Imagine This Is Your School Library or Office

Does Your Disaster Plan Look Like This? “HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

You will not realize the importance of having a Disaster Plan in place until you experience a disaster or a small emergency. Several years ago Springfield streets flooded after a heavy rainfall. In front of the State Capitol Building water was 3’-4’ deep. Sewers began backing up throughout the city into basements, including our basement at the State Archives, which is only a few feet below ground level.

Do You Think This Can Not Happen In Your Town? Capitol Avenue Springfield, IL

This Photo Was Taken Inside the State Archives Bldg. 300 boxes were moved to the 1st floor in approximately 14 minutes from our basement Not a single record was lost, some became damp but not ruined. We had a little over 300 boxes in our basement ready for pick-up the next day and even though our basement was just a few feet below ground level, the sewers began backing up through the toilets and sinks in the basement. Because we had a plan, we moved those 300 plus boxes upstairs to the 1st floor in a little under 14 minutes. Not a single record was lost, some became damp but not ruined. We set up tables and fans and began to dry out the records, rebox and re-label the records - using our disaster plan as our guideline.

Disaster Preparedness EMERGENCY Or DISASTER

Emergencies: An adverse event that does not have widespread impact and does not require the use of extraordinary or prolonged resources to return conditions to normal. For instance a broken water pipe may cause some minor interruption in service, but will probably be limited to a specific room.

DISASTERS: An adverse event that is organization- wide or community-wide Resulting in significant damage and loss that requires the use of prolonged or extraordinary resources to return conditions to normal Grafton, IL – Flood of 1993 Grafton, IL

PURPOSE OF A DISASTER PLAN: Ensure the safety of people; Ensure continued delivery of critical and essential functions and services; Reduce losses and damage to records, facilities, and systems.

BENEFITS OF A DISASTER PLAN: Quick resumptions of business operations Enhanced safety and awareness of risk Protection of vital records and original records and information resources

FOUR PHASES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: · Mitigation/Prevention · Preparedness · Response · Recovery

STEPS IN DEVELOPING A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN: Secure approval from senior management Collect Data Such as Names of Suppliers, Restoration Service Providers, and other Emergency Contacts Develop and Write the Plan

STEPS IN DEVELOPING A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN: Distribute the Disaster Recovery Plan and Train Your Employees (Disaster Planning Committee and Disaster Response Team) Test and Exercise Evaluate Your Plan and Maintain the Plan Updating Information About Vendors, Suppliers, etc. Every Six Months.

Distribution of Your Disaster Plan At the State Archives each employee is provided with two copies of our Disaster Plan. One copy to be retained at the office and the second to be retained at their home.

Exit Plans You may also want to develop an Exit Plan for exiting the building when you are developing a Disaster Plan. What departments are to use what exit doors, what if those doors are locked, a plan for handling employees and visitors in wheelchairs. You will recall in the World Trade Center, one of the problems were locked exit doors. You might have different exit plans for fire than you would for a hostage situation.

Suggested Components of a Records and Information Disaster Plan: 1. Table of Contents 2. Introduction – Explain To The Employees Why A Disaster Plan Is Important & That They Will Be Called Upon For Certain Tasks 3. Copies Of Your Records Retention Schedule(s) 4. List Of Your Most Vital Records 5. List of Supplies and Equipment Needed Using your retention schedule, will help you in preparing your list of vital records.

Components of a Disaster Plan 6. Vendor, Expert, and Contractor Information 7. Salvage and Recovery Procedures 8. Arrangements for off-site storage and/or recovery 9. Who is responsible for security and how will the site be secured.

Additional Components To A Disaster Recovery Plan: Make A Phone Tree Include Home Phone #’s Pager #’s Cell Phone #’s Designate Who Is To Make The Calls And Who Will Be Responsible For Calling Each Team Member

List of Emergency Contacts Medical, Utility, Emergency Responders Information Include Phone Numbers for Regular Business Hours and After-hours

Location of Utilities Floor Plans & Diagrams Water Shut-off Locations Power Shut-off Locations Floor plans should include location of fire extinguishers, water shut-off’s, power shut-off’s.

Hazardous Materials Maintain a hazardous materials storage list indicating the location of any flammable chemicals What are they and where are they. If there is a fire, you will need to advise the fire department of the location of any hazardous materials you have stored on the property.

Other Needs: 1. An air-conditioned space to which damp and wet records can be moved. 2. Someone to help manage logistics for the transfer and control of records stored. You may need to rent a refrigerator truck or railroad car to store your records in. A list of service providers should be included in your disaster plan.

Supplies Fans Dehumidifiers Flashlights With Extra Batteries Clothesline or Nylon Fishing Line Disinfectant such as Lysol Scissors Explain how the various items can be used.

Additional Supplies Milk Cartons Cafeteria Trays Storage Boxes Blotting Paper Freezer Paper Paper Towels Wet-dry Vacuum You can frequently rent milk cartons from local dairies

Supply List Water Proof Markers Large Garbage Bags Plastic Garbage Cans Large Rolls of Plastic Rubber Gloves Camera to Photograph Damages As for supplies we do not keep all of these supplies on hand our selves. We do keep the large rolls of plastic, the markers, a camera, rubber gloves, masks, a wet-dry vacuum, some tables, and the lysol on hand. We have had a number of water pipes break over the years. We do maintain a list of vendors to get other supplies from and that list is reviewed every 6 months. We call each of the vendors up to make sure they are still in business.

