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ОглавлениеDefining Twenty-First-Century Emergencies and Disasters and Recovery
What Has Changed?
Whether the issue is that we talk about emergencies more, or that there is more media coverage of emergencies, or that climate change is wreaking havoc, or that weakening infrastructures with aging power grids are a recipe for disasters and emergencies—the reality is that we have more emergencies now than we used to. And, along with those more frequent occurrences, we have more things to “go wrong” including technology in general, more “moving parts” to our institutions and certainly more global connectivity. So while technology has enhanced our capabilities beyond measure, when we go down, others go down. When emergencies and disasters occur in one building downtown, they may happen in others, and when these expanded events happen, everyone knows about it in much more detail than before.
Clearly, what has also changed is our need to be preventive in our actions and in design of structures and systems and subsequent policies and processes, prepared to deal with the widest variety of events and people, and the critical need to provide—as much as possible business continuity. The vast media communications network we have created “finds out” and then needs to be constantly updated with both general and specific information.
In addition to providing content on “how to handle” situations, I have observations on how others have handled situations and—unfortunately—not all of them are recommendations for action, rather they include a fair share of “don’t do this.” That being said, I have observed that organizations that have had the emergency discussion are clearly ahead of those who haven’t and that workers in organizations who have talked about emergencies and how to handle them are more aware of the breadth of “what has to be done” and that—most importantly—they have major responsibilities for handling their workers and constituents as well as resources.
Although the best way to prepare for the foreseen and unforeseen is to have a complete disaster plan, all supplies for any emergency, and a myriad of communication strategies, the best approach is to take the “at the very least” approach. While “at the very least” doesn’t last through all possible circumstances, it is an important beginning and might even be labeled “right now” versus “in the next year.”
At the Very Least/Right Now
• Managers should assess emergency handling opportunities available in umbrella organizations.
• Managers should assess emergency management resources and opportunities in any partnership organizations.
• Managers should provide an “emergency awareness” training (that includes an organizational vulnerability self-assessment) for staff to provide them with the basics on protecting themselves and their constituents. This training should provide a forum for discussing vulnerability, the communication plan (suggested below), introducing the emergency kit and input on data protection (suggested below).
• All workers take part in the creation of a communication plan for—no matter the emergency—informing staff, constituents in the building/on site, of any emergency. As part of this plan, sets of signs should be designed, produced, and stored for use in emergencies.
• Organizations should invest in emergency kits for workers and constituents—in the building/on site—for basic protection. Typically emergency kits contain but—given geographic areas—are not limited to extra clothing; emergency blankets; sleeping bags; emergency communication products such as weather radio, portable radios, and flashlights; emergency food/water for three days; fire extinguisher, sanitation, and waste disposal products; preprepared signage and notification equipment such as flares.
• Organizations should identify their data that is “unprotected,” that is, identify information that needs backup processes, duplication, and then remote backup storage. Although this monograph isn’t about data or metadata assessment and protection, the reality is that managers should identify organizational assets that—whatever emergency happens—need protection.
In reviewing “at the very least” I chose to add a significant number of “automatic” issues. That is, organizations already have alarms and lights and—for example—signs are already posted and announcements and postings are already made. What are best practices for those basic elements and issues right now/at the very least?
At the Very Least/Right Now—The Basics
Instead of categorizing basic actions of emergency elements already in place in institutions ,with types of emergencies as provided in other chapters in this book these recommended actions and considerations refer to general activities or specific activities that are already occurring as part of events.
Alarms Sounding in Public or Private Spaces
Alarms sound more frequently in today’s environment. We have them on our clocks, our phones, our cars, in parts of as well as all spaces in our home environments, and, in parts of as well as all of our work environments. We have them in our communities, neighborhoods, and geographic areas and—if we really want—we can purchase or subscribe to separate alarm units or web-based content to alert us to additional weather issues, thefts, deliveries, health issues occurring, traffic issues, repairs needed, and reminders of upcoming events. They sound to remind us, to alert us, and to warn us as well as to signal “all clears.”
It would be safe to say, however, that
• our pulse races when alarms sound and we breathe faster;
• alarms cause—for many—fear and consternation;
• alarms can make many people angry;
• alarms can trigger emotions, health emergencies, and flashbacks to memories that create additional side effects beyond feelings to behaviors;
• alarms can cause illness or conditions in some and a need to recover with medication, with relaxation techniques, or in a location other than their own workplace—to name just a few resulting effects.
There should be concern for “too many alarms” or alarms that sound for little or no reason or for the incorrect reason. That is, we never can and shouldn’t get complacent about hearing alarms or acting upon alarms with standard procedures.
Recommended behaviors for alarms in workplaces include the following:
• Consider appointing and then identifying (in writing) alarm “process owners.”
• Identify alarm “process owner” roles and responsibilities. (by floor, by area, etc.).
• Identify and purchase alarm-supporting items such as:
• A bullhorn one can hear over alarms
• Ear plugs for alarms that are mis-sounding and too loud for continued ringing and user- or work tolerance levels
• Write scripts for workers to use when informing workers and staff of actions needed and determined by alarms.
• Design and regularly practice drills for behaviors that take place when alarms sound.
• Record all alarms that sound and have a “sound file” where new workers can hear what they sound like prior to experiencing.
• Include in all sound files any nuances such as “if the alarm sounds once” or “interrupted” versus “long blasts” and the subsequent behaviors expected.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to any workers who may have hearing loss and need to be alerted of alarm or alarm nuances.
• Outline what worker issues may occur immediately concerning untoward effects that alarms may have (passing out, temporary vision loss, seizures, etc.).
• Identify what behaviors workers need to watch for/recognize in users affected by alarms to assist those users during alarms.
• Outline what worker issues may occur following alarms sounding concerning untoward effects that alarms may have (nausea, migraines, passing out, temporary vision loss, seizures, etc.).
• Identify what behaviors workers need to watch for/recognize in users affected by alarms to assist those users following alarms.
