Loyola University New Orleans – College of Law is hosting a virtual symposium of interest to COSTEP MA subscribers. More information, including registration (free), here: https://law.loyno.edu/student-resources/law-library/symposium-emergency-planning-libraries-archives-july-10-2020.
A key COSTEP MA contributor, Becky Geller (Preservation Specialist, Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)), will be presenting an interesting case study in a panel focused on updating disaster plans. “Looks Good on Paper: Turning Action into (Better) Planning:” If you had 24 hours to prepare your institution for a coming disaster, what could you do to give your collections the best chance of surviving? Of course, not all disasters come with advance warning, but when they do, disaster planning for cultural heritage institutions goes a long way towards weathering the storm. A Boston-area museum partnered with NEDCC to practice moving priority collections to safer ground to test their disaster plan. The move did not go off without a hitch, but important lessons were learned and improvements were made to the original disaster plan. This talk will provide an overview of the issues identified in this preemptive collections move, as well as tips and tools for effective, practical disaster planning.
In addition to two panels focused updating disaster plans, other panels in the symposium are convened with the following themes:
- Communications in a disaster
- Planning and responding to water
- Continuity of operations
There is even a planned virtual ‘hands-on’ activity, ” Creating Your Own Disaster/Emergency Response Plan.”