Beginning The Clean-up

Where do you start? Make sure the area is secure, is the power turned-off, is the gas main turned off? Are there any outlets under water? Check your blueprints. Assign various personnel to pre-determined tasks as out-lined in your Disaster Plan…….

HANDLING WET DOCUMENTS Paper is very fragile when it is wet. Handle it carefully. If you need additional assistance call a company from your vendor list that restores wet documents.

CLEANING WET DOCUMENTS If items are still wet, agitating them in a bath of clear water will remove excess dirt. This treatment should never be attempted for images which are blurred, feathered, or faded. Dirt left by receding flood waters may be contaminated. Precautions such as the use of rubber gloves should be taken when handling some documents.

AIR DRYING Wet books, documents, or photographs which cannot be air dried within two days should be frozen to inhibit mold growth. However freezing documents is very expensive. . .

Check Your Retention Schedule Are any of the records that are wet eligible for disposal? In Chicago a few years back when they had many of the basements and sub-basements flooded some of the agencies spent tons of money to freeze documents. When our field representative met with them, she noticed that they had not been filing disposal certificates and were storing a lot of documents they could have gotten rid of. So if this happens to you one of the things you want to do is review your records retention schedule. If you have not been doing regular disposal certificates then see what needs to be kept before you contract a firm to freeze dry records that may be eligible for destruction.

EMPLOYEES & MOLD Many people are sensitive to mold. Also, some mold species are toxic. If any health effects are observed when treating mold consult a doctor or mycologist before proceeding. The local health department may be able to help you determine what type of mold you have.

How Can I Tell If The Mold Spores Are Dormant? Active mold looks fuzzy or slimy. Dormant mold is dry and powdery. If the mold appears fuzzy or slimy do not attempt to remove the mold; it may only spread or smear.

IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR MOLD GROWTH The best way to prevent or stop an outbreak of mold is to remove items from environmental conditions that encourage mold growth: high temperature, high relative humidity, stagnant air, and darkness.

Mold Can Set Up In 48 Hours In A Humid Environment

CIRCULATING AIR Circulating air will effectively dry most items. Physical distortions may result, but document information will be saved. To provide optimal air drying conditions, fans should be positioned for maximum air circulation (however do not aim air flow directly at drying materials).

AIR DRYING TIPS Blotting material for air drying should be clean and absorbent. Options include: blotter paper, unprinted newsprint paper, paper towels, clean rags, mattress pads, etc. Screening material (such as window screens) well supported and stacked with space between them provide an excellent compact drying surface. A porous surface assists air circulation and promotes drying.

GLOSSY MATERIALS Without intervention glossy materials such as paperback book covers, magazines, art books, etc. are likely to stick together. If they are highly valued, these items should be the first priority for salvage. Loose glossy materials should be spread out in one layer for air drying.

BOUND GLOSSY MATERIALS Bound glossy materials must be interleaved between every page to prevent sticking. Wax paper should be used as interleaving material. Volumes of glossy paper dried in this way may suffer considerable physical distortion.

BOOKS Place interleaving material between the text block and the front and back covers. If time and supplies allow interleaving material should be placed intermittently throughout the text as well. Fan volumes open and stand them on edge with the interleaving paper extending beyond the edges of the book.

ENHANCING THE DRYING OF BOOKS Evaporation of water as it wicks into the interleaving paper will enhance drying. Replace interleaving paper as it becomes soaked and invert the volume each time to insure even drying.

Microfilm Restoration Microfilm must be kept wet until it can be dried properly. But do not keep immersed for more than 3 days. Contact a microfilm processing lab for restoration.

Dottie Hopkins-Rehan, Conservator If You Have Additional Questions About Disaster Planning and Recovery Please Call: Dottie Hopkins-Rehan, Conservator (217)782-2610 or Gloria Huston (217)782-1082

Help on the Internet There are many helpful websites with many details on recovery of various types of records media besides what has been covered in this presentation.

Contacting the State Archives Records Management Section Appointments with field representatives and questions about disposal certificates (217)782-1080 – Sheila Cowles Questions about retention periods (217)782-1082 – Gloria Huston

Illinois State Archives Information Services Division Copies of teaching packets – Elaine Evans (217)782-2226 Questions about IRAD Records – Karl Moore or Barb Heflin (217)785-1266 Genealogical Reference Questions – Greg Cox or Dana Ekiss (217)782-3556 Genealogical reference questions – direct them to the internet or have them call (217)782-3556 On our web page you can search the IRAD database to determine what local government records we might have from your agency. The database will show the record series, the dates covered and which state university they are maintained at. We also have a marriage index and a death index on our web page.

Illinois State Archives Inventory Control Section If you would like to know if your agency has any security microfilm stored at the State Archives please call: Bob Lyons at (217)782-7548 or John Reinhardt (217)524-6700 I do have a list of agencies, we have security microfilm, with me if anyone would like to check with me after the presentation. Some of you if you are new to your office (County offices) may not know it, but we are also keeping some Lincoln documents for some of the counties in our safe in our special vault. Please contact John Reinhardt if you have questions about that.

For more information please visit our web page Click on Departments Click on Illinois State Archives Click on Records Management