Paper written in February 2010
Disasters and their Damage to Libraries
The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) defines a disaster as “a situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to a national or international level for external assistance; an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering” (Below, Wirtz, and Guha-Sapir 2009). The Center specifies that for a disaster to be entered into the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT), at least one of the following criteria must be met: 10 or more people reported killed; 100 or more people reported affected; declaration of a state of emergency; call for international assistance.
According to Below, Wirtz & Guha-Sapir, there are 2 generic categories for disasters, namely, natural and technological. The natural disaster category is divided into six disaster groups: Biological, Geophysical, Meteorological, Hydrological, Climatological and Extra‐Terrestrial, which in turn cover 12 disaster types and more than 30 sub‐types. For example, the 2004 Tsunami is classified as a natural disaster (disaster generic group) falling under “Geophysical” disaster group, with “Earthquake” as disaster main-type, and “Tsunami” as disaster sub-type. Likewise, the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar is categorized as a natural disaster under a “Meteorological” disaster group, under “Storm” disaster main-type, and “Tropical Storm” as disaster sub-type.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as cited by Zach & McKnight (2010) defines disaster “as a non-routine event that exceeds the capacity of the affected area to respond to it in such a way as to save lives; to preserve property; and to maintain the social, ecological, economic, and political stability of the affected region.” Zach & McKnight delineate disasters from emergency situations wherein disasters are widespread events that affect more than a single institution or a single user group. Zach & McKnight further state that in disasters, assistance to affected population may not be available immediately since those who could offer help may be affected by the disaster as the rest of the population. Likewise, in such disasters, help from outside sources could take a considerable length of time to arrive, which could result in a “breakdown of the social structure.”
According to the Library of Congress, hurricanes bring destruction to library collections in numerous ways. High winds, flying debris, continuous rain and rising waters break windows, scatter and tear papers and documents, and overturn and hurl bookshelves. Rain or flood water causes the paper in the books to expand, loosens book bindings, and dissolves inks, colorants and other components of letters, prints, photographs and books. Dirty and contaminated flood waters deposit soil, mud and silt on books and other library collections. Further, residual dampness from rain or flooding leads to mold growth causing health problems and more harm to books and papers.
Disasters like earthquakes cause immense loss of lives and leave many people homeless. They destroy infrastructures, collapse library buildings and destroy collections. As pointed out by the Library of Congress, earthquakes toss books and documents from bookshelves and file cabinets. Collections are scattered, crushed or soiled. Collapsing buildings bury collections under furniture, beams, dirt and yard debris, and leave collections exposed to wind, rain or snow. Ensuing fires and floods often cause further damage. Structural collapse may cause fire damage to collections while water damage occurs from fire hoses and sprinklers, or broken water or sewer pipes.
According to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (2010), the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake destroyed the oldest library in Port au Prince. The Bibliothèque Haïtienne des Pères du Saint Esprit at the Saint Martial College collapsed. The earthquake also caused heavy damage to the Library of Saint Louis de Gonzague. Both libraries contained very old collections dating from the 16th century including manuscripts brought to Haiti by the missionaries who came from Europe.
Fire, another type of disaster, damages collections in several ways. As noted by the Library of Congress, fire can burn collections completely, or scorch, discolor or soil print materials by soot and smoke. Water used to put out fires can stain, discolor, or cause ink or color bleeding. Water from hoses and sprinkler systems also causes some materials to stick together or leads to mold growth. The fire at University of New Mexico Library burned in less than one hour the anthropology and southwest history titles which were the result of “one hundred years of collecting in these subject areas”( Gugliotta 2006).
Library requirements and services after disaster
Restoring library services in a prompt manner helps promote normalcy and ensures among users the library’s commitment to the community during disaster recovery. To restore and rebuild libraries after a disaster, libraries need funds, facilities, personnel, equipment and computers, new furnishings, communication facilities, arrangement of free access to databases, and technical support and services including interlibrary loan services (McHone-Chase 2010; Washington 2006). In certain cases, students may also need tutoring and homework assistance (Dickerson 2007).
Just as important, Washington underscored the major role of acquisitions in restoring library collections after a disaster. She stressed the need for continued purchase of quality books and other print resources to support the curriculum and assist in rebuilding a quality library collection.
Disaster Preparedness and Planning
Disasters are unpredictable in their nature, occurrence, and severity. While disasters cannot be prevented, their impact on library services might be minimized with well thought-out, organized planning (McHone-Chase 2010).
According to Wong and Green, disaster preparedness, in the context of library setting, refers to a situation wherein libraries are adequately prepared to prevent severe library damage from potential disasters. Thus, libraries have the responsibility to develop disaster plans based on the disasters most likely expected.
Wong and Green further state that disaster planning involves planning, prevention, response, recovery, preparedness, and training. It entails the whole process from developing a disaster preparedness manual, implementing procedures during disaster response, to managing communications with disaster assistance companies, vendors, insurance companies, and media during disaster. Similarly, Lindell & Perry (1992) as cited by Chua, Kaynak, & Foo (2007) stated that disaster management can be described as a cycle with four interrelated stages, namely, preparation, response, recovery, and mitigation.
A critical phase in library disaster planning and management is the recovery phase. Its major purpose is to facilitate the resumption of library operation and delivery of services. At this stage, response activities continue but the library disaster recovery team will coordinate with the local disaster response companies towards restoring limited library operations and services (Wong & Green). Chua, Kaynak, & Foo mentioned that during the recovery phase, post-disaster efforts such as sheltering, resettlement, donation management, utilities restoration, and infrastructure reconstruction are steps towards restoring normalcy to the disaster areas.
References
Below, R., A. Wirtz, and D. Guha-Sapir. 2009. Disaster category classification and peril: terminology for operational purposes. Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and Munich Reinsurance Company. URL: http://cred.be/sites/default/files/DisCatClass_264.pdf [viewed May 18, 2010]
Chua, A. Y. K., S. Kaynak, and S. S. B. Foo. 2007. An analysis of the delayed response to Hurricane Katrina through the lens of knowledge management. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 58(3): 391–403.
Dickerson, L. 2007. Capitalizing on a disaster to create quality services: some lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Public Library Quarterly 26 (1/2):101-115
Fletcher, L. E., et al. 2006. Rebuilding after Katrina: a population-based study of labor and human rights in New Orleans. URL: http://www.payson.tulane.edu/research/reports/pdf/report_katrina.pdf [viewed January 30, 2010].
Gabe, T., et al. 2005. Hurricane Katrina: Social-demographic-characteristics of impacted areas. Library of Congress Congressional Research Service. URL:
http://gnocdc.s3.amazonaws.com/reports/crsrept.pdf [viewed February 15, 2010].
Gugliotta, T. 2006. Fire at University of New Mexico Library. Public Library Quarterly 25(3/4): 61-69.
Hartzell, G. 2003. Why should principals support school libraries? Teacher Librarian 31(2). URL: http://www.oelma.org/documents/RIF%20Article.pdf (viewed February 21, 2010).
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. 2010. News and developments regarding libraries in Haiti. URL: http://www.ifla.org/en/news/news-and-developments-regarding-libraries-in-ha-ti [viewed May 18, 2010]
Kelsey, M. E. 2006. Education reform in Minnesota: profile of learning and the instructional role of the school library