Step 2 Protect Yourself, Your Staff, and Your Patrons. Compile basic procedures that provide for the personal safety of your staff and patrons. Quick action can save lives.

Case #1: On March 1, 2007, a tornado struck the Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, Georgia. Nobody was injured thanks to the action of nurses who responded to the tornado warning by moving patients and visitors away from windows. If tornadoes are a risk in your area, do you have procedures for what staff should do when a Tornado Watch or Warning has been issued? Case #2: On March 3, 2009, the Cologne Archives Building in Cologne, Germany, collapsed in about 3 minutes. (The building before the collapse is pictured in upper left.) Reports indicate that about 20 people were in the building when a cracking sound was heard by construction workers on the roof. Due to the quick response from the construction workers and library staff, the library was evacuated before it collapsed. Could you evacuate your library in less than 3 minutes?

Shelter-in-Place In the event of a HAZMAT incident, it is important to have a place to shelter in. Do you have a shelter- in-place strategy at your library?

Pay Close Attention to Unplanned Events TORNADO Watch: monitor weather reporting stations online and via the weather radio. Warning: announce via intercom that a warning has posted. Instruct everyone to move away from windows. POWER OUTAGE Wait for 10 minutes to see if power returns. If power does not return in 10 minutes, initiate closing procedures. Take flashlight and check all areas of the library for patrons who may need assistance. EARTHQUAKE DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON. If you need to evacuate the building, wait until the shaking has stopped. Keep in mind that remaining in the building might be your best option, as the earthquake may have caused downed power lines and broken gas lines. BOMB THREAT Get as much information as possible, such as location of device, when it will go off, what it looks like, why it was placed, etc. Listen for environmental clues as to location of caller. Call 911 and follow instructions. SHOOTER Take cover. HAZMAT INCIDENT Follow instructions from emergency officials. FIRE Call 911 and pull the nearest fire alarm if not already activated. Evacuate the building. Await word from emergency officials for when it’s safe to re-enter.

Create Procedures to Ensure Continuation of Core Services. Your core services will likely be needed by your community following a disaster. Step 3

Core Library Services Space Website Online resources Reference assistance Print resources Interlibrary Loan

Create Procedures to Ensure Access to Core Materials. Determine the resources, online and print, that would most likely be needed in the event of a disaster and create strategies for ensuring availability. Step 4

To keep your online resources available, it is best to put these resources on a remote server, preferably with emergency backup power.

Core Print Materials Source: Daniel T. Wilson Following a disaster, Internet access is sometime not available. It is therefore important to keep on hand core print materials that might be needed by your community.

Develop a Mutual Aid Agreement (MAA) for Outside Assistance. An MAA is activated with another library or library network when you need outside assistance to maintain your core services. An MAA can cover services such as interlibrary loan, chat/Ask a Librarian , or online resources. A sample MAA is included in the class materials. Step 5

Proactively Plan for the Rescue and Recovery of Your Highly Valued Materials. Do you have valuable materials such as institutional records or historical materials that would need to be recovered if damaged by water or fire? If so, contact a commercial salvage company (e.g., Munters, Belfor, or BMS) or local preservationist to develop a strategy for protecting these resources. Become familiar with disaster services offered by library networks, such as Lyrasis and Amigos. Step 6

Develop a Communications Plan. Create a strategy for communicating with your staff and patrons. Your plan should include how to place emergency notices on your website and social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Include who is permitted to talk to the media and create a succession plan to be activated if the head of your library is unavailable. Step 7

Develop a One Page Disaster Plan. This is your game plan when disaster hits and is composed of elements discussed in steps 1 through 7. Download the Word version of the one page plan from the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Initiative website and adapt it to your library. Step 8

Practice Home Preparedness. You emergency plan is only as good as you home preparedness plan. If you are not prepared for disasters at home, then you will not be able to help keep you library’s core services and materials available to your community. Step 9

Ready.gov

Outreach to Your Community’s Emergency Planning Agencies. Volunteering for agencies such as the American Red Cross, the Medical Reserve Corps, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), or a faith-based group will benefit your community and enhance your disaster planning efforts. It will also showcase the valuable skills librarians can bring to emergency planning. Consider becoming a Disaster Information Specialist by taking the courses developed by the National Library of Medicine in partnership with the Medical Library Association. Step 10

NN/LM EP&R Website (

 We have a response station that includes posted response procedures and ready access to tools (e.g., flashlights, first aid kit, bullhorn, plastic, battery operated radio, etc.) for handling an emergency  We have a one page Service Continuity Disaster Plan that is updated at least quarterly  We have identified shelter-in-place location(s) for tornadoes, shooter, HAZMAT incidents  We have a communications plan that incorporates redundancy of communication (such as what to do if cell phones don’t work) and procedures for updating website, Facebook, and/or Twitter.  We practice situation awareness reporting (What, When, and Where) before, during, and after a service disruption  We have a disaster team  We perform at least one evacuation drill per year.  We take part in at least two table-top exercises per year (one for a planned incident and one for an unplanned incident)  Our core print materials are easily available if power is down or internet is compromised.  The servers that house core online resources are on extended or unlimited emergency power.  We have a Mutual Aid Agreement with another library to assist us in the delivery of core services  We have a partnership (contract not required) with a commercial salvage and recovery company (e.g., Belfor, BMS, Munters) for recovery of valuable and hard to replace materials  All our disaster team members know the importance of 72-hour preparedness  We conduct an After-action Review within 7 days of a service disruption  We have regular contact with emergency planners OPAL Advanced Training