Last week was “Lightning Safety Week,” according to FEMA.  Visit the NOAA page here http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/ to learn more about lightning and how to reduce the risk for yourself and those around you of being struck or injured by lightning.  In an average year (which this one is not, due to the recent catastrophic tornado incidents), more people are killed by lightning than by tornadoes or hurricanes.  I didn’t realize that many more people actually survive lightning strikes, then live with severe disabilities for the remainder of their lives.  This information can be important to us at work and at home, and for our library patrons who may be in our space during storms.

Thanks to FEMA for the heads-up about this conference, being held tomorrow, June 15–check out the conference site here:  http://www.meta-leadershipsummit.org/.   Here’s the description from FEMA’s news update: 

Empowering Business, Government and Nonprofit Leaders to Act Together in Times of Crisis
Leadership during large-scale disasters like terrorist attacks, natural disasters and pandemic flu is the focus of the Long Island Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness on June 15, where more than 200 leaders will gather to better prepare and respond to public health and safety emergencies.  Offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC Foundation, the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative – Harvard School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Meta-Leadership Summit for Preparedness fosters greater cross-sector collaboration among business, government and nonprofit leaders during emergencies.  The Long Island Meta-Leadership Summit is the 36^th and final in the series of highly-evaluated Summits that have been held to engage leaders across the country. More than 4,700 leaders have attended a Summit to date, and over 2,500 have joined the Meta-Leadership Online Community. Visit the online community to watch a sampling of video soundbites from Summit participants in their own words: Tampa Bay; Nebraska; San Diego County; Greater Los Angeles and Greater Houston.

May 22-28 is Hurricane Preparedness Week.  Check out the “Key Facts About Hurricane Readiness” page on the CDC site:  http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/readiness_factsheet.asp, especially if you are in the southeastern, southern, and Atlantic seaboard areas of the U. S.

Many thanks to Gail Kouame and all the Emergency Preparedness & Response (EP&R) State Coordinators in the Pacific Northwest Region (PNR) of NN/LM for sending us their white paper describing PNR’s regional efforts to assist hospital librarians in emergency preparedness.  Click here to view:  Region 6 Emergency Preparedness Report Feb 2011-1

The paper includes an accounting of how their initiative developed and was implemented, along with photos of the Coordinator group and the emergency kits and promotional items they distributed.  There are also documents in the appendix of the paper that will no doubt be helpful in similar efforts.   Thanks to all of you who prepared the report, and congratulations on work well done!

We usually think of California when we think earthquakes in the U.S., but one of the most significant earthquakes to strike in North America actually happened in the New Madrid Seismic Zone two hundred years ago. Check out this site http://www.newmadrid2011.org/ to see information about the “Earthquake Tour,” commemorating the bicentennial of the New Madrid quake in 1811.  The tour begins tomorrow (Feb. 4, 2011) and continues on through this year with sessions in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and the other states adjacent to the New Madrid fault.  Be sure to explore the “Quick Links” section, especially the wonderful “Great Central U.S. Shakeout” site at http://shakeout.org/centralus/.   The Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) site at http://www.cusec.org/ is also a rich resource for increasing awareness and knowledge about earthquakes and for advice about how to be prepared and stay safe in an earthquake.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) recommends that all libraries create a response plan based on the Pocket Response Plan (PReP) that was developed by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA). This is a one-page plan that can be kept in a purse, a wallet, or a mobile device, so no matter where you are you will be able to manage a response and keep your core services available to your patrons. The template below was designed for health sciences libraries, but it can be adapted to any type of library. Questions? Please contact us (http://nnlm.gov/ep/who-we-are/).

Service Continuity PReP: http://nnlm.gov/webreports/ep/uploads/2008/02/SCPrep0310Public.doc

Good Example of a Inclement Weather Services Web Page: http://www.library.uams.edu/inclement-weather.aspx

Recently, we facilitated a meeting in Hampton, VA which was aimed at establishing relationships among public libraries, medical libraries, and community emergency preparedness and response.  Our guest speaker was Teresa Blakeslee, the Peninsula Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator for Virginia.  She spoke about the role of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in community preparedness and response, and helped us to identify possible roles for librarians who are interested in participating in that work.  In addition to the health professionals who are deployed to emergency response sites, they need support people, too, and librarians typically have lots of skills that would benefit them, such as organizational abilities, communication skills, technological proficiency, and public service.  MRC provides free training and maintains a database of volunteers based on abilities, willingness to be deployed locally or outside the area, special skills such as interpretive/translation skills, etc.  To find out more, visit their website at http://www.medicalreservecorps.gov/HomePage. 

Ideas for becoming involved:

* Participate in initiatives that enhance and strengthen public health such as vaccination and health education programs

* Become familiar with existing local emergency plans, procedures and facilities

* Receive free training and continuing education on topics like personal safety in emergency situations, emergency management, Incident Command System