National Library of Australia Staff Papers, 1999

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Disaster
Are You Prepared?

A paper presented by Bronwyn Hughes, Preservation Services Branch, at the 10th National Library Technicians' Conference, Fremantle, 8-10 September 1999.

Introduction

My talk today is on disaster planning, and I will focus on disaster planning aspects for Library collections.

Disasters of any kind are unpleasant and we tend to avoid thinking about this subject and just hope a disaster never happens to us. The truth of the matter is that no one is immune from disasters and this is why it is important to have a disaster plan.

The National Library learnt this lesson on a Friday night in March 1985. The National Library was in the process of removing asbestos from the building and the smoke detectors were turned off, leaving the Library very vulnerable to early detection to fire and in fact it was the smell of smoke that first alerted people to the presence of fire. We were totally unprepared for this emergency, there was no disaster plan, and the Fire Department had no detailed knowledge of the building and had to be accompanied by staff, NOT a desirable situation as this was a real fire. In the end it was the Fire Brigade, good luck and staff dedication that saved the Library and its collections. We all know luck will one day run out so senior managers got together after the fire and formed a disaster planning committee, and after much work a disaster plan was created we were determined in future the National Library would be prepared for any kind of disaster, ensuring the safety of the staff, building and collections.

I was at the Library in ’85 and I have memories of the aftermath of the fire, coming to work on Monday morning after hearing about the fire on the news and seeing the damage to the building and my work area with my own eyes I was shocked and a feeling of disbelief came over me, how could this have happened? The staff were asked to help in the clean up but were to start? Everything was covered in soot and water damaged, the combination of soot and water created a black sticky goo, and as you can imagine it was a nightmare to clean as it was everywhere. It took a full year before the Library was completely back to normal.

So what other kinds of disasters are there?

In the case of Libraries it is when the collections are damaged. The cause of damage may be a result of fire as demonstrated by the 1985 fire, water, mould, building work, bomb threat or vandalism and is almost always unexpected. I have listed in point form the main elements in constructing a disaster plan.

RISK ASSESSMENT – Identifying the dangers to the building and the collections

PREVENTION – Implementing measures to remove or reduce danger

PREPAREDNESS – Being ready by having identified resources, materials, services and procedures in place to deal with problems when they occur

RESPONSE – Knowing how to respond to minimise damage quickly and efficiently

RECOVERY –Knowing what to do to recover damaged material

Whilst we can not prevent all disasters we can at least be prepared and by so doing minimise the amount of damage they cause. I will also discuss the role that staff can play to ensure that a disaster plan works and in what practical ways they can help prevent a disaster happening.

Disaster Planning

Disaster planning and policy making is a senior management responsibility. However staff can have input, by informing their supervisors of relevant information, by participating in preventive and preparedness activities, and by being disaster aware and on the lookout as I hope you will see.

When considering prevention it is a good idea to look at the most likely risks to the building and the collections.

External risks
  • Consider your location, identify the potential industrial or natural hazards.
  • How close is the building to a chemical plant, or natural waterways, or bushland?
  • How safe is the building from natural disaster such as fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake?
Internal risks
  • Are collections housed away from plumbing, mechanical and electric plants?
  • Are storage areas safe from leaks and flooding?
  • Are collections stored underground?
  • Are flammable materials such as solvents and paints appropriately stored away from collections?

Staff may have valuable local knowledge to contribute on both external and internal risks.

Prevention

Disaster prevention is all about knowing the risks, taking steps to minimise the risks and detecting and dealing with problems when they occur. Awareness is a key element of disaster prevention and this is where all staff can have valuable input.

So what do staff need to know, and what can they do? Lets start with being aware and on the lookout for potential problems, this way you can report anything unusual. Staff need to be aware of the risks and always be on the alert for evidence of water, high humidity, damp musty smells, mould, fire hazards, and any evidence of insect pests and rodents in collection areas. A regular building and equipment maintenance program is critical for disaster prevention. So let your supervisor know when you come across a maintenance problem.