• Maintain lists of situations where managers know that the institution will be notified in advance of alarms sounding (e.g., safety weeks) for appropriate signage to be posted in advance; emails can be sent out in advance; and, as needed, special consideration will be taken for workers who identify that they may or will be affected adversely.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training such as safely using devices to transport disabled patrons up or down stairs.
Lights and Lighting in Public or Private Spaces
There are a variety of lights and lighting in public spaces and, while most environments seek environmentally friendly lighting, any one of several things can occur unexpectedly with contemporary lighting, including the following:
• Lights on timers going off leaving workers in the dark
• Lights on timers going off leaving users in the dark
• Emergency lighting (automatic illuminating when standard lighting has shut off) not going on
• Emergency lighting (automatic illuminating when standard lighting has shut off) flickering or strobing either during or post emergency event
• Standard lights flickering or strobing
• Lighting in outdoors/parking areas either not illuminating or shutting off
Any one of these occurrences can create unsafe conditions for workers or users staying in spaces or moving within or exiting spaces.
Concerns for lighting and handling lighting issues should include these events during daylight as well as nighttime. And the absence of lighting or difficulties with lighting:
• Provides opportunities for negative and even illegal behaviors
• Causes the obvious concerns for fear of the dark
• Can create situations where workers are only minimally ready considering that furniture moves around/is not fixed in public spaces
• Can cause illness or conditions in some and a need to recover with medication, with relaxation techniques, or in a location other than their own workplace—to name just a few resulting effects.
There should be concern for lighting built into alarm/security services where lighting can—when not working properly—compound problems for workers and users. Just as with alarms, we never can and shouldn’t get complacent about lighting problems or issues.
Recommended behaviors for lighting issues in workplaces include the basic recommendation that emergency process owners should include lights and lighting (tied or not tied to alarm systems) as part of their roles and responsibilities. Additional recommendations include the following:
• Identify process owner roles and responsibilities for lighting (by floor, by area, etc.)
• Identify and purchase supporting items such as:
• Flashlights and hardhats with lights to assist in carrying out roles and responsibilities
• Flashlights or lighting wands for users needing assistance in moving around in or out of spaces
• Write scripts for workers to use when informing workers and staff of actions needed and determined by lighting issues.
• Design and regularly practice drills for behaviors that take place when emergency lighting is illuminated.
• Capture images of lighting that is not as bright as it should be, that is, if lights are flickering, or strobing or dimming, and so on, so that new workers can see what lighting that is not up to standard looks like prior to experiencing.
• Include in all lighting information any nuances such as “if lightings strobe . . .” or “dim” and the subsequent expected behaviors.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to any workers who may be blind or with vision loss who need to be alerted of lighting nuances or issues.
• Outline what worker issues may occur immediately concerning untoward effects that aberrant lighting may cause (passing out, temporary vision loss, seizures, etc.).
• Identify what behaviors workers need to watch for/recognize in users affected by lighting during lighting events.
• Outline what worker issues may occur following lighting events (nausea, migraines, passing out, temporary vision loss, seizures, etc.).
• Identify what behaviors workers need to watch for/recognize in users affected by aberrant lighting.
• Maintain lists of situations where managers know that the institution will be notified in advance of changes in lighting (e.g., safety weeks) for appropriate signage to be posted in advance; emails to be sent out in advance; and, as needed, special consideration will be taken for workers who identify they may or will be affected adversely by lighting aberrations.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or even might need unique training such as using safety evacuation or transport devices or using unique lighting (e.g., high-powered or unique colors or signaling flashlights) that must be used to transport disabled patrons up or down stairs or guide users—of all abilities—to safety.
Emergency Personnel are Summoned by the Institution or by Others Such As Users and Onlookers, or Visit of Their Accord
Emergency personnel visiting workspaces and service areas occurs more frequently in today’s public spaces as more events appear to be happening and as more individuals use social communication techniques which either summon assistance or identify situations where emergency personnel chose to arrive to assist. As always, care must be taken as workers are often instructed (when considering emergency personnel summoned for a wide variety of events) not to provide diagnostic or emergency health assistance to those having problems, because of safety, risk, and liability issues for the institution, workers, the individuals involved and other users in the area. The reality is, however, that
• many people do not want emergency workers to be summoned due to expenses incurred;
• many people do not want emergency workers to be summoned due to the nature of a status or because of their legal/criminal standing; and
• many workers are not aware of worker (and certainly not user) conditions due to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and—in the absence in knowing about conditions or situations—the default setting may be to call emergency personnel.
Note: This monograph content will not include information about those library and information organizations that have chosen to allow their workers to administer treatments to combat opioid issues. Instead, readers may reach out to their umbrella institution for legal information. Prior to reaching out, readers should inform themselves by consulting resources from the profession. (E.g., the New York State Library has extensive information including training materials and guidelines; OCLC provides content on and links to extensive materials including public library responses for case studies; and the American Library Association has information sheets which link to national resources including Center for Disease Control information.)
Recommended behaviors for calling emergency personnel always include managers establishing relationships with emergency personnel who support institutions or communities for the exchange of staffing levels, typical issues encountered by all entities, tips and techniques for handling, preferred methods of communication, code words for communicating under duress, typical/expectations of response times, tours of facilities to identify spaces, introductions of workers, and frequencies of emergency personnel communication devices. Other recommendations include the following plans, areas, and concerns. Differences among these recommendations may occur and be determined by the type of emergency personnel who include—but are not limited to—police, security or general emergency health personnel, and specific emergency health personnel such as mental health personnel:
• Adopt and adapt to guidelines available from the umbrella organization or governing authority for notifying emergency personnel.
• Identify the institution’s chain of communication for decision-making for notifying emergency personnel. (Note: include a master list of languages spoken by staff or nearby workers that may be needed for communicating with and for victims, family members (as allowable by HIPAA).
• Create an institutional list and refer to the institutional process owners for a “who-to-call-list,” why, and when.
• Stock approved safety kits and adopt umbrella organization guidelines or approved behaviors for using safety kits.
