Emergency Preparedness

The numerous natural disasters during 2005 has placed emergency preparedness in the forefront of preservation. The Preservation Directorate has compiled a list of links to documents that focus on treating wet objects and to web sites of emergency preparedness plans of other organizations. Click here to see the list.

Emergency preparedness is a very important part of preservation program management. No institution is immune from disaster. The Library of Congress itself suffered the ravages of two major fires in the 19th century. However, the most frequent cause of damage to collections in general is from water, or a combination of fire and water. Historically, water damage results from the failure of aging building elements such as air-conditioning drip pans, drain pipes, built-in joints, and so forth. Other damage and loss have been caused by failure of cooling or humidity control systems, vandalism and theft, and by the presence of the necessary fire suppression systems. In addition, the shut-down of environmental control systems during building maintenance and renovation can result in emergency conditions for collections.

The Library of Congress is responsible for safeguarding millions of unique, irreplaceable, and valuable objects and collections essential to the preservation and understanding of our national heritage. These collections are housed in buildings in Washington and elsewhere. Risks of damage to the buildings and facilities are mitigated by adherence to building codes and maintenance inspections. Similar procedures and policies are needed to protect the collections, wherever they may be.

Emergency/disaster preparedness is a collective endeavor and must involve in-house facilities staff, including safety and health services, curators, collections managers, and preservation staff in concert with external agencies such as funders, utilities, fire marshals, police, etc. Emergency/disaster preparedness must be an ongoing process, consciously and methodically cultivated, so that it becomes ingrained into the fabric of routine library functions. To be successful, it must be given the highest priority and it must have unwavering support and commitment at all levels of library management.

For the past few years, the Preservation Directorate and the facilities support offices of the Library have worked together to implement emergency preparedness actions. The actions listed below should help any library or archive with the means to prevent emergencies that could damage collections and mitigate the impact should they occur:

Convene regular meetings of an organization-wide emergency management team which has the authority to make necessary decisions pertaining both to emergency preparedness and emergency response
Develop a communications network through the police alarm center that provides efficient and timely communication of emergency occurrences to necessary personnel
Establish a 24-hour “on call” duty officer system for staff in the preservation program
Orient all staff to emergency procedures. Collect such procedures in a booklet and distribute to all staff.
Procure and store in all facilities the supplies needed for immediate response to emergencies
Conduct emergency risk assessments and prepare emergency preparedness floor plans for all collections areas
Train and drill Preservation, curatorial and collections management staff in procedures for the safe handling of damaged collections materials
Prepare a comprehensive emergency/disaster preparedness, response and recovery plan for the library that defines all policies, regulations, and procedures to be followed in the vent of an emergency of disaster.