Emergency Preparedness for Libraries. Julie Todaro
including content in existing journals, new journals just on emergency management, as well as monographs on topic and extensive information from various federal government agencies. The field of emergency management is a growing one and although there are significant publications in this area, there are a growing number of emergency management resources within the library and information science publications dealing just with buildings and resources in all types of library and information settings.
The online environment of emergency management provides extensive resources for administrators and managers in general emergency management content. Resources specific to types of libraries are present on the web in academic libraries primarily with some available for public libraries. Resources by type of library, however, are typically those documents created just for those organizations rather than designated best practice or benchmark resources.
Managers should consult umbrella agency or overarching business information such as a facilities website for an educational setting (see Appendices) that also includes libraries within educational settings. Additional online resources also include the growing number of location-specific vendor case studies. They offer several research library recovery projects.
Twenty-First-Training, Continuing Education, Professional Development
Although training and continuing education is considered a critical component of preparation for, prevention of, and handling of emergency and disaster issues, and although there is much general education on emergency management, this general education has been expensive. There continues to be a lack of emergency management training for the profession of library and information science much less for libraries by type of library. Also, curriculum of professional education in library and information science graduate education and curriculum of continuing education for library and information settings are not extensive.
Managers should seek training content (self-directed or video presenter driven) on government websites, vendor websites, and association web and conference events. State libraries throughout the country have increased their local/state focus of emergency management training. There are also a myriad of conferences and conference proceedings available in small chunks of curriculum—typically free to users.
Twenty-First-Century Documents: Forms/Checklists
Strategic plans, forms, checklists, mind maps, and other various project management tools and related materials are the mainstay of emergency management content and professional literature. Even though the existing content is more general than specific to the field of library and information science, existing general documents and forms and checklist are easily converted to preparation and assessment of library and information settings. Administrators and managers of all types of library settings can use umbrella organization content as well as general “government issued” content.
In increasing numbers, however, libraries are adapting their practices to umbrella institution and government forms to ensure consistent terminology. While this approach is never ideal, libraries can use overarching forms to be able to conform to insurance and first-responder information while supplementing with more specific forms. And, although several government agency forms are more home or family driven, libraries can easily adapt the larger institutional forms to their needs in these areas as well, including forms and checklists from construction and facilities/buildings professionals, technology security forms, and general human resources forms. Again, as stated in other areas, vendors seldom just provide one aspect of support from emergency management and, instead, provide a breadth of an issue, such as a shelter-in-place kit sold by a single vendor comes with checklists and general rules and regulations for administering kit contents.
Defining Twenty-First-Century Emergencies and Disasters in Library Environments
What Has Changed?
Library and information environments still project an image and “own” the stereotype of being quiet, calm, and safe and secure locations for workers and constituents. The reality is that—historically and in the twenty-first century—libraries have aged and are not always safe and secure places to work or visit. Managers must embrace an area of management they are not used to—emergency management—and they must
• educate themselves on emergency management and emergency issues;
• educate themselves on not only prevention of emergency situations but also on safety- and security-related issues;
• identify the emergency safety and security issues;
• educate board, administration, peer managers, staff, volunteers, city/country, institution and so on;
• educate constituents;
• establish policies that cover emergencies;
• establish procedures that cover emergencies; and
• educate Board, staff, volunteers, and city/country on policies and procedures.
After my years of experience in diverse library and information settings—especially in these times—I can approach emergency and disaster discussions with some expertise. And although (luckily) I have not had the massive destruction that some librarians have had from floods and fires, my experience comes from observation and—sadly—real-life experience in handling materials, resources, and staff and the public through difficult situations. There shouldn’t be anyone today who can’t also claim experience in observation of and dealing with the effects of contemporary disasters.
Learning how to deal with emergencies in general is a complex process and applying them to library environments (academic, school, public and special libraries) is even more complex. Although there is much talk in the literature about the worst of emergencies and disasters and although libraries have been involved in and affected by these emergencies and disasters (911; Katrina, etc.), many emergencies and disasters are just as “real,” but thankfully not of the catastrophic nature. When surveying the literature, the types of situations and events that typically occur include the following:
• Theft of property/library materials
• Vandalism/mutilation of library materials
• Computer vandalism and/or data destruction
• Inappropriate, illegal area activities (unique areas such as small group rooms and restrooms)
• Facilities/resources vandalism/destructive activities
• Safety for staff and constituents (hazardous materials such as chemicals and molds)
• Fire, smoke, and ensuring water damage
• Water damage from flooding, leaks
• Constituent behavior—related to library resources and services
• Constituent behavior—related to library workers
• Pestilence/pest control
Deciding where to look and how to frame the questions is difficult as well. One can find content to assist in dealing with situations and events under lifesaving; natural disasters; fire/smoke; chemical hazards and hazardous waste; human fluids; office safety or occupational safety information; ergonomics or occupational safety information; incident management; accommodation (relating to safety); emergency management; emergency preparedness; and disaster planning.
No matter where you look or what you call it, using scenarios (often used synonymously with case method process) to frame situations and events provides administrators and managers with not only answers, but a process to replicate when faced with their own situations.
Scenarios throughout the monograph are set in a variety of types of libraries. These first two scenarios, representing a natural disaster/emergency and a man-made disaster/emergency, are set in public library environments. Immediately following each of these first two scenarios is the scenario issue/problem-solving