• Design scripts for workers to use when emergency personnel have been called, which include preidentified specific areas for entry and exiting the building (depending on events and depending on which emergency personnel are summoned).
• Stock items to use when assisting emergency personnel including stanchions to rope off areas, signage for maintaining distance, police tape or barricade tape for identifying/posting no entry spaces, and stationing people to
⚬ handle onlookers,
⚬ protect victims,
⚬ protect workers or users in the vicinity,
⚬ wait outside for emergency vehicles, and
⚬ open doors for emergency workers ease of entrance and exit.
• Design and regularly conduct drills for summoning and working with emergency personnel.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to emergency worker paperwork, follow up and clean up, including removing emergency signage, institutional and emergency personnel reportage and following up with staff with scripts on what they can and can’t share, and how management should work—post event—with victims, or family members (as allowable by HIPAA).
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training.
Finally, in some situations, institutions and public spaces have chosen to post signage that outlines the institution’s stance and conditions upon which workers will summon emergency personnel. This signage may include local ordinances or institutional policies or general information but should always include the reference(s) to the governing foundational guideline, law, ordinance, and so on.
Conflict/Strife
Definitions of “conflict” and “strife” often use the terms synonymously; however, conflict is more often used for situations determined to be not as serious and those that may be solved, while strife is often referred to as something more serious, something that is longer or long-standing and is less likely to be solved. An example of this might be “a conflict over a fine or fee amount between a workers and a user” and strife might be described by “issues between seniors and teens whose spaces in the library are contiguous” or “issues over bicycles or scooters consistently parked inappropriately outside the front door, falling over and causing a trip hazard” or “negative behaviors directed—inside workspaces—at users from other countries.”
Today’s workers are not pleased with but are seldom surprised by encountering conflict and strife in their spaces. It happens more frequently due to general issues:
• Societal pressures
• Individual pressures, issues, and problems
• Disagreement over values
• Conflict or strife between or among users over personal pressures, issues, or problems
It happens due to issues related to library policies or procedures:
• Individual pressures, issues, and problems related to library services and resources
• Individual pressures, issues, and problems related to library policies and procedures
• Disagreement over library versus user values
• Conflict or strife between or among users and workers over personal pressures, issues, or problems
Recommendations might be looked at as “solvable,” “possibly solvable,” and “manageable but not solvable.” And, in today’s environments there should be a fourth category of “not solvable, must be referred.” As always; however, great care must be taken to consistently review policies and procedures identified as “the reason for or related to conflicts or strife” and to provide users with appropriate signage and information (online, handouts, etc.) to inform them of the library’s position as well as to provide workers with the education and training (including unique communication and scripts) necessary to handle situations as they arise.
Note: Several other sections of this content relate to and should be used in conjunction with this section, including those on “emergency personnel” and “communication.”
Obviously, the category or type of conflict or strife that is assigned to recommendations is directly related to the individuals involved, that is, if they have special needs, the type or level of issue, and so on. Therefore, some activities may need to be considered for and included in multiple areas and recommended relationship issues should be followed. (See Sect. “Emergency Personnel are Summoned by the Institution or by Others Such As Users and Onlookers, or Visit of Their Accord.”) Recommendations include the following:
Solvable
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority definitions for these or related issues.
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority guidelines for these or related issues.
• Identify the institution’s parameters for the situation, including who makes final decisions on parameters chosen.
• Identify the institution’s chain of communication for decision- making regarding handling and management of conflict or strife. (Note: include a master list of languages spoken by staff or nearby workers that may be needed for communicating.)
• Create an institutional list and refer to the institutional process owners for a “who-to-call-list,” why, and when.
• Design scripts for workers to use.
• Design and regularly conduct training that allows for practice for solvable situations.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to follow-up, including communication with the protagonists and workers as well as messages placed on user records.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training.
Possibly Solvable
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority definitions for these or related issues.
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority guidelines for these or related issues.
• Identify the institution’s parameters for the situation including who makes final decisions on parameters chosen.
• Identify the institution’s chain of communication for decision-making regarding handling and management of conflict or strife. (Note: include a master list of languages spoken by staff or nearby workers that may be needed for communicating.)
• Create an institutional list and refer to the institutional process owners for a “who-to-call-list,” why, and when.
• Design scripts for workers to use.
• Design and regularly conduct training that allows for practice for solvable situations.
• Identify outstanding issues and likelihood of solvable becoming not solvable as well as the location of communication regarding this user or worker such as “only to file” and “no message on record.” This should include unique timelines or length of restrictions or measures to correct.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to follow-up including communication with the protagonists and workers, as well as messages placed on user records.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training.
Manageable, but Not Solvable
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority definitions for these or related issues.
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority guidelines for these or related issues.
• Identify the institution’s parameters for the situation including who makes final decisions on the situation not being identified as solvable.
• Identify the institution’s chain of communication for decision-making regarding specific management aspects. (Note: include a master list of languages spoken by staff or nearby workers that may be needed for communicating.)
• Create an institutional list and refer to the institutional process owners for a “who-to-call-list,” why, and when.
• Design scripts for workers to use.
• Design and regularly conduct training that allows for practice for manageable but not solvable situations.
• Identify outstanding issues of not solvable as well as the location of communication regarding this user or worker such as “only to file” and “no message on record.” This should include unique timelines or length of restrictions or measures to correct.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to follow-up including communication with the protagonists and workers as well as messages placed on user records.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training.
Not Solvable, Must Be Referred
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority definitions for these or related issues with special attention to areas and individuals for referrals.
• Adopt and adapt to umbrella organization or governing authority guidelines for these or related issues.
• Identify the institution’s parameters for the situation including who makes final decisions on the situation not being identified as solvable.
• Identify the institution’s chain of communication for decision-making regarding specific management aspects. (Note: include a master list of languages spoken by staff or nearby workers that may be needed for communicating.)
• Create an institutional list and refer to the institutional process owners for a “who-to-call-list,” including “who to refer to,” why, and when.
