Читать книгу Emergency Preparedness for Libraries - Julie Todaro - Страница 7

Introduction

After my many years of experience in diverse library and information settings—especially in these times—I can approach emergency and disaster discussions with some expertise. And although (luckily) I have not had the massive destruction that some librarians have had from floods and fires, my experience comes from observation and—sadly—real-life experiences in a variety of levels of emergency and disaster situations handling facilities, materials, resources and staff and the public. Unfortunately, I’m not alone—there shouldn’t be anyone managing today who can’t also claim the observation of and possible direct experience with—or experience dealing with issues of prevention, the effects of contemporary disasters, and the struggles of recovery. It should also be said that the ranking or rating of a situation as a disaster or a level of disaster is the purview of a manager. One manager’s minor situation may well be another manager’s major event and should be treated and handled as such.

In addition to having experience on “how to handle” situations, I have observations on and experience with how others have handled situations and—unfortunately—not all of them are recommendations for action. Rather they include a few “don’t do this” but, in general, I have observed: organizations that have had the emergency and disaster discussions are clearly ahead of those who haven’t; organizations that have talked about emergencies and how to prevent or minimize them as well as manage them are more aware of the breadth of what has to be done”; and time and money spent in prevention is both time and money well spent.

Although the best way to prepare for the foreseen and unforeseen is to have a complete disaster plan or emergency management plan, all supplies for any emergency, and a myriad of communication strategies, we typically don’t have that kind of time when we first address the issues. The best approach is to ramp up to integrating best practices and approach emergency management projects in a progressive way, that is, all initial steps (“at the very least” and any first year in chapter 1) are the initial steps but are foundation for bigger projects. These first steps don’t meet the needs of more serious events or even the long term but they raise awareness and stimulate initial plans as well as educate a team to carry out critical practices very quickly.

This monograph—therefore—assists you in your planning for “at the very least/right now” and “in the next year,” and then is helpful in looking at and planning for the bigger picture of emergency management and disaster planning for years two and three. To accomplish, however, a faster look at understanding all steps and stages, scenarios are used throughout the text beginning with a formal process of steps and how those steps might be handled and then including a list of steps specific to the cases that are proposed and then taken.

In addition, scenarios assist with the more formal process of addressing scenario elements in order to provide examples of critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making specific for emergency management and disaster recovery. Following the more formal scenario process in the first chapters, educators or trainers should then consider moving to a quicker, more informal process used in chapter 4. Using multiple ways to address scenarios moves those needing training from more structure critical thinking processes to a quicker process of establishing the critical questions and then offering answers.

I am also hopeful that this edition’s additional content raises awareness of several events or activities that should be considered emergency management situations. While most successful managers already take the time to handle yesterday’s and today’s difficult situations carefully, following emergency management processes enriches the process, increases the odds of success, and provides additional care for workers, stakeholders, and both in-person and online users.