SERCA emergency preparedness project

In December 1997, a group of conservation professionals representing
several different areas of specialization formed the Southeast
Regional Conservation Association (SERCA). Support for
disaster-related activities in the Southeast is one of SERCA's
highest priorities.  To this end, SERCA applied for and received a
grant from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB) to
develop a pilot project that would identify Georgia sites with
culturally significant holdings and survey their state of emergency
preparedness. This program is directed by Hilary A. Kaplan,
Conservator for the Georgia Department of Archives and History. In a
follow-up phase, SERCA proposes to establish a relational database
with information gathered from all participating repositories.  This
database would be maintained by the Georgia Department of Archives
and History (GDAH).  Georgia will be the first state to initiate
this type of database project, and it is anticipated that other
states will soon follow.

A survey designed to gather information about the type and size of a
repository's holdings, as well as the current level of emergency
preparedness, has been mailed to over 1200 identified sites in
Georgia.  Information gathered from these surveys will place SERCA
and GDAH in an excellent position to offer relevant recovery
information; coordinate access to services, supplies, and equipment;
and organize direct recovery assistance.  Repositories identified
include any site housing collections of culturally significant
objects or records, such as museums, historical societies,
libraries, archives, archaeological sites, science centers, folk art
sites, and historic homes or churches.  Collections may contain
artwork, textiles, photographs, books, documents, recorded media,
archaeological artifacts, popular culture artifacts, or buildings.

To view the survey online, and to obtain more information about this
project, disaster preparedness, or other preservation related
topics, you may visit the GDAH web site at:
<URL:http://www.sos.state.ga.us/archives/ps/gps.htm>, or contact

    Melody James
    Project Assistant
    404-651-9272
    mjames [at] sos__state__ga__us

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:63
                 Distributed: Monday, February 1, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-63-009
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