• Design scripts for workers to use.
• Design scripts for managers to use.
• Design and regularly conduct training that allows for practice for situations that are not solvable.
• Identify outstanding issues of not solvable as well as the location of communication regarding this user or worker such as “only to file” and “no message on record.” This should include unique timelines or length of restrictions or measures to correct.
• Outline roles and responsibilities for managers with regard to follow-up including communication with the protagonists and workers as well as messages placed on user records including referral information.
• Seek external training—as appropriate—for actions that require or appear to need unique training.
Institutions also encounter conflict and strife within the community that does not relate to the library. These situations might include issues among other users, other businesses or institutions, political or social situations, law enforcement issues, or issues among nonusers. For these situations, the institution’s managers—guided by umbrella institution or governing authority statements, policies, or procedures—must directly address worker, user, and nonuser behaviors, including the following:
• Declarations of support/or not from workers
• Use of the library building
• Use of the library property
• Posting signs in library
• Use of library resources
Losses/Tumult
In today’s workplaces, managers and workers may encounter a variety of situations that interject altered morale, or changes in attitude, behavior, and other elements into the regular workplace. These could include but are not limited to death of coworkers or community members, serious illness of coworkers or community members, local/community serious events, and national or even global issues, as well as confusion or disorder of a large-scale nature. While a manager might not expect changes—either temporary or permanent to bleed over into the workplace—in fact, based on the nature of the event, the constant media/information sharing happening, or the direct relationship of the event to—for example, one or more workers or the values of the organization—events must be addressed.
General recommendations for dealing with losses or tumult include the following:
• Prior to events happening or taking effect—if the situation is known—address them with workers or users as to effects, expectations of behavior, and organizational latitudes as well as support for workers as required, suggested, or requested.
• If events occur with no warning, managers need to address them with workers or users as to effects, expectations of behavior, and organizational latitudes as well as support for workers as required, suggested, or requested.
• Temporary or permanent changes resulting from events should be addressed through management explaining impacts or effects with tool such as paradigm shifts. These shifts—depending on the situation—should be addressed in general but, in many cases, managers should consider a more narrowly defined shift such as a shift for all in a job category or specific individuals based on their position descriptions.
• Institutions should communicate to workers and users by offering support, for instance if a beloved children’s worker passes away expectedly or unexpectedly, workers or users might need a professional available to discuss loss, and so on for coworkers, parents with children, and so on:
• Worker assistance programs for group or individual or user assistance
• Statements published in local press, on the library’s web environment, a flyer, handout, or sign in the library area expressing concern, condolences, and so on with support or referral information
• Information with closure opportunities for coworkers and users
• In times of tumult, if safety or risk might be of concern for workers or users, managers might:
• Identify library or community workers to assist with behaviors or techniques to stress safety or minimize risk
• Advertise worker assistance programs for group or individual or user assistance
• Schedule additional/increase support for workers or users to show concern and maximize safety
The Basics of Preparation for Working with External Areas and Entities
Although this content is embedded in various other emergency response situation recommendations, it is isolated here as basic recommendations for all managers to take prior to any specific emergency management is designed for any size and type of institution.
Vendor Relationships
Rather than recommending specific vendors, this content provides general recommendations for vendor review and recordkeeping. I have included in this content, however, the context with a specific vendor used as a model. I do so because after years of being involved with and witnessing a wide variety of disasters and emergencies with facilities, one of the strongest predictors of success for ensuring that we “come out on the other side of the situation successfully” is preresearch and, more importantly, reliance on vendor relationships.
Why? The realization that few managers think first or even second about identifying what might happen is a sobering one. With the rise of disaster planning content—first focused primarily on saving collections only—a number of other concerns began to surface as asset management naturally expanded to include all or most furniture, fixtures, and equipment. In the last two decades—since 9/11 for sure—institutions have turned their attention to the breadth and depth of prevention, mitigation, and recovery as well as business continuity. And while that content includes extensive information on what needs to happen, I have found that even more valuable is how it happens.
To that end, after one older site had experienced over forty-plus water incidents in a calendar year, I requested an onsite meeting with BELFOR Property Restoration—then I requested that my staff participate in an onsite training originally only designed for our institution’s internal recovery, maintenance, and upkeep individuals. While we found that training helpful in immediate response, following recommendations for best practices for the most recovery as well as identification of unsalvageable resources, we found valuable collateral information such as the following:
• Common definitions and terminology for working with in-house staff
• Common definitions and terminology for working with emergency workers
• Common definitions and terminology for working with insurance companies
• Basic supplies/resources to have on hand
• Simple assessment approaches to determining condition of resources and property
• Immediate behaviors and techniques library staff could safely take to maximize time
• Simple approaches to determining and communicating recovery levels
I reviewed their website post training to find extensive training content on the site through writing instructions, images, and photographs of resources and locations, and techniques for prevention, mitigation, and recovery, and found that this incredibly valuable information not only served to inform me but to educate me on the basics including what do things look like at various stages, how good or how bad can damage be, what can I expect in recovery stages, and—overall—how I could better manage my own incidents (both on site and in other areas (e.g., three floods in my home.)
I was invited to visit their Dallas/Fort Worth area office and recovery center. A daylong visit gave me incredible insight into not only what a recovery expert does but how I should prepare resources for recovery as well as what to expect throughout the process. I learned that most of their work throughout any year is the small project which also defines most of the situations I see.
While any expert recovery service should provide information to the customer, they are unique in their web content, their guided tours, the breadth of their services (fire, smoke, water, pestilence, age-related issues, etc.) and their strong education component which they can take on the road (presentations for conferences or to individual institutions). In addition, they have a training room at their recovery location for training their own staff, additional people involved in recovery, or groups seeking more information, including the following:
• Continuing education classes for insurance and insurance-related professionals (and a national insurance direct repair program)
• Seven prevention and property preparedness sections (tornado, etc.)
