WebJunction

Interested in helping out libraries affected by Katrina?  Here are a few places to start: 

• ALA's Adopt a Library Program and donations page
• SOLINET's  Katrina information page
• The Northeast Document Conservation Center's hurricane news page
• TechSoup's technology provider resources for nonprofits

If the vivid example of Katrina has become a cautionary tale for you, then this is a good time to create or update your library's disaster plan and get educated about the recovery process.

Disaster Planning

The WebJunction community has pointed out these sources of information:

• WebJunction Arizona has pointed us to some great disaster recovery resources put together by a leading expert in the field, Michael McColgin of the Arizona History and Archives Division.  Take a look at the AHAD Conservation page, which includes a document about Disaster Planning for Rural Libraries.
• WebJunction member Lynette Sprague-Falk of the Madigan Army Medical Center (WA) Medical Library points to a Disaster Preparedness Workbook for U.S. Navy Libraries and Archives.

ALA Editions has several titles that can help you get a head start on disaster planning, and WebJunction has published excerpts:

• Nelly Balloffet and Jenny Hille's ALA Editions book Preservation and Conservation for Libraries and Archives has a Disaster Planning and Response chapter that we've excerpted here .
• Miriam B. Kahn's ALA Editions book Protecting Your Library’s Digital Sources: The Essential Guide to Planning and Preservation includes this section on Planning for the Worst .
• And Miriam Kahn's Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries, also from ALA Editions, includes a discussion of Prevention and a useful Disaster Response Plan  checklist.
• From LAMA comes this excerpt on Risk Management Philosophy, from  Risk and Insurance Management Manual for Libraries.

Here are some other selected planning resources from around the Web:

• The Ohio State Library offers this Disaster Preparedness Plan for Small Public Libraries.
• The Master of Disaster is a friendly and useful disaster planning site "for beginners," aimed at libraries, businesses and other institutions.  It includes a "one-hour emergency plan" for those on a tight schedule!
• A model of regional cooperation for disaster planning is the Inland Empire (CA) Disaster Response Network.
• The National Library of Australia offers this concise summary of "essential issues."
• librarysupportstaff.com has a section on disaster planning.

Disaster Recovery

When disaster strikes, special recovery and preservation skills are needed.  Here's a sampling:

• NPower has put together a colorful and friendly guide to Disaster Recovery for nonprofits that has much of relevance to libraries.
• SOLINET's excellent page of Disaster Mitigation & Recovery Resources includes, among many useful English-language materials, ¡Huracán!, a Spanish-language hurricane preparedness guide and other materials in Spanish.
• In the wake of Katrina TechSoup has assembled an excellent resource page that is nonprofit-specific--but with much information libraries can use.  Included is the document IT Disaster Recovery - After the Fact.  "Created in the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina tragedy, this comprehensive document provides advice on getting technology systems working again in small- and medium- sized nonprofits where business continuity plans were not sufficient or did not exist. Included in this report are instructions on hardware recovery, restoring Internet connections, dealing with lost passwords, working with borrowed technology, claiming insurance, and a host of other useful information for your organization's recovery efforts."
• The Northeast Document Conservation Center includes an excellent Disaster Assistance page and a list of Emergency Management technical leaflets.
• Conservation Online, from Stanford University, includes specific technical information about dealing with water-damaged collections and much more.
• Need some hands-on reassurance?  How about a nifty Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel?
• Finally, here are Emergency Response Action Steps from FEMA's Environment and Historic Program.

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