Sources: Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery
Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery. By Deborah Halsted, Shari Clifton, and Daniel Wilson. Chicago: ALA Neal-Schuman, 2014. 160 p. Paper $72 (ISBN: 978-1-55570-913-6).
Neal-Schuman’s series of how-to manuals are typically practical, down-to-earth guides to aspects of library management and leadership. Halsted, Clifton, and Wilson’s Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery is a particularly useful addition to the series. Library directors understand that they must have disaster response plans in place, and most have at least a rudimentary system for dealing with fires, floods, and other emergencies. However, they may also feel overwhelmed at the prospect of developing a response and recovery plan for every possible crisis that could befall the library. This book provides a straightforward system for devising such a plan with a reasonable amount of effort.
Library as Safe Haven features a seven-step planning process that can be implemented with minimal fuss. Chapter 1 walks the reader through the steps in completing a risk assessment tailored to a library’s location and collection, covering such issues as dealing with insurance and identifying potential outside sources to help with recovery. After discussing strategies for immediate threat responses in chapter 2, the authors explore the importance of leveraging relationships with outside resources and officials in time of crisis. The authors discuss the role of social media and the importance of personal emergency response plans for all staff in the case of a widespread disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane. The book closes with advice on providing partial or off-site library services, as well as two model scenarios of libraries creating and implementing a disaster plan.
The centerpiece of the book, however, is the authors’ discussion of a service continuity plan. This plan, unlike the comprehensive disaster plan discussed in chapter 1, is a single-page list of institutional or community contacts, contact information for the library’s internal emergency response team, community and service continuity plans, a map of the building with collections to be rescued listed in priority order, and contact information for outside resources, such as local preservation experts and the salvage and recovery companies identified during the risk assessment process. This simple double-sided sheet can be distributed to selected staff members, who should be instructed to keep this information on their person at all times. The service continuity plan alone is worth the price of this book in peace of mind and staff preparedness.
No library is immune to the risk of natural and manmade disasters. Library as Safe Haven: Disaster Planning, Response, and Recovery can be considered an essential a primer on the topic: It lucidly describes a process that will give public, school, and academic library directors a large amount of peace of mind for a remarkably small expense of time and money.—Sarah Clark, Associate Library Director, Rogers State University, Claremore, Oklahoma