• Twenty-four-hour response programs including a mobile phone app
• Services in many countries and thirty-plus states as well as travel to other states for unique services
• Extensive information on fifteen different types of recovery services
• Thirty-four case studies (including a variety of types of libraries) with cases presented in extensive pdfs with color photographs, images, and narratives that move the reader through immediate and weekly updates
• Fifteen videos showing response and recovery not only advertising services but giving individuals valuable preparation information such as size and number of vehicles needed at damaged locations/or nearby, spaces needed for on-site work, and so on
Tours—depending on timing—include recovery environments where visitors and students can visit items (with confidentiality factors of primary concern) to see family bibles, general books, company records, memorabilia, and a wide variety of other objects being handled with care during recovery. My discussions with them also included a taste of their consultation where we talked about the value of recovery and the assessment of value of recovery and their honest approach of “don’t waste money in recovery, rather assess for cost of recovery vs. replacement (or not) and discard.”
So what are the lessons learned about relationships with all vendors?
• Visit their web environment or print/paper to determine who they are and the approach that they take to recovery.
• Seek previous clients in general and—if possible—clients in similar types and sizes of institutions.
• Identify consulting for events to determine viability.
• Seek assessment of spaces for areas of vulnerability.
• Identify insurance support for pre-event strategies for appropriate purchase and assessment for coverage, claims, and recovery.
• Determine their financial guidelines for payment vis-à-vis institutional insurance coverage.
• Identify timelines.
• Identify types and training of workers used for recovery.
• Assess their work in terms of business continuity offered given possible types and levels of events.
Finally, establish recommended ways to maintain information and keep your plans updated given purchases, deselection/weeding, growth or expansion, and resources with maintenance plans, warranties for resources and overall insurance policies.
Location/In Situ
Although institutions typically exist with communities or areas of communities, the best prepared managers are those who spend a great deal of time creating a footprint of their institution in situ or within the context of their overall setting. In addition, this information provides specific recommendations for not only identifying but involving and integrating others in an ongoing, systematic way designed to maintain relationships. Recommendations include the following:
• Identify access to and exit from the footprint including how emergency vehicles would arrive, park, and so on.
• Identify support for emergency vehicles such as fireplugs, energy stations/transformers, call boxes or communication stations, cameras in public spaces, and cameras in private spaces (use and contact information).
• Identify area energy grids to note emergency power outages on maps.
• Identify the footprint of the institution which includes the actual location but surrounding areas used by the institution and areas related within a certain mile radius (transportation hubs, parking used, other support services needed such as food, related-needs for users, etc.).
• Create a communication list (much like a neighborhood block list) with individuals and contact information for quick communication, identification, and communication of issues.
• Prepare contact sheets for area businesses as well as one for your institution with expanded information for contacts and for updated safety information.
• Investigate a “see something, say something” block safety team working with emergency personnel to determine area issues, sex offender registry information, and emergency alarm information for each area business or homeowner (e.g., alarm sounding, insurance concerns, security systems, and night lighting)
Finally, all area or in situ information should include a photo gallery walk-around to determine “before” information and pictures to determine subtle, during or post-event or catastrophic changes for alerting, repair, and insurance information as well as identification for emergency personnel.
In the next year:
• A worker team or workgroup should be created to address the ongoing handling of emergency content within the context of umbrella institution content. This workgroup should:
⚬ Use data gathered from the initial training organizational vulnerability self-assessment to address training and design of strategic emergency planning that includes constituent education.
⚬ Seek best practices in emergency management to the scale of the organization for a realistic workload, timeline, and use of recommended resources, actions, and budget.
⚬ Design a plan to maintain processes to use umbrella organization information for complete disaster planning content.
⚬ Design a plan for updating/maintaining content/strategic plans and data protection.
⚬ Provide ongoing orientation, continuing education, and awareness of emergency issues and—as needed—unique training for workers and constituents in general.
⚬ Provide ongoing orientation, continuing education, and awareness of emergency issues and staff and constituents with special needs.
• Organizations (the workgroup in combination with area managers and the umbrella institution) should assess emergency kit needs for workers and constituents—in the building/on site—for basic protection.
• Administration/management should assess budget planning for emergency management and request funds—if appropriate—for needs identified by workgroup strategic planning.
Twenty-First-Century Emergencies and Disasters
For decades, managers have been encountering unexpected situations and dealing with them in a wide variety of ways. And although it is safe to say that there is nothing “new” about the existence of these unexpected situations—or “emergencies and disasters”—in work and work-related environments, the number and the type of unexpected situations have changed as well as ways of preparing for, dealing with, and follow-up for handling issues as well as follow-up for future prevention.
Twenty-first-century issues related to emergencies and disasters include the following: the terms “emergencies and disasters” are now typically used interchangeably, the literature in these areas has grown exponentially, umbrella terms vary and include “emergency management” or “emergency preparedness,” public policy has changed dramatically, human resources issues have changed and grown, customer issues have changed and grown, and—in general—preparedness and response policies, procedures, and processes have changed.
Definitions of the terms “emergency” and “disaster” vary as well. They separate workplace emergencies from home emergencies and describe activities as events or accidents that are unanticipated, unexpected, and/or unforeseen. These workplace events are characterized as resulting or occurring from man-made and/or natural factors threatening the workforce and constituents as well as events that cause operations to cease and/or the interruption and possible altering of workflow or services to customers, and/or the cause of damages to the physical, virtual, and/or digital workplace. Also included in most definitions is the impact on the organization and individuals working in the environment as well as using services and resources provided by the organization.
Other twenty-first-century issues include “Are disasters occurring at a greater rate, in greater numbers and—if so—why?” “Why might some natural disasters also be categorized as man-made?” “What are the contemporary challenges to preparedness and prevention of disasters?” “What are preparedness and prevention elements?”
Are disasters occurring at a greater rate, in greater numbers and—if so—why?
Yes, disasters are occurring at a greater rate and in greater numbers and, of course, we now know much more about the number and type of disasters happening everywhere given twenty-first-century communications. Although there are many reasons for these changes—in general—climate change, waning legislative protection, use of land, changing population patterns, and increasing populations are thought to be the primary reasons.