  • Check for water leaks in storage areas during and after rain, this can be undertaken by you in your area.
  • Keep an eye on collections in your area during any building works as this is a time of great danger. Protect collections from damage by moving them out of the way or cover them with plastic to protect from dust.
  • Don’t eat or drink when around the collections. Its amazing how easily a cup of tea or coffee can be knocked over permanently staining material. Food and drink also attract insect pests and rodents.
  • Be aware of insects and pests commonly found in libraries such as; cockroaches, silverfish and carpet beetles. Insects feed on paper, pastes, glues, leather and book-cloth, all of which are readily available in libraries. Insects are mostly found in warm, dark, damp, dirty and poorly ventilated areas, so good housekeeping is important. Rodents such as rats and mice can cause damage by eating and nesting with collection materials, and a potential fire hazard can result from rats gnawing through electrical insulation. Report any evidence of rodents such as droppings on the floor, and insect sightings immediately. A pest management program with regular checks is a good idea.
  • When collections are relocated be aware of potential hazards, don’t store collections in areas with a history of water leaks, or under plumbing.
  • Make sure there is clear access to fire extinguishers and that they are checked regularly.
  • Smoking is a fire hazard, do not allow smoking in collection areas, or in the library building.

Preparedness

The aim of being prepared is to ensure that equipment, materials and services are available to deal with likely emergencies, and to ensure that staff are trained regularly, and ready to take appropriate response action. Information and planning are the key to preparedness.

  • Establish the value of your collections for insurance purposes, and identify the most important material in priority order for salvage.
  • Ensure that resources to deal with minor disasters are readily at hand. This need not be expensive, disaster cabinets or wheelie bins stocked with essential response materials should be centrally located and readily accessible. Disaster cabinets or bins should contain practical things that are needed to respond effectively such as; plastic sheeting, tape, scissors, mops, buckets, sponges, paper towels, torches and batteries.
  • Please remember that an emergency cabinet is only useful if it is kept fully stocked, so don’t forget to restock after use. Emergency cabinet contents are also desirable, so we have found it useful to keep the cabinets locked with a break glass tube lock for access in an emergency.
  • Identify additional resources locally and regionally. Resources will include expert advice and help, access to equipment and freezer services, transport and work space facilities, and additional recovery materials.
  • Develop a disaster response structure with identified key personnel and responsibilities. Include after hours contact numbers and update regularly, all key management staff need a copy of this information.
  • Ensure that key staff, know how to shut off services; electricity, gas, water, alarms, and air conditioning systems. Keep a copy of building and disaster plans and a set of master keys off site, but readily accessible in an emergency.
  • Train staff in appropriate response procedures regularly, at least once a year. This should include use of the disaster cabinets and wheelie bins. We have found a one page hand out for all staff on; What to do when you discover a threat to collection material very useful. This can be kept in a prominent place in your work area.

All of this information constitutes a disaster plan, and can be tailored to meet individual needs. In your library senior management is responsible for coordinating disaster planning activities, but as you have seen all staff have an important role to play. Disaster planning must be reviewed and updated annually to remain relevant and workable. Learn from your experiences and update your plan and procedures accordingly.

Response

Common response to disaster is shock, confusion, and helplessness, however it doesn’t have to be like that. If you are prepared, have taken appropriate preventive action, and have trained staff and resources you will be able to manage the situation. Disasters can be major or minor and this needs to be defined in the disaster plan, so that appropriate response action is taken.

At the National Library of Australia we have a one page handout for all staff, which outlines how to respond to a threat to collection material.

The handout identifies the immediate actions that you can take, and whom to inform urgently. Once it is safe you can take short term actions to protect the collections as described.

