Regional Emergency Response Networks
LYRASIS Introduces the Regional Emergency Response Networks Program
As preservation professionals, we understand the need for libraries and cultural heritage organizations to have effective emergency preparedness plans and resources in place in order to ensure the safety and long-term accessibility of your collections. Sometimes these are the result of larger emergencies that require resources beyond an individual institution or even system. In order to help meet that need, LYRASIS is bringing cultural heritage organizations together to not only respond to incidents at their own site but also to understand, engage, and play appropriate roles in larger emergencies. The Regional Emergency Response Networks Program will provide institutions with a comprehensive planning program to prepare employees to handle anything from a small “in-house” emergency (such as a water leak) to understanding what to do in the event of a large scale disaster.
The goal of the project is to:
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increase preservation knowledge and skills among staff at the region’s libraries, archives, and museums;
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provide support for effective preservation planning and management;
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strengthen local and regional preservation and emergency networks;
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and improve institutional and community disaster preparedness.
Working with LYRASIS member State Libraries and Archives, we will help establish four state-based, regional groups to develop and test this model. Each group will be composed of up to ten institutions within a state and representing multiple regions, with 2-3 participants from each institution.
Over the course of six to eight weeks, LYRASIS will work with each group to:
- Create the core infrastructure of an emergency response plan
- Build teams that can understand, implement, and update the emergency plan
- Provide hands-on training in disaster response and salvage of collection materials
- Teach team members to train others in response and salvage at their own institutions, a.k.a., “train the trainer”
- Connect participating cultural institutions through geographically defined groups, to begin building relationships and a regional emergency response network
- Build key relationships with emergency first-responders and local officials for disaster support, assistance, and planning, and to understand how to work within a large (city/county/state) emergency
A suite of planning and training courses will be presented in each regional group. The courses will be a combination of in-person and online sessions. There is no cost to participate in the training courses (online, in-person) though participants will need to cover their travel costs for the two, in-person sessions in their state.
If you have any questions about the program or are interested in finding out how your state can participate, please contact Robin Dale, Director of Digital & Preservation Services.