Why might some natural disasters also be categorized as man-made?
“Man’s” use of natural resources, the changing nature and growth of cities and diverse building patterns are just a few of the reasons why some disasters—historically thought of as natural—might now also be caused by man or considered “man made.”
What are the contemporary challenges to preparedness and prevention of disasters?
The preparedness and prevention of disasters has always been and continues to be challenging. Although most people would identify the United States as a country that could always successfully respond to disasters, given recent natural and man-made disasters, this is no longer a commonly held belief. Challenges for all countries then include aging infrastructures, lack of funding, changing natural resources, lack of coordination among the stakeholders, and lack of designated partnerships as well as—whether alone or cooperatively—a lack of strategic planning.
What are preparedness and prevention elements?
Although the basic elements of disasters have not changed appreciably over the past decades, certain elements are of more concern—depending on the disaster. For example, the impact of disasters has always been anticipated, but now, more than ever, the impact on human beings has been so much greater given contemporary knowledge of the medical and physical effect of disaster elements. Besides the human factor and immediate care, long-term care and rehabilitation, the social factor, and the economic impact and environmental impact are critical elements. Keeping this broad picture of the effect of disasters, the best preparedness and prevention elements include significant, strategic planning.
Categorizing examples of emergencies and disasters used to include relatively clear-cut divisions between natural and man-made. In twenty-first-century emergency preparedness or emergency management, however, several areas that used to be clearly defined as natural, now—in fact—could also be man-made.
Emergencies and/or Disasters
There are a myriad of lists of emergencies and disasters in emergency management literature. Many lists attempt to categorize these events into the standard “natural” and “man made,” while others—obviously—list only those events they “handle” or “cover” in their service or support. The following list is an attempt to merge all lists into one under general, umbrella terms. Obviously, emergencies and emergency recovery content overlap, and one event does not exclude another. For example, content on “fire” will more than likely include content from “water damage” and treatment for water damage might be a blend between “fire” recovery—even though materials may be burned or smoke damaged first—and flood recovery information.
That being said, general categories for emergencies include the following:
• Civil disturbances, conflicts, terrorism, and/or wars
• Earthquakes
• Explosions
• Fires (forest fires, wildfires, building/ground fires)
• Hazardous Materials (chemical spills/accidents, human elements, nuclear, oil spills, radiological accidents, toxic gas releases)
• Landslides
• Mass population displacement/refugee emigration/migrant encampment
• Pestilence/pest control
• Volcanic activity
• Water (dam failure, floods, tsunami)
• Weather (cyclones, droughts, heat, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornados,
• Typhoons, winter)
• Workplace violence (bodily harm, trauma)
• Individuals (staff violence includes vandalism, armed/combat, threats)
• Individuals (nonstaff violence includes vandalism, armed/conflict, and/or combat and threats)
Natural Disasters and Libraries
Natural disasters can affect library buildings, surrounding library property (parking, outdoor venues), the infrastructure that supports delivery of library resources and services (communications, etc.), as well as library constituents, library staff, library partners, and—in general—the use of the library for typical transactions as well as use of resources and services to assist in emergency and disaster response and recovery. Natural disasters can occur within a library only, within the community where the library resides, or they can occur in and affect the library’s umbrella organization and larger community.
Earthquakes
Earthquake activity and the impact of earthquakes or earthquake activity exist in many locations in the world. In some locations, residents experience major impact that affect buildings, building infrastructures, and transportation structures, while other locations experience more subtle changes connecting to library resources or changes to buildings that are infrastructure, more so than visual devastation. Libraries—housed in a wide variety of buildings and locations—are obviously not immune from damage and destruction and not guaranteed to survive given the assortment of physical locations. Due to expenses of repairs and recovery, libraries must focus on assessing risks prior to activities, identifying potential issues for resources and services, insurance with reasonable deductibles, and repair and recovery processes.
Fires: Forest Fires, Wildfires, Buildings/Ground Fires
Obviously fires can be natural disasters or man-made disasters. The effect of fire can include—for libraries—major destruction of buildings, destruction of collections, repair and/or recovery of furniture, repair and/or recovery of hardware and software, and conservation of a collection with diverse formats/resources that have smoke, fire, or water damage. These types of damages can occur when environments suffer full-blown fires and/or when environments suffer smoke damage from fire, smoke damage from smoke nonfire related (burned-out ballasts and lighting), and water recovery. Related damage may take place in waterlogged materials in the form of mold, mildew, and related pestilence. Although all damage is critical, fire and smoke damage has so many overlapping elements; it is often considered the emergency most difficult for recovery.
Landslides
Although landslides are not an everyday occurrence, and one would think they typically occur only in certain environments, they can happen in a much broader variety of locations given climate, weather, and climate change—both hot and cold including extreme heat and lack of moisture as well as ice and thawing, building and development including soil use, and design and placement of earth/soil, erosion, and other natural disasters such as earthquakes. Landslides can invade libraries and ruin building infrastructure and related infrastructure including transportation and communications. Repair and recovery, insurance, conservation due to water, and mud damage—as with so many other emergencies and disasters—overlap, so as to identify and draw attention to problems.
Pestilence/Pest Control
Pestilence is typically used to identify widespread contagious or epidemic disease; however, pestilence is also used to describe a destructive parasite which could include an insect infestation as well as a mold or mildew that infects an environment or resources within the environment. Libraries often have pestilence infesting resources and buildings which can be caused by building conditions that may or may not be caused by other emergency or disaster conditions. Library books and other library resources such as media or realia may be infested with insects or mold and/or mildew, and these might be brought in by constituent care (or lack thereof) of resources as well as water from the environment as well as—for example—water introduced for fire recovery.
Although pest control appears to be a simple answer, it isn’t. Elements complicating treatment or control include the following:
• Local, state, regional, or federal laws may limit or even prevent pest control for reasons that include both legal and biological terms such as endangered, threatened, imperiled, and at-risk species.
