Planning Guide

Air Drying Books

General Recommendations

In researching the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, it becomes apparent that the only relatively sure means of protecting the materials in your repository is duplication, a preservation method that has only a slim chance of failure. In fact, in the report of the Hurricane Katrina Assessment Team, the very first recommendation is "Archives must recognize—and place greater emphasis on—duplication and off-site storage as the only preservation tool adequate to a catastrophic disaster."¹ Where possible, archivists should attempt to film or digitize materials and house those surrogates at an off-site facility far enough inland that the threat of hurricane damage is diminished. However, as this is simply neither possible nor feasible for most repositories, other steps can be taken.

As much as possible should be done in advance to prepare for a hurricane. If your collection is housed in a major research library, such as at a university, work with administrators to contract with an experienced disaster mitigation company. Contracting with BELFOR was likely what saved most of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library's materials. "Our experience appears to show that in the case of major disaster events libraries do not need their own individual pre-prepared disaster response plans as much as they need to be included in an overall general campus plan that makes effective use of a qualified disaster mitigation company."² If your repository is not part of a larger system, make sure your disaster plan is updated regularly, that you familiarize yourself in advance with resources and that may be available to you should your collection sustain damage (like FEMA or SAA's disaster recovery grant program), and that you contract with or research an experienced local or regional disaster response company. Ensure that office computers are regularly backed up to small, easy-to-evacuate portable hard drives.

Reflecting on the damage that resulted from Hurricane Katrina, staff at both Biloxi Public Library and Howard-Tilton Memorial Library remarked that their disaster plans, although effective in some areas and believed to be adequate before the storm, failed to predict the scale of the destruction. This was largely due to widespread evacuation and an inability to regain access to library buildings for some time afterwards. Additionally, communication was threatened by loss of power and cell towers, and in the case of Howard-Tilton Library, email accounts were rendered useless when Tulane University's servers were destroyed.³ Therefore, it is key to establish an off-site headquarters or meeting space, out of range of most hurricane activity, for staff to meet and regroup after a storm if access to their own library cannot immediately be gained (for instance, Howard-Tilton staff set up a temporary command headquarters in Houston⁴). If this not immediately possible, key members of the disaster response committee at an archival repository should, at the very least, be sure to exchange as much contact information as possible (including cell phone numbers, home phone numbers, personal email addresses, contact information for immediate family members, planned evacuation destinations, or any other contacts that might be useful). Much of Biloxi Public Library's materials were salvaged because staff were able to communicate regularly and discuss a plan of action via personal email, in some cases from hundreds of miles away, during the evacuation.⁵ Before the storm hits, make sure each staff member receives a copy of this information, as well as copies of the disaster plan, insurance information, and any other pertinent documents; and that staff members know to keep these documents with them at all times during and after the storm.

To codify and expand upon the recommendations listed above, the following hurricane response template was drafted. This template was generated from recommendations made by the authors of the above mentioned articles, disaster planning manuals published by IFLA⁶ and NEDCC⁷, and several disaster plan templates available on SAA's website. This template can be added as an appendix to an existing disaster plan or adapted around an existing plan to fit the needs of your institution. Please note that this template is meant to supplement a more exhaustive disaster plan, rather than replacing or serving as one by itself. For more information on drafting a complete disaster plan, see the Resources page.

Hurricane Response Template

Please click here for a downloadable hurricane response template.

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¹ Carmichael, David, Debra Hess Norris and Richard Pearce-Moses. Report of Hurricane Katrina Damage Assessment. Accessed 20 October 2013. http://www.archivists.org/news/katrina_damagereport.pdf. [See Annotated Bibliography]
² Corrigan, Andy. "Disaster: response and recovery at a major research library in New Orleans." Library Management, Vol. 29 no. 4/5 (2008): 293 - 306. Accesed 20 October 2013. http://www.emeraldinsight.com.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/journals.htm?articleid=1727991&show=abstract#sthash.KnKPPWLQ.dpuf. [See Annotated Bibliography]
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ellis, Jamie. "Lessons learned: the recovery of a research collection after Hurricane Katrina." Collection Building, Vol. 26, no. 4 (2007): 108 - 111. [See Annotated Bibliography]
⁶ McIlwaine, John. IFLA Disaster Preparedness and Planning: A Brief Manual. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, 2006. [See Annotated Bibliography]
⁷ Brown, Karen E. "Worksheet for Outlining a Disaster Plan." Northeast Document Conservation Center. Accessed 22 October 2013. http://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/3.-emergency-management/3.4-worksheet-for-outlining-a-disaster-plan. [See Resources]