Publication on disaster planning

New International Federation of Library Associations publication:

    Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best: Protecting our
    Cultural Heritage from Disaster.
    Ed. by Nancy Gwinn and Johanna Wellheiser. (IFLA Publications;
    nr 111). Munich: Saur, 2005.

Throughout history libraries, museums and archives have been struck
by disasters, both natural and manmade. Earthquakes and floods,
storms and fires have caused huge losses of precious collections.
Human conflicts and wars have also played their own roles in
violating the heritage of human civilization.

This book contains the proceedings of a special IFLA conference held
in Berlin in July 2003 which was devoted to the preparedness of
library collections for situations of "man made" disasters
(conflict, war) and/or natural disasters (earthquakes, floods,
hurricanes). A panel of international experts discussed these issues
and exchanged their views.

Papers concentrated on different aspects of the issues. One part
focuses on national policy planning with contributions by speakers
from countries that have established national planning efforts and
strategies for handling disasters, specifically as they relate to
cultural organizations, such as libraries, archives and museums.
Another part concentrates on the institutional level, with an
emphasis on what has shown to work based on practical experiences in
libraries and other sectors: human resource and response issues,
training requirements, pitfalls and success factors. In addition a
worldwide scale of case studies is presented.

The book pays tribute to the efforts that have been made to protect
or recover our cultural heritage from disaster, and provides
valuable advise on planning for emergencies and on the preventive
measures needed to safeguard collections.

    Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best: Protecting our
    Cultural Heritage from Disaster.
    Ed. by Nancy Gwinn and Johanna Wellheiser.
    Munchen: Saur, 2005, 192 p.
    (IFLA Publications; 111)
    ISBN 3-598-21842-7
    Price: EUR 78 (IFLA Members EUR 58)

Order:

    K.G. Saur Verlag
    PO Box 701620
    81316 Munich, Germany
    <URL:http://www.saur.de>
    +49 89 76902 300
    Fax: +49 89 76902 150/250
    info<-a t->saur< . >de

Issued by Sjoerd Koopman
Coordinator of Professional Activities
International Federation of Library Associations
E-mail: sjoerd.koopman<-a t->ifla< . >org

Johanna Wellheiser
Manager,  Preservation and Digitization Services
Toronto Public Library
789 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario M4W 2G8
Canada


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:42
                  Distributed: Friday, March 11, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-42-016
                                  ***