• Pest control contracts for some states and institutions are handled by county and vary in delivery. That is, an institution may have service areas that span several counties and thus may need to have a different approach to pest control in each county. In addition, unique pest treatment may be handled differently within the same geographical area; that is, law enforcement may have to handle endangered, threatened, imperiled, and at-risk species, while regular control may happen through contracts with companies.
• Pests that can be removed may be defined differently in different environments and thus have different treatments.
Volcanic Activity
Although this emergency/disaster is least experienced by the general population and libraries, clearly destruction from this activity might be fire—either directly or indirectly—heat, smoke damage. or water repair and/or recovery. Many volcanic disturbances are coupled or overlapping with earthquakes and/or earthquake conditions; therefore, as with other disasters, recovery might be overlapping as well and could include infrastructure destruction, fire, smoke, heat, and water recovery.
Water: Dam Failure, Floods, Tsunami, Recovery from fire
Water is the great element of recovery as well as a destructive force. Given this dichotomy, water—no matter where it comes from—both hurts and heals. That being said, rainwater and/or natural water is treated differently (and the resources affected by it) than water that comes from the ground and filtered through other environments. Obviously, other water factors include the amount, the length of time the water is present, the temperature of the air/water throughout the emergency, disaster and/or recovery, and the resources themselves including the type of paper, the age of the resources, resource packaging, the age of packing, any other packing materials, and the nature of emergency and/or disaster. Clearly, the presence of some water signals complete devastation with no hope for resource or building recovery (major floods—no matter the cause), while other water factors provide a variety of avenues for partial or complete recovery.
Weather: Cyclones, Droughts, Heat, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms, Tornados, Typhoons, Winter
Weather—never easy to predict—amid massive changes due to climate changes is considered a primary twenty-first-century major issue in emergency and disaster recovery and management. Administrators and managers find it hard to prepare for expected weather, much less the unexpected weather conditions of today that include unusual heat, thaws related to heat, erosion related to climate, dust and wind conditions, body of water and “body of water to land” emergencies, and disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, typhoons, and thunderstorms. And unusual weather also includes snow and the damage of snow on the land to name but a few other conditions. Obviously, the weather and climate itself (water, heat, wind, etc.) can have an enormous effect on buildings and resources as well as recovery processes. While administrators and managers understandably tend to focus on the major emergencies and disasters and their recovery, attention should be paid to environments that—lacking climate control due to older facilities, costs, and so on—have “creeping” problems for staff, constituents, and resources due to spiking hot and cold temperatures. These conditions can cause pestilence problems and destruction of all formats of resources and can also cause the destruction of infrastructure of buildings due to expanding and shrinking soil and building elements.
Man-Made, Nonnatural Disasters, and Libraries
Civil disturbances, Conflicts, Terrorism, and/or Wars
Library and information environments—as all other institutions—are affected by the political and social forces that surround them. Although many libraries throughout the United States might not necessarily be directly affected by civil disturbances, conflicts, terrorism, and/or war, as we move into the twenty-first century we see increasing activity in these areas and the likelihood of staff or staff families being affected by these events is great. In addition, these events affect publishing, access to print information, as well as information available on the web.
It should also be noted that libraries throughout the world may be directed affected by these emergencies and disasters, and examples of these activities include libraries being bombed and/or burned during conflicts as well as looted. Clearly, the loss of both general and unique content and resources affects access to information needed by the global market. Additional impact of disturbances, conflicts, terrorism, and war is public policy enacted, which affects access to and availability of information.
Explosions: Natural Events, But More Commonly Man-Made Events
Explosions may be caused by man-made events either deliberately (terrorism and/or vandalism) or by mistake or accident; however, weather may also cause explosions and the ensuing damage might include—for library resources affected—fire and/or water damage. In addition, if explosions are caused by hazardous materials (see Sect. “Hazardous Materials: Chemical Spills/Accidents, Human Elements, Nuclear, Oil Spills, Radiological Accidents, Toxic Gas Releases”), then library building and/or resources recovery from substances will necessitate unique cleaning.
Hazardous Materials: Chemical Spills/Accidents, Human Elements, Nuclear, Oil Spills, Radiological Accidents, Toxic Gas Releases
Unfortunately, hazardous materials are not only occurring in the environment (nuclear, radiological, etc.) but are often found in the typical library workplace of today. This reality may be hard to grasp, but these materials may be individual elements such as a specific cleaning fluids or fuels or may be the result of the combination of specific elements. In addition, contemporary equipment or equipment elements may be dangerous such as the properties of batteries or cartridges. Along with natural and man-made element, hazardous materials may also be human blood and other human elements. Although not all hazardous materials need cleanup by HazMat (Hazardous Materials) standards, all handling, disposal, and cleanup must be carefully orchestrated. Another area of hazardous effects may also be the relationship of hardware/equipment monitor displays or emanations (from wireless, frequencies from security gates) for staff and/or constituents. A burgeoning area of concern also includes not a specific piece of hardware or equipment in and of itself, but instead the placement or proximity of resources to other hardware or equipment or the proximity to construction elements such as steel.
Not always a possibility in other emergency and disaster issues, prevention is a major element of emergency management with specific regard to hazardous materials being kept separate, materials within equipment and hardware be limited and carefully managed for use, replacement and removal, and equipment placement and proximity.
Mass Population Displacement/Refugee Emigration/Migrant Encampment
Libraries, although not officially first responders, play a major role in supporting a community as it experiences changes in population either permanently or temporarily. Population displacement in general, relocation to new locations of their own volition, and migrant encampment and incarceration dictate expanded resources and services, which means a possible need for increased funding and expanded expertise. The nature of assisting in assimilation of individuals into communities also directly relates to whether these individuals are displaced due to emergencies and disasters in other communities or political or social events and, in worst case scenarios, are displaced due to issues such as legal status and socioeconomic and political behaviors and actions at local, state, and federal levels.
