Disaster Planning Management
Everyone hopes a disaster will not strike their organization, but if it does preparedness can mean all the difference in the world in protecting human health and safety and salvaging beloved objects. Though situations rarely go according to plan, familiarizing yourself, colleagues, and volunteers with appropriate responses can help mentally prepare everyone and prevent panic and fear from interfering with your organization’s response. Tips on disaster planning can be found below.
Developing a Disaster Plan, Emergency Preparedness and Management
- American Alliance of Museums: Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response Plan
- American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (AIC)
- Connecting to Collections, Florida Museum Association: “Emergency Supplies and Equipment”
- Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts: “Emergency Planning”
- Library of Congress
- National Park Service
- “An Emergency Cart For Salvaging Water-Damaged Objects”
- “Be Prepared: Develop a Museum Emergency Operations Plan”
- Museum Handbook: Chapter 10 – “Emergency Planning”
- “Museum Staff Emergency Procedures: A Sample Emergency ‘Flip Chart’”
- “Museum Staff Emergency Procedures: A Sample Emergency Telephone List”
- Northeast Document Conservation Center
- State Historical Society of Iowa: “Disaster Planning Basics” (Questions to consider when creating your plan, tips for communication and documentation, and sample forms.)
Health and Safety Issues
- American Industrial Hygiene Association: Health and Safety Issues in Natural Disasters
- National Park Service: “Health and Safety Hazards Arising From Floods”
- National Park Service: “Hazardous Materials in your Collection”
Response and Salvage
- American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (AIC): Emergency Response & Salvage Wheel
- Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts
- Iowa Conservation and Preservation Consortium (ICPC): Iowa Museums, Archives, and Libraries Emergency Response Team (IMALERT)
- Library of Congress: “What to do if Your Collections Get Wet”
- National Archives: “Salvage Guidelines”
- National Park Service:
- “Salvage At A Glance, Part I: Paper Based Collections”
- “Salvage At A Glance, Part II: Non-Paper Based Archival Collections”
- “Salvage At A Glance Part III: Object Collections”
- “Salvage At A Glance Part IV: Natural History Collections”
- “Salvage At A Glance Part V: Textiles”
- “Salvage Of Water-Damaged Collections: Salvage At A Glance”
- International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property: “Emergency Evacuation of Cultural Heritage”
- Western Association for Art Conservation: “Salvage at a Glance,” includes information on salvaging a variety of artifact types.
Funding Assistance
- National Endowment for the Humanities Grants