Resources for Response and Recovery
This page contains resources for dealing with disasters and managing recovery efforts, including getting professional help, assessing damage, finding funding, and salvaging collections and family treasures. |
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Respond to an Emergency
- Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel ¡Disponible en español! (Heritage Preservation)
- 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
- Download Disaster Supplies Shopping List (23 KB)
- Salvage Wet Books (Heritage Preservation)
- Cultural Heritage and Contaminants (Heritage Preservation)
- Emergency Planning and Recovery Techniques (Greater Hudson Heritage Network)
- Disaster Recovery (National Center for Preservation Technology and Training)
- Implementing the Incident Command System at the Institutional Level: A Handbook for Libraries, Archives, Museums, and Other Cultural Repositories
Get Professional Help
- Collections Emergency Response Team (American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works). Call 202-661-8068 for 24-hour assistance.
- Regional conservation centers offer 24-hour disaster assistance to cultural institutions and the public
- Find a Conservator
- Find a disaster network in your region
- Federal Disaster Help and Resources
- Sample vendor contract contents (Federal Library and Information Center Committee) (34 KB)
- For assistance with buildings and property:
- Contact your regional office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Find your State Historic Preservation Office
Assess Damage
- Field Guide to Emergency Response Rapid Collections Assessment Form (27 KB)
- Save Outdoor Sculpture! Rapid Condition Assessment Form (703 KB)
- Rapid Building and Site Condition Assessment (National Center for Preservation Technology and Training) (34.2 KB)
- This form is intended to provide public officials with a tool to rapidly assess the condition of historic structures and sites within a disaster region. Also available:
- FileMaker Pro database form (zip file).
- Form Instructions (32.3 KB)
- Definitions (21 KB)
- This form is intended to provide public officials with a tool to rapidly assess the condition of historic structures and sites within a disaster region. Also available:
Get Funding to Aid Your Recovery
- Guide to Navigating Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration Disaster Aid for Cultural Institutions (Heritage Preservation)
- Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions (Heritage Preservation/FEMA) (3.5 MB)
- Foundation Grants for Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums (Library of Congress) (pdf, 2.6 MB)
- Financial Assistance Programs (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
Share Information with Your Community and Local Media
- Save Your Treasures the Right Way (Heritage Preservation)
- Save Family Treasures from Soot (Heritage Preservation)
- Saving Our Heritage Public Service Announcement (National Center for Preservation Technology and Training)
Protect Your Health
- Conserve O Grams: Security, Fire, and Curatorial Safety (National Park Service Museum Management Program)
- Interim Health and Safety Precautions for People Entering Previously Flooded Areas (FEMA, Word document)
- Storm and Flood Cleanup (NIOSH)
- Cultural Heritage and Contaminants (Heritage Preservation)
Salvage Your Collections
- Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel ¡Disponible en español! (Heritage Preservation)
- Salvage Wet Books (Heritage Preservation)
- Cultural Heritage and Contaminants (Heritage Preservation)
- Watch the Field Guide to Emergency Response “Coping with Water Damage” streaming video
- Watch the Field Guide to Emergency Response “Dealing with Soot” video (Windows Media Player 5.9 MB or Flash 4 KB or on YouTube)
- Technical Bulletins: Salvaging Art on Paper, Photographs, and Books (Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts)
- Preservation Leaflets: Emergency Management (Northeast Document Conservation Center)
- Conserve O Grams: Series 2, Disaster Response and Recovery; Series 21, Security, Fire, and Curatorial Safety (National Park Service Museum Management Program)
- Salvage Procedures for Wet Items (Minnesota Historical Society)
- Wet Recovery (National Park Service)
- Salvage at a Glance (Western Association for Art Conservation)
- Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Collections: a Second Glance (Western Association for Art Conservation)
- Preparing, Protecting, and Preserving Your Family Treasures (Library of Congress)
- Guide to Online Resources: Respond to Emergencies (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
- Flood Recovery Booklet: Iowan Conservation and Preservation Consortium
Salvage a Historic Property
- Recovering from and Coping with Flood Damaged Property (FEMA)
- Treatment of Flood-Damaged Older and Historic Buildings (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Disaster Resources for Homeowners (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Information for Owners of Damaged Buildings Following a Natural Disaster (North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office)
- Disaster Information Resources Series (for homeowners) (Louisiana State University)
- Disaster Planning for Florida’s Historic Resources (1000 Friends of Florida)
- Cultural Heritage and Contaminants (Heritage Preservation)
Salvage Family Treasures from Disaster
- Find a Conservator
Conservators can provide advice on how to safely store your family treasure or salvage it if damaged. The American Institute for Conservation maintains an online database of conservators. The database can be searched by state, region, and/or conservation specialty (i.e., paintings, photographs, books, furniture, textiles, and many others). - Regional conservation centers across the US offer 24-hour disaster assistance
- For assistance with buildings and property:
- Contact your regional office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Find your State Historic Preservation Office
- Interim Health and Safety Precautions for People Entering Previously Flooded Areas (FEMA, Word document)
- Storm and Flood Cleanup (NIOSH)
- Save Your Treasures the Right Way (Heritage Preservation)
Natural disasters can harm treasured possessions like photos and other keepsakes. Sometimes people discard family heirlooms that could have been saved or, lacking good advice, make the damage worse. Follow the advice here to keep this from happening! - Save Family Treasures from Soot (Heritage Preservation)
Cherished family heirlooms that survive a fire are often covered with soot and ash. Follow these tips to remove soot and ash and avoid further damage. - 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)
- Salvage Wet Books (Heritage Preservation)
- Cultural Heritage and Contaminants (Heritage Preservation)
- Recovering from and Coping with Flood Damaged Property (FEMA)
- Treatment of Flood-Damaged Older and Historic Buildings (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Disaster Resources for Homeowners (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Information for Owners of Damaged Buildings Following a Natural Disaster (North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office)
- Disaster Information Resources Series (for homeowners) (Louisiana State University)