Workplace Violence: Bodily Harm, Trauma, Unwanted Attention
• Individuals (staff violence includes vandalism, armed/combat, threats)
Organizations are not immune to staff-caused emergencies and disasters due to, for example, mental instability and illness and/or excessive anger. Although libraries have not had the staff behavior disasters as the post office or private sector, it is possible that library staff can cause destruction to the building, resources, and/or data as well as other staff peers or those in administration and management.
• Individuals (nonstaff violence includes vandalism, armed/conflict, and/or combat and threats)
Library constituents and/or individuals in umbrella organizations (e.g., school campus and/or city facility settings), as well as through wishing to make “public statements” in any public buildings, may cause vandalism, cause conflict (including armed conflict), and/or make threats.
In addition, the library may be the target because a worker may have a problem with a library constituent or user displaying unwanted attention. In addition, a worker can have difficulty with a family member who is a seeks to act out at the workers place of business.
The Basics of Responses to Emergencies and Disasters
If one reviews definitions of “emergency,” most include “unforeseen” and “unexpected” as descriptors for events and these definitions also couple these words with possible escalation to serious and dangerous situations. All definitions, however, include the need for immediate action to handle some or all event aspects. In addition, most discussions of emergency events recognize that an institution may well have standard practices and even emergency practices in place to mitigate emergency issues, but there are frequent situations where even standard practices must be enhanced or expanded and even integrated with emergency practices to ensure situations are handled appropriately.
Responses to Emergencies and Disasters—Today
Responses to any emergencies and disasters are dramatically different in today’s library and information settings; and, rather than getting easier, running these organizations is harder than ever before. Differences in environments today are due to communication opportunities for notification and handling, the seriousness of some conflicts, the range and variety of possibilities, and the breadth of some destruction (deaths of individuals, data destruction, etc.). Unfortunately, today’s managers are not familiar with emergency and disaster management; therefore, they are not equipped to prevent or handle situations as they arise. While today’s libraries have addressed some emergencies and disasters through policies, procedures, and elements of disaster planning, not all emergency management elements are in place.
Responses to Emergencies and Disasters—Tomorrow/Future
Administrators and managers—not equipped to handle many emergencies and disasters today—are ill-equipped for tomorrow or a future with emergencies and disasters needing attention. While managers try to catch up to today’s responsibilities, they not only must be learning about tomorrow’s issues for equipment/hardware, hazardous materials, inclement weather, conflict (to name but a few areas) but must also be integrating extensive continuing education and training into staff training; implementing plans for awareness of issues and budgetary needs for Boards and umbrella organization administration; and having a good grasp on risk factors for organizations including knowledge of value and assets of the organization. Tomorrow’s organizations need extensive articulated, written plans as well as significant funds and structures in place to protect staff, constituents, and real estate.
Twenty-First-Century Infrastructure: Organizations, Associations, Commercial/Vendor
Many organizations and associations are in place to assist administrators and managers in addressing the needs of the organization. These entities include long-standing resources that have expanded to include contemporary situations; newly formed groups to support new situations; and entities to divide content between home concerns versus workplace concerns. The private sector/vendor/commercial has grown at an enormous rate as well, and great variety exists for acquiring resources to assist in emergency management.
An increasing number of vendors have extensive content both in general and how to work with their products. In addition, organizations, associations, commercial sectors, and vendors have created web-based streaming video content and created training environments for managers and workers as well as recovery personnel on YouTube and various public wiki and blogging sites.
Twenty-First-Publications: Periodicals, Monographs, Online Environment
Just as entities have increased in great numbers, emergency management publishing has grown in both popular and scholarly content in several formats including content in existing journals, new journals just on emergency management, as well as monographs on topic and extensive information from various federal government agencies. The field of emergency management is a growing one and although there are significant publications in this area, there are a growing number of emergency management resources within the library and information science publications dealing just with buildings and resources in all types of library and information settings.
The online environment of emergency management provides extensive resources for administrators and managers in general emergency management content. Resources specific to types of libraries are present on the web in academic libraries primarily with some available for public libraries. Resources by type of library, however, are typically those documents created just for those organizations rather than designated best practice or benchmark resources.
Managers should consult umbrella agency or overarching business information such as a facilities website for an educational setting (see Appendices) that also includes libraries within educational settings. Additional online resources also include the growing number of location-specific vendor case studies. They offer several research library recovery projects.
Twenty-First-Training, Continuing Education, Professional Development
Although training and continuing education is considered a critical component of preparation for, prevention of, and handling of emergency and disaster issues, and although there is much general education on emergency management, this general education has been expensive. There continues to be a lack of emergency management training for the profession of library and information science much less for libraries by type of library. Also, curriculum of professional education in library and information science graduate education and curriculum of continuing education for library and information settings are not extensive.
Managers should seek training content (self-directed or video presenter driven) on government websites, vendor websites, and association web and conference events. State libraries throughout the country have increased their local/state focus of emergency management training. There are also a myriad of conferences and conference proceedings available in small chunks of curriculum—typically free to users.
Twenty-First-Century Documents: Forms/Checklists
Strategic plans, forms, checklists, mind maps, and other various project management tools and related materials are the mainstay of emergency management content and professional literature. Even though the existing content is more general than specific to the field of library and information science, existing general documents and forms and checklist are easily converted to preparation and assessment of library and information settings. Administrators and managers of all types of library settings can use umbrella organization content as well as general “government issued” content.
In increasing numbers, however, libraries are adapting their practices to umbrella institution and government forms to ensure consistent terminology. While this approach is never ideal, libraries can use overarching forms to be able to conform to insurance and first-responder information while supplementing with more specific forms. And, although several government agency forms are more home or family driven, libraries can easily adapt the larger institutional forms to their needs in these areas as well, including forms and checklists from construction and facilities/buildings professionals, technology security forms, and general human resources forms. Again, as stated in other areas, vendors seldom just provide one aspect of support from emergency management and, instead, provide a breadth of an issue, such as a shelter-in-place kit sold by a single vendor comes with checklists and general rules and regulations for administering kit contents.
