Information Roles in Disaster Management Day 1 July 18, – 1400 CT Robin Featherstone, MLIS Liaison Librarian (Medicine) Life Sciences Library, McGill University Course materials:

Activity 1 Consult your completed hazards checklist Using your chat box, share: – your geographic location – the three hazards you identified

Agenda DAY 1 Disaster information specialists Disaster management HOMEWORK: Reflection exercise DAY 2 Librarian roles HOMEWORK: Tabletop exercises

Disaster Information Specialization 1 What is it? Medical Library Association continuing education program funded by the National Library of Medicine All program courses and activities earn MLA continuing education credit and may also be used toward AHIP How much does it cost to students? It’s free! Who can participate? Anyone.

Disaster Information Specialization 2 How do I take a course? In-person and online (all available online) What courses are there? Basic level: 1.Disaster Health Information Sources: The Basics 2.US Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies 3.Information Roles in Disaster Management 4.National Incident Management System, an Introduction 5.Introduction to Incident Command System Advanced level: 1.Disasters in an International Context 2.Ethical and Legal Aspects of Respons 3.A Seat at the Table: Working with Local Responders 4.CBRN [Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear] and Hazmat Information Resources

Disaster Information Specialist 3 Provides disaster-related library or information services as part of their ongoing job functions Possesses knowledge and skills to support disaster management Does more than protect library collections and maintain library operations

Selected Continuity of Operations Resources NN/LM Emergency & Preparedness Toolkit Halsted, Deborah D., Richard P. Jasper, and Felicia M. Little. Disaster Planning: A How- to-Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2005.

Objectives At the end of the webinar, you will be able to –Identify members of the disaster workforce and understand their patterns of information use –Identify professional roles for librarians during all stages of the disaster management cycle –Articulate how librarians historically viewed their roles in disasters –Recognize the valuable roles librarians have played in disaster management

Definitions Disaster: a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own resources. Emergency: a situation that is out of control and requires immediate attention. Event: an occurrence that has the potential to affect living beings and/or their environment; a realization of a hazard.

Disaster Categories NaturalMan made EarthquakesChemical spills HurricanesIndustrial accidents TsunamisTerrorist attacks Etc. Natural or Man made? Floods Forest Fires Avalanches Epidemics

Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster Workforce Licensed or trained Paid or volunteer Permanent or as-needed workers … who play a defined role in… All-hazards preparedness, response and recovery In implementing Emergency Support Functions 6 & 8: Mass care, Emergency Assistance, Disaster Housing & Human Services; Public Health and Medical Services

Disaster Workforce: Licensed/credentialed health professionals (ESAR – VHP, 2011)

Disaster Workforce: Additional licensed or trained professionals

Selected core & sub competencies for disaster medicine and public health 4.0 Communicate effectively with others in a disaster or public health emergency 4.1 Identify authoritative sources for information in a disaster or public health emergency 4.3 Identify strategies for appropriate sharing of information in a disaster or public health emergency (Walsh et al., 2012)

Disaster Health Information Peer-reviewed scholarly literature Journal articles Books “Grey” Literature Reports Summaries Surveillance data Training materials Conference proceedings

Role of Social Media “Clearly, social media are changing the way people communicate not only in their day-to-day lives, but also during disasters that threaten public health.” (Merchant, 2011)

Information use by disaster preparedness professionals Influenced by their training Viewed information as a decision- making tool Considered information to include observable environmental data and conversations Relied on social networks and the Internet Revisited trusted organizational sites (i.e., CDC) (Folb, 2011)

Desired information types Peer organization experience, lessons- learned documents (case studies) Standards Operations, procedures, manuals Legal, regulatory Grants, funding Potential local hazards Vulnerable populations Emerging hazards, novel events News Current conditions (Folb, 2011)

What do emergency managers see as the roles of librarians? 1 Creating and maintaining taxonomies with expert input Serving as a clearinghouse of knowledge concerning the different aspects of disasters Equipping libraries to access real-time emergency telemedicine networks Working with specialists to identify high-quality information Developing easy-to-use methods of delivering specific content (Turoff & Hiltz, 2008)

Producing annotated bibliographies and syntheses Participating in call centers taking questions from the public Developing FAQs for local emergency preparedness and response and making them easy to locate Assisting in text and data mining, aggregating and compiling information to support public health decision- making Sharing expertise with those in developing countries through an international network of librarians and archivists (Turoff & Hiltz, 2008) What do emergency managers see as the roles of librarians? 2

Recommendations for librarians Become part of the network Partner with trusted organizations Get involved in pre-career training (Folb, 2011) Be part of your organization’s disaster plan Monitor information using alerting services Be strategic in your communication plan – consider audience capacity and use appropriate technologies Evaluate your services (Featherstone, et al. 2012)

Homework - Activity 2 Read the article by Erik Auf der Helde, The Importance of Evidence-Based Disaster Planning Reflect on his recommended interventions (summarized on the handout labeled Activity 2) Identify a professional service you could provide

References Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law as amended), Donohue, A. (May 21, 2012). Emergency Preparedness and Librarians: A Match Made in Hospitals! Poster Presentation given at the Medical Library Association Conference, Seattle WA FEMA (2012). Tabletop Exercise. Accessed April 7, 2012 from: tro.html, tro.html Featherstone, R., Boldt, R., Torabi, N. & Konrad, S. (2012). Provision of Pandemic Disease Information by Health Sciences Librarians: A Multisite Comparative Case Series. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 100(2), Accessed May 12, 2012 from: Featherstone, R., Lyon, B. & Ruffin, A. (2008). Library roles in disaster response: an oral history project by the National Library of Medicine. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 96(4), Accessed April 3, 2012 from:

References cont. Folb, B. (March 30, 2011). Information Needs and Practices of Disaster Response Professionals: Findings and Implications.. [Presentation given at the Disaster Information Outreach Symposium, Bethesda, MD). Accessed April 2, 2012 from: Merchant, R.M., Elmer, S. & Lurie, N. (2011). Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts. NEJM. 365(4) Turoff, M. & Starr, R. (March 6, 2008). Information Seeking Behavior and Viewpoints of Emergency Preparedness and Management Professionals Concerned with Health and Medicine. [Report prepared for the National Library of Medicine]. Accessed April 2, 2012 from: Walsh, L., Subbarao, I., Gebbie, K., et al. (2012). Core Competencies for Disaster Medicine and Public Health. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 6(1), Zach, L. (March 30, 2011). Librarians’ Perceptions of Roles in Disaster Activities. [Presentation given at the Disaster Information Outreach Symposium, Bethesda, MD). Accessed April 2, 2012 from:

Image Credits Planning the programmes.jpg image by David Brewer: Radiologist in San Diego CA 2010 by Zackstarr: Presentation Slides & Course Materials Program Information Acknowledgement This project is funded by the National Library of Medicine under contract HHS-N P

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