Resources for Emergency Planning and Preparedness
This page contains information and tools to help your institution plan and prepare for emergencies by becoming familiar with possible hazards, developing an emergency plan, training staff and volunteers, and getting to know local emergency responders. |
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Know Your Risks
Knowing what risks you face is the first step in preparing for emergencies. These resources can help you determine what the risks are.
- Risk Evaluation and Planning Program Tools and Tips for risk evaluation and prioritization in your building (Heritage Preservation)
- Declared Disasters by Year or State (FEMA)
- Natural Hazards Gateway (US Geological Survey)
Plan for Collections Emergencies
- Field Guide to Emergency Response (Heritage Preservation)
- Buy the Field Guide
- Watch short clips from the DVD
- Watch the "Coping with Water Damage" streaming video
- Watch "Dealing with Soot" video (Windows Media Player 5.9 MB or Flash 4 KB)
- Download Field Guide fill-in forms
- All Field Guide Tabs (86 KB)
- Field Guide Tab 1: Emergency and Institutional Contacts (33 KB)
- Field Guide Tab 2: Now, Where Is That and What Do I Save First? (47 KB)
- Field Guide Tab 3: Insurance and Suppliers and Vendors (34 KB)
- Field Guide Tab 4: Master Supply List (41 KB)
- Download Disaster Supplies Shopping List (23 KB)
- Find a disaster network in my region
- Listen to an Audio Presentation from Heritage Preservation�s Alliance for Response Leadership Roundtable. Leaders in the fields of cultural heritage and emergency management discuss how to sustain a cooperative network.
- Ideas for projects and activities your network can sponsor
- MayDay: Do One Thing for Emergency Preparedness
- Preparing Your Institution for Hurricanes (Heritage Preservation)
- Plan Ahead (FEMA)
- Pocket Response Plan (Council of State Archivists)
- dPlan (Northeast Document Conservation Center and Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners)
- Building an Emergency Plan: A Guide for Museums and Other Cultural Institutions (The Getty Conservation Institute)
- Generic Disaster Plan Workbook (California Preservation Program)
- Library Disaster Plan Template (California Preservation Program)
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit (National Network of Libraries of Medicine)
- Museum Handbook, Part I: Museum Collections, with chapters on emergency planning (National Park Service Museum Management Program)
- Curatorial Safety Messages (National Park Service Museum Management Program)
- Preparing, Protecting, and Preserving Your Family Treasures (Library of Congress)
- Hurricane Safety Fact Sheet (National Weather Service)
- Essential Records for Families: What you need to know before you evacuate (Georgia State Archives) (84 KB)
- Guide to Online Resources: Prepare for Emergencies (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
- Emergency Resource Guides:
- Arizona, California, Oregon, or Washington (Balboa Art Conservation Center)
- Colorado and Wyoming (Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists)
- Mid-Atlantic Region (Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts)
- Emergency Planning and Recovery Techniques (Greater Hudson Heritage Network)
- Historic Preservation and Cultural Resources (FEMA)
- Implementing the Incident Command System at the Institutional Level: A Handbook for Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Other Cultural Repositories
Prepare a Historic Property for Emergencies
- Protect Your Property (FEMA)
- Natural Disasters: Planning, Preparedness, and Response (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Preparing to Preserve: An Action Plan to Integrate Historic Preservation into Tribal, State, and Local Emergency Management Plans
- Action Plan (275 KB Word document)
- Emergency Planning Model Checklist (56 KB)
- 1-2-3 Guide to Building Relationships (59 KB)
- Disaster Planning for Florida's Historic Resources (1000 Friends of Florida)
- Implementing the Incident Command System at the Institutional Level: A Handbook for Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Other Cultural Repositories
Learn What Funding is Available and How to Get It
- Listen to an Audio Presentation from Heritage Preservation�s Alliance for Response Leadership Roundtable. Leaders in the fields of cultural heritage and emergency management discuss obtaining funding for preparedness activities
- Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions (Heritage Preservation/FEMA) (download 3.5 MB)
- Guide to Navigating Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions (Heritage Preservation)
- Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (Library of Congress)
Train Your Staff and Volunteers
- Field Guide to Emergency Response (Heritage Preservation)
- Buy the Field Guide
- Watch “Coping with Water Damage” streaming video
- Watch “Dealing with Soot” video (Windows Media Player 5.9 MB or Flash 4 KB)
- Disaster Plan Exercise (California Preservation Program)
- Implementing the Incident Command System at the Institutional Level: A Handbook for Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Other Cultural Repositories
Get to Know Your Emergency Responders
- Working with Emergency Responders: Tips for Cultural Institutions (Heritage Preservation)
- Recommended Professional Emergency Management Training
- Alliance for Response (an initiative of Heritage Preservation)
- Listen to an Audio Presentation from Heritage Preservation�s Alliance for Response Leadership Roundtable. Leaders in the fields of cultural heritage and emergency management discuss a variety topics including:
- Emergency Management Partnerships with Government Officials (American Library Association)
- Glossary from the Department of Homeland Security National Response Framework. Refer to this glossary to learn the language of emergency management and communicate more effectively with emergency responders.
- Preparing to Preserve: An Action Plan to Integrate Historic Preservation into Tribal, State, and Local Emergency Management Plans
- Action Plan (275 KB Word document)
- Emergency Planning Model Checklist (56 KB)
- 1-2-3 Guide to Building Relationships (59 KB)
- Disaster Planning for Florida's Historic Resources (1000 Friends of Florida)
- Implementing the Incident Command System at the Institutional Level: A Handbook for Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Other Cultural Repositories
Make a Case for Emergency Preparedness
- Cataclysm and Challenge: Impact of September 11, 2001, on Our Nation’s Cultural Heritage (Heritage Preservation)
- Heritage Health Index: Emergency Planning and Security (Heritage Preservation) (download 304 KB)
Protect Family Treasures from Disaster
- Watch videos to learn techniques for dealing with water or soot damage:
- Coping with Water Damage
- Dealing with Soot (Windows Media Player 5.9 MB or Flash 4 KB)
- Preparing, Protecting, and Preserving Your Family Treasures (Library of Congress) Simple instructions for preserving many types of family treasures.
- Weather safety fact sheets from the National Weather Service:
- Hurricanes (1.3 MB)
- Flood Preparation and Flood Safety (1.1 MB)
- Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, and Lightning (13.9 MB)
- Winter Storms (2.1 MB)
- Essential Records for Families: What you need to know before you evacuate (Georgia State Archives) (79 KB)
- Protect Your Property (FEMA)
The Heritage Emergency National Task Force is co-sponsored by Heritage Preservation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Heritage Emergency National Task Force, 1012 14th St. NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005
202-233-0800, fax 202-233-0807
TaskForce@ heritagepreservation.org