REMEMBER
Know your actions - use your initiative

I would like to give you an example of how I was able to respond to a situation in the Library’s cold store, which houses master negatives and duplicate negatives of microfilm. I was in the coldstore when one of the sprinkler heads leaked and a very large quantity of water began to rain down. I was able to deal with the emergency promptly by following the instructions in the one page handout attached to the door of the disaster cabinet and by using the plastic sheeting from the emergency cabinet to cover the shelves of microfilm. Once the water was turned off and with the help of other staff, I was able to use the squeeze mop and wettex wipes from the emergency cabinet to clean up. Because I knew the location of the emergency cabinet, and because it was fully stocked and because I knew what to do, very little damage was done to the microfilm collection. However it could have been a very different story and we may well have lost the whole microfilm collection.

The general steps for response include:

  • Follow established emergency procedures such as the one page handout described above. For a major disaster, senior management will activate the disaster response structure.
  • When the site is safe and permission is given to re-enter, the extent of damage needs to be assessed and an appropriate course of action determined. This will be done by collection managers in collaboration with members of the disaster response team.
  • Protect material from further damage using plastic sheeting, contain and mop up water and divert water to drains or other escape routes, eg down the stair well.
  • If necessary correct environmental conditions to prevent mould growth using fans and dehumidifiers.
  • Make a written and photographic record of events, this will be required for insurance purposes.
  • Seek expert advice on the recovery process for affected materials and prioritise materials for salvage with regard to the importance, extent of damage and nature of the materials.
  • List the resources needed including; manpower, recovery materials, expertise, facilities, transport arrangements and a work area and equipment.

The above elements make up your response action plan. It’s important to remember that after stabilising the situation it is best to take time to thoroughly plan the recovery phase. It should be very clear what needs to be done, and who is responsible for doing it. Don’t forget to consider the needs of people, plan for relief shifts, rest and refreshment and ensure that salvage teams wear protective clothing.

Recovery

The recovery process will depend on the size and nature of the disaster, the degree of damage and the priority and nature of affected materials. Maintaining services is also a consideration and recovery is not complete until things are back to normal. The disaster response team and collection managers are responsible for planning recovery procedures. For most materials this will include all aspects of drying, cleaning, sorting, discarding, rebinding, repairing, relabelling and replacing. I will not go into the details for the recovery of materials in this paper as this varies depending on the material and the type and degree of damage. However if your help is required in a recovery team, you will need to be briefed and trained on what you are to do as part of the recovery team.

A good example was when Asian collections material was flooded due to building works, a sprinkler head was broken releasing thousands of gallons of water into the floors, below damaging collection material. The photographs show drying of water damaged material in the Asian collection Reading Room. Asian collections staff played an active role in recovering their collections, working along side Preservation Services staff.

The other photograph shows drying of wet books in Preservation Services. The books are clipped together to support each other and keeping them upright while drying.

Debriefing

Each disaster is different and something new can be learned each time. It is always worthwhile having a debriefing meeting with all those involved to discuss what worked well and what needs to be improved. It is also important that identified improvements are quickly incorporated in your procedures.

Conclusion

In conclusion disaster planning is a continuous learning and refining process that requires commitment and resources to maintain and be ready for action. I hope that in sharing some of our experiences with you, that you understand the importance of disaster planning and the important role that you can play. Thank you for your attention.

Bibliography

Adcock. Edward P, with the assistance of Marie – Therese Varlamoff and Virginie Kremp 1998, IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Material, International Federation of Library Association and Institutions.

Doig, Judith 1997, Disaster Recovery for Archives, Libraries and Records Management Systems in Australia and New Zealand, Centre for Information Studies, Wagga Wagga.

Kahn, Miriam B 1998, Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries, American Library Association Chicago and London.

Preiss, Lydia 1998, Learning from disasters: A decade of experience at the National Library of Australia, Australian Library and Information Association 5th Biennial Conference and Exhibition.

Preservation Services Staff National Library of Australia April 1999, National Library of Australia Collection Disaster Plan Part 1: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Part 2 : Disaster action.