Representatives from all eight NN/LM regions met at the Library of the Health Sciences on the University of Illinois/Chicago (UIC) campus on Friday, April 8, to hear about progress of the NN/LM National Emergency Preparedness and Response Initiative to date, to share updates from all the regions, and to discuss possible future objectives.  In addition to NN/LM Associate Directors and State Emergency Preparedness Coordinators, Cindy Love of the Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) and Cindy Olney, of NN/LM’s Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC) attended and spoke to the group.

It was exciting to hear about the many accomplishments of the NN/LM regions in educating members in emergency preparedness;  great work everyone!  Cindy Olney presented the results of this year’s follow-up assessment conducted by OERC, which showed improvement in the levels of knowledge and preparedness for emergency response for members across the regions since the baseline assessment was done in 2008.  Many thanks to Cindy Olney and Susan Barnes, also of OERC, for their work in helping us see what has been done well and what still needs to be done!  Dan has added a couple of photos from the meeting to the “Photos” section here on the toolkit.  Many thanks also to Ruth Holst and her staff in the NN/LM Greater Midwest Region’s office at UIC, especially Rosalva Diaz and Max Anderson, for hosting the meeting and for facilitating food, handouts, wireless access, and dozens of other aspects of a successful meeting.

The Southeastern/Atlantic Region’s Emergency Preparedness & Response Committee met on November 17th, the day after the annual SC/MLA conference. Following Janice Kelly’s introduction, Dan Wilson and PJ Grier opened the meeting by reporting on national and regional progress, followed by each state coordinator reporting on accomplishments in their state. The committee then conducted a table-top exercise designed to raise awareness of preparedness and backup capabilities. After lunch, Joanne Romano, Licensing and Serials Librarian at the Houston Academy of Medicine, Texas Medical Center Library, presented on her experience writing disaster clauses into licensed materials. Finally, the committee discussed future goals and objectives. Much was accomplished and everyone walked away with new ideas.

Here’s a picture of the committee members (click on image to enlarge):

Yesterday’s conference, What About the Library? The Value of Libraries Before and After a Major Disaster, was a big success. Speakers included Rebecca Hamilton, State Librarian, State Library of Louisiana, Kevin Pannell, Emergency Planner for the Virginia Department of Health, and Anna McCray, Deputy Coordinator of Emergency Management for Henrico County. Also included was a table-top exercise facilitated by Dan Wilson.

The conference took place at the Twin Hickory Branch of the Henrico County Public Library. Dan used a quote from a U.S. Forestry Service pamphlet about the hickory tree and used it as an analogy for what we are determined to build across Virginia: “the combination of strength, toughness, hardness, and stiffness found in hickory wood is not found and any other commercial wood.” Christened The Hickory Movement, participants at the conference are encouraged to promote the value of libraries and librarians in emergency preparedness and response activities across Virginia.

The conference was sponsored by the Library of Virginia and funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Human Services, with the University of Maryland Baltimore.

Rebecca Hamilton

Kevin Pannell

Anna McRay

Dan Wilson and Speakers

Felicia Yeh, NN/LM SE/A State Coordinator from South Carolina, reports that their Community Disaster Response: the Role of Public Libraries conference was a great success. The conference was held on Tuesday, April 27th, and involved over 70 participants. Guest speakers included Joe Ryan, Project Manager, Hurricane/Disaster Preparedness and Response by Utilizing Florida Public Libraries Project, Rebecca Hamilton, State Librarian, State Library of Louisiana, Dwight McInvaill, Director, Georgetown County Library, and Sam Hodge, Emergency Manager, Georgetown County Emergency Management. Funding for the conference was provided by NN/LM SE/A and was sponsored by several agencies, including South Carolina Emergency Management Division, South Carolina State Library, University of South Carolina, and Richland County Public Library. Felicia stresses that the success of the conference was due to great team responsible for the program and local arrangements. Ruth Riley, Director of Library Services, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, was also instrumental in the program. She will be presenting a poster about the conference at MLA in Washington, DC. Great work, South Carolina!

From Rita Smith, Outreach & Education Coordinator, Mercer University Medical Library:

On April 15th, a full day of emergency preparedness planning was offered to 30 members of GaIN, the Georgia Interactive Network for Medical Information. GaIN is centered at the Mercer University Medical Library in Macon, Georgia, with members representing a variety of healthcare and educational institutions across Georgia, including many small rural hospitals. Carolyn Klatt, the Georgia state coordinator for NN/LM emergency preparedness, led an excellent session on the “10-Step Approach to Emergency Preparedness Planning,” which was followed by an interactive planning scenario and discussion of “buddy” agreements using the Memorandum of Understanding and Mutual Aid Agreements available at the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness & Response Toolkit website. Participants also received samples of the Pocket Response Plans (PReP) developed by the Council of State Archivists, along with waterproof envelopes in which to store their own plans.

Thanks to an award from the NN/LM Southeastern/Atlantic (SE/A) Region, two state coordinators for North Carolina, Melanie Norton and Susan Hardee, organized an emergency preparedness program entitled, “It’s the Big One, Elizabeth!”  Helping NC Hospitals Plan for Information Access Following a Disaster. The event was held at two sites (Raleigh and Charlotte) over a two-day period, and featured Dan Wilson teaching “A 10-Step Approach to Service Continuity Planning” and Dr. Barbara Bisset, Executive Director of the Emergency Services Institute WakeMed Health System.  Following lunch, participants worked on developing a state-wide mutual aid agreement.

Dan Wilson’s Slides