Emergency Preparedness for Libraries

by Julie Todaro President, American Library Association, 2016-2017

Overview

Despite the volumes of information they contain, few libraries, whose population at any given moment is as unpredictable as the weather, know how to prepare for, endure, and survive a disaster, whether natural or man-made, and even fewer put their know-how to paper. Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library management with a comprehensive guide to planning and executing emergency procedures. Based, in part, on an emergency preparedness seminar the author has presented for the American Library Association, Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library personnel with detailed instructions for protecting staff, patrons, and the facilities themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865871663
Publisher:	Government Institutes
Publication date:	01/16/2009
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	206
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Julie Todaro is Dean of Library Services and Head Librarian of the Rio Grande Campus Library of Austin Community College in Austin, Texas, and past-president of both the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Texas Library Association. She presents national workshops on staff development and management issues for all types and sizes of libraries. She is the author of Haworth Community and Junior College Libraries quarterly column "Nothing But Net" and LAMA's quarterly column "The Truth is Out There."

Table of Contents

Introduction v

1 Defining Twenty-first Century Emergencies and Disasters 3

2 Defining Twenty-first Century Emergencies and Disasters in Library Environments 19

3 Planning, Prevention, Response, and Recovery 51

4 Emergency/Disaster Action Plans 73

5 Integrating Emergency/Disaster Planning into the Organization 113

6 Day One/Day of: Responding to Emergency/Disaster Events, Both Internal and External 131

7 Day Two and Beyond 139

Appendix A Resources 145

Appendix B Forms 177

Appendix C Virtual World Emergency Simulations 193

About the Author 197

Editorial Reviews

One can never be too prepared for emergency situations.... This book is a big help in that it organizes ideas for what to do 'at the very least/right now' and then 'in the next year,' which makes tasks and goals seem achievable for busy library staff.... Overall, this is a very informative book to have on hand to prepare a library for emergencies.

American Reference Books Annual

One can never be too prepared for emergency situations.... This book is a big help in that it organizes ideas for what to do 'at the very least/right now' and then 'in the next year,' which makes tasks and goals seem achievable for busy library staff.... Overall, this is a very informative book to have on hand to prepare a library for emergencies.

41st Volume American Reference Books Annual

Reviewer: Tracie Ballock, MLS (University of Pittsburgh)
Description: This book provides an exhaustive list with explanations of potential 21st century emergencies and disasters, followed by comprehensive plans, processes, and additional resources to prepare libraries for managing these situations. The first edition was published in 2008.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide library leadership with a wide-ranging, thorough guide to assist with the development of emergency planning documents and procedures for keeping library staff, patrons, collections, and facilities safe before, during, and after an emergency or disaster occurs.
Audience: While this book is intended for use by library management, it could be useful to any library personnel interested in and/or participating in emergency preparedness planning.
Features: The book begins by introducing and defining many different potential emergencies and man-made and natural disasters, in addition to some basic responses and recovery efforts that include short-range and long-range solutions. It also incorporates scenarios throughout the book to assist with thinking through the best way to manage these unexpected events. The expectation is to use this process when devising emergency planning documents. Once these plans and processes are formulated, they must then be integrated into the organization since all library staff play a role in emergency preparedness, business continuity, and returning to normal. This book features an extensive appendix filled with current print and electronic resources for locating additional information, sample forms and templates for disaster management and recovery, educational training ideas and worksheets, as well as SWOT and SOAR analysis.
Assessment: Personally, the layout of this book made it difficult to read cover to cover. I would have liked for the chapters to have been broken down into more manageable sections, further differentiating between emergencies and disasters. With that being said, I do think this book could be a useful reference to any library in the process of developing emergency preparedness plans and staff trainings, as the books does provide scenarios and extensive lists and explanations of possible emergencies and disasters, as well as additional planning resources, templates, and sample documents. This newly updated second edition is one of the most current resources available specifically to libraries on this topic.

Doody's Review Service

Chosen as a Doody's Core Title for 2023.

From the Publisher

Author Julie Todaro has extensive experience in the field that undoubtedly accounts for the expertise demonstrated in Emergency Preparedness. She holds a doctorate in Library Science and taught in the field before working as a manager, a location director, and Dean of Library Services at Austin Community College, where several library locations were under her leadership. Todaro also served as a leader of several professional organizations including the Texas Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the American Library Association. This book will likely be useful for administrators leading emergency planning and various stakeholders in the emergency planning process - often, in a library context, emergency planning or safety and security committee members. Its information helps with interim planning and provides a runway to do more longitudinal planning, and the case studies and examples will be useful to committees and planners as well… Overall, Emergency Preparedness for Libraries is a useful reference[.]

Technical Services Quarterly

The value of this book is that it will give the reader a starting point for creating or improving on organization's plans for dealing with emergencies and disasters.

Serials Review