something goes wrong. Here are a few free and easy-to-use resources for creating your own.

Photo courtesy of the National Library of Medicine

•  A Disaster Plan for Libraries and Archives (Amigos Preservation Services) - Use the basic fill-in-the blank format to list emergency contact information, insurance policy information, information about the facility itself (e.g. where is the main water shutoff?), and local resources for salvage and recovery. It also contains a supply checklist so that you can assemble necessary supplies beforehand.
• Pocket Response Plan (PReP) (Council of State Archivists) - This small but mighty resource is a provides a portable way for workers to access important contact information as well as find the best next steps for action in the case of an emergency.  
• dPlan (Northeast Document Conservation Center) – dPlan is an online tool that asks detailed questions and provides a disaster plan for you to print or receive via email. It has a demo version for you to try if you want to experiment before taking the plunge.
  

Want to see what other institution's disaster plans look like? Check out this page presented by CoOl (Conservation Online)

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