# Presentation: 207883

## NUTS AND BOLTS OF LIBRARY DISASTERS AND RECOVERYA PANEL DISCUSSION

**Katrina’s Library Crossings:  Which Turns to Take?**
- By
- Ada M. Seltzer
- Professor and Chair
- Academic Information Services
- Director, Rowland Medical Library
- University of Mississippi Medical Center
- Jackson, MS

## What Turns to Take

- Turns to Avoid:  Assessing Katrina’s Crossings
- What we have learned so far
- Designs for Improving Disaster Traffic Circles
- Ideas and suggestions for disaster planning

## Turns to Avoid

**Huge human level of disaster/recovery -takes precedence over all else – will last for years**
**Red Cross - 1-2 weeks**
**FEMA policies prevent making changes on what was learned **
**	****	****replaces – does not rebuild**
**Plan for worst case scenario**
**Provide backup emergency communications**

## Avoiding turns (continued)

- Integrate local disaster planning with neighboring communities, regions within states, multi-state regions, and/or federal
- Communicate persons/agencies authorized and/or responsible for emergency relief prior to storm
- Establish standards and coordinate private donations of goods for rapid distribution and use: sorted, boxed or packaged, labeled

## Human Turns to Avoid

**Recommend personal items to take when evacuating**
**Prepare to survive on your own for 7 days: hand sanitizers, wet wipes, toiletries, plastic bags**
**Plan for gasoline shortages**
**Review insurance policies and be informed about legal rights**
**Maintain a list of emergency relief agencies and type of services provided**

## Health Turns to Avoid

- New location for generators
- Evacuate patients from first and top floors
- Electronic health record a necessity – with offsite capability
- Disaster planning for health professionals in private practice
- Emergency communications backup – linked with other health units, health professionals and emergency response units
- Improved and coordinated planning and emergency response between communities, local areas, state, regional and federal levels

## Library Turns to Avoid

**Become informed about what libraries needed to know to endure a disaster **
**(did not know what we did not know)**
**Become knowledgeable about scope of insurance and legal rights **
**Inform library staff about who is in charge of disaster response and what response will be available**
**Have processes and relationships in place prior to the disaster**

## Avoiding Library Turns (continued)

**Increase level of emergency supplies available: generators, dehumidifiers, contracts**
**Arrange for temporary storage for donations, staff, building for temporary work space prior to disaster**
**Centralize coordination for relief**
**Acknowledge community’s understanding of library roles resulting from disaster and take leadership role in recovery effort**

## Designs for Improving Library Disaster Traffic Circles

**Form state alliance to better utilize resources **
**Arts Council, Archives & History, MS Lib. Commission**
**Train alliance members and clearly define roles**
**Offer risk management workshops for libraries - processes and relationships that must be in place prior to disaster**
**MS Lib. Commission – clearinghouse for library/librarian communications & information distribution**
**Gates Foundation planning for Katrina libraries – where they want to go - how to get there given FEMA policies**
**Support and relief to libraries providing relief to evacuees**

## Designs for Improving Health Sciences Library Disaster Traffic Circles

**Locally self reliant – strong formal connections to a colleague-library network (hospital libraries)**
- Prior designation of authority and responsibility and centralization for local coordination of relief and response
**Pre-contract/arrange salvage and debris removal**
- Support for libraries affected by disaster, but still functional
**Fewer staff, increased demand, lack needed sources**

## Specific Health Sciences Library Disaster Designs

**Disaster buddy program for librarians**
- Out of state storage of online records, OPAC
**Chapter or NN/LM level “adopt-a-library” **
- Pre-disaster communications Web service:
- 		Email lists, bulletin board, debris team            	formation, tips for disaster recovery, 	directories of agencies

## Health Sciences Library Designs (continued)

**Pre-established, pre-arranged core health e-source collection for quick and temporary access – rental**
- Pre-established, pre-arranged core health collection for relief libraries
**One Web site for ALL library relief and recovery assistance listings**
- Prior arrangements for services to tent cities, trailer areas, communities agencies or public libraries about chronic diseases, mental health services, disease prevention, etc.
**	****	****(include children’s health issues)**

## Thanks for Assistance

- Mississippi Library Commission
- Hurricanearchives.com
- Smithsonian Collection
- Library and hospital Web sites
- Terry Hall, UMC Program Administrator

## Assistance for Mississippi Libraries

- Friends of Mississippi Libraries
- 		Rebuild Mississippi Libraries Fund
-   		Attn:  AmSouth Bank
-    	210 E. Capital Street
-    	Jackson, MS  39201