The Medical Library Association (MLA) is providing a distance education opportunity via webcast for members on Wednesday, November 12, from 1-3 PM Central time, in which presenters will speak about their experiences in dealing with disasters.  Dan Wilson will also contribute information about NN/LM’s activities in emergency preparedness.  The class is entitled “Survival Tips and Stories:  Expanding the Library’s Services in Times of Disaster.”  Click here for the page on the MLA website that gives information.  Speakers Ethel Madden, Julie Page and Marty Thompson all have fascinating stories to tell about disasters they have experienced first-hand, and will share many lessons-learned and recommendations for all of us to consider in helping our libraries to be prepared for emergencies.  Don’t miss it!

Among the wealth of information available from CDC is their section on Emergency Response, this month highlighting information needed by health professionals as well as the public, in responding to/recovering from a hurricane.  “Below the fold” on the Hurricanes page is a section called “Information for You,” which looks like a great place for health science librarians to go for information that would be helpful to health care professionals and community members responding to any disaster situation.  See the ”Health Professionals“ page linked there for an excellent list of topics and pertinent information for clinicians as well as consumers.  

In addition, CDC has created a mobile web site, accessible via cell phone and other mobile browsers, where people can access hurricane recovery information.  Both features mentioned here are valuable resources for librarians concerned about continuity of access to health-related information for their patrons, whether professionals or community members.

While we are anticipating the “end” of hurricane season, it’s a good time to take stock of our current situations–are our plans up-to-date?  Is it time to start putting a plan together for your library?  Do we need to squirrel away some extra supplies, like plastic sheeting or flashlight batteries?  We’re fortunate to have so many excellent resources available to help us in our emergency preparedness efforts, and here’s a reminder of two rich sources for guidance and some checklists to keep us on target:

SOLINET:  their site has been re-designed.  Go to the Resources section, the Preservation tab, then check out the Disaster Resources page, linked in the left side menu bar.  Very comprehensive information; I recommend a “shopping” approach if you don’t need the whole store.  Some interesting classes coming up, too…I’m taking the one on Risk Management in November.

NEDCC:  here’s the link to their page listing all the Preservation leaflets that are available from the site…scroll down on the page to Emergency Management to find their process for disaster planning as well as a “fill-in-the-blank” disaster plan.

Happy shopping!

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is hosting a webcast on “Lessons Learned from the Field of Emergency Preparedness” on November 6.  The webcast is free, taking place from 12-1:30 EST, and registration is required.  Quoting from the announcement (thanks, DIMRC!):

“Presenters will offer diverse perspectives on emergency planning and the use of AHRQ tools in order to enhance surge capacity, medical supply allocation planning and resource inventories reporting systems. Participants will receive key insight on customizing AHRQ tools in order to address the distinct needs of their communities. Emergency preparedness planners as well as federal, state and local community health planners, providers and first-responders are invited to attend.”   Go here to find the registration site.

Following is an announcement of a new resource made available by the Library of Congress.  In addition to listening to the stories, check out the links on the left side of the Preservation pages for a wealth of resources for libraries preparing for or responding to disasters.  

“For the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, in commemoration and in light of the current hurricane season, the Library of Congress announces a Web site titled “Learning from Katrina,” which provides insights for better responses to record and artifact damage by hurricanes.

On this site, www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/katrinarespond.html, visitors can hear seven interviews with professional conservators who helped salvage collections affected in August 2005.In the interviews, responders discuss the lessons learned, their motivations, expectations and preparations, and their experiences. The interviews were conducted in 2006 at the Library of Congress by the Preservation Directorate, in collaboration with the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) and the American Folklife Center.”

Dan’s presentation on September 23, 2008 to the combined PSR and MCR NN/LM members was recorded and is now available for viewing at any time.  Please click here to access the presentation.

Thanks to a newsletter I received today from Heritage Preservation, I learned about a new online, free course offering from the Northeast Document Conservation Center  (NEDCC) called “Preservation 101.”  The class is aimed specifically toward librarians and other caretakers of cultural resources who work in small and moderate-sized libraries or organizations.  (A link to NEDCC is also located on the toolkit in the right column under “Comprehensive Disaster Plan Training,” the North East section.) 

As a side note, I recommend that people sign up to be on the mailing list for Heritage Preservation if they are interested in conservation and preservation activities or current awareness ofnthe topic.  The emails I receive from them are few and far-between and are always contain articles or information relevant to our interests in emergency preparedness.

The American Institute for Conservation (AIC) has its own CERT!  However, theirs is a Collections Emergency Response Team, rather than a Community ERT.  See the AIC-CERT web page for a description of their mission and capabilities.  They are the “Rapid Response Team for Cultural Institutions,” and they specialize in helping out small organizations where there is not enough manpower or expertise to deal with damage to collections.  They have a 24/7 phone number:  (202) 661-8068.  On the website, there is also a brochure in PDF that you can download and print.  Federal funding has provided AIC-CERT assistance to libraries and other cultural institutions in the Midwest this year after the flooding, and now in Texas after Hurricane Ike.

Many thanks to Holly Herro, Conservation Librarian, NIH/NLM, History of Medicine Division, and one of the conservators trained as part of the AIC-CERT project, for the heads-up about this very valuable and relevant resource.  She encourages any Network members, whose collections were damaged by the hurricane and who need help, to call the phone number listed above to reach AIC-CERT.

Here’s an update on the library at M.D. Anderson from Kathy Hoffman, library director:

News from M. D. Anderson Research Medical Library

Most of the Houston area continues to have no power. Reports indicate about 97% of the city is still without power. Fortunately, the Medical Center has power and didn’t lose it at any time during the storm. I am sending this from the library, as I don’t have power or internet access from home. I am onsite at the library doing recovery work.

Water Damage:

We sustained several serious leaks in the library from the storm. We had leaks in all the usual places and some new ones. The new ones included window sills all around the library, but the most serious were along the south side of the building. Fortunately we had cleared the windows sills and desk areas near them in all of the offices in preparation for the storm so none of staff had damage to their papers or other materials on their desks.

We also had major water enter the library from the terrace near the information desk. There also appears that there may have been leaks from the ceiling above the Information Desk but I didn’t observe any damage to the desk or its contents. Facilities have been onsite to replace ceiling tiles and provide big fans to dry the area.

The most damaging leak occurred over a section of the bound journals stacks in a new area, near the Journal of Immunology. Approximately 125 bound journals were affected. In triaging the volumes, I decided not to salvage anything that is now available online. The final number of volumes that will need to be withdrawn, and how many can be saved is yet to be determined. I am using the conference room to stage the recovery work.

Return to Work Plan:

Sunday (today): M. D. Anderson remains closed. Only authorized employees are allowed in. Transition from Ride Out Team to Recovery Teams is happening today.

Monday: M. D. Anderson will remain closed as the Recovery Team continue their work. Employees in Animal Care return to work on Monday. The Library remains closed.

Tuesday: M. D. Anderson will be open for patient care activities. Employees involved in patient care will return to work. The Library remains closed.

Wednesday: Anderson plans to return to normal operations and ALL employees are expected to return to work. The Library will reopen on Wednesday and expects to be fully operational.

City Curfew:

The city has announced a curfew effective today, through Saturday, Sept. 20, from 9pm to 6am. However, according to Houston Catastrophic Medical Operations Center, M. D. Anderson employees need only show their ID Badges if they are stopped on their way to work during the hours of the curfew. This will affect some of our staff who work the early and late shifts.

The Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library has redirected its web traffic to a specially designed disaster resources page.  The page allows access to only the library’s core electronic resources.