2012 Best Practices for Government Libraries

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BEST PRACTICES 2012
Depending on your location, your library might be more vulnerable to a particular
situation. You will find a variety of existing disaster preparedness plans from other
federal libraries such as the National Library of Medicine (NLM,
http://nnlm.gov/ep/about-the-plan/) and the California Preservation Program (CPP,
http://calpreservation.org/disasters/generic/plan_toc.html). The Library of
Congress (LoC) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),
among others, have helpful guidelines on their web sites:
LoC: http://www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/emerweblinks.html
NARA: http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/vital-records/).
The following points are worth considering when you start to draft your plan (listed
in a very general order):
Scope/Introduction: You should determine what the plan covers. Do you
have to worry about more than one location in the same or another building
in the same geographic area? What will staff responsibilities be, and when
will your security or maintenance staff take over?
Disaster planning team: Designate staff members who will collaborate to
develop your library's preparedness and response plan. It's always a good
idea to involve people with different backgrounds to consider different
perspectives.
Important phone numbers: Consider hospitals, fire departments, police,
and your own security force. Recommended is also a phone hierarchy of key
personnel.
Staff involvement: Staff members who are not immediately tasked with
preparing a draft are still important for the success and quality of your plan.
You might seek input in different stages of your draft, and you should make
sure that every staff member knows about the plan. Some libraries have