Emergency Preparedness for Libraries

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

Overview

Despite the volumes of information they contain, few libraries know how to prepare for, endure, and survive any type of disaster. This completely updated second edition of Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library management with a comprehensive guide to planning and executing emergency procedures.

Emergency Preparedness for Libraries provides library personnel with detailed instructions for protecting staff, patrons, and the facilities themselves, including:

• Steps to take now, before disaster strikes

• People and procedures to include in an emergency/disaster action plan

• Practical ways to turn written plans into an instinctual team response

• Safety considerations to take into account when caring for people on-site during an emergency

• Information to provide to the umbrella organization and the media after a disaster

• Key things to do the first few days after an event

• Tips for getting back to business

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641433662
Publisher:	Bernan Press
Publication date:	06/15/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	236
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Julie Todaro is the author of the first edition of Emergency Preparedness for Libraries. She is the past-president of both the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Texas Library Association. From 2016 to 2017, Ms. Todaro served as president of the American Library Association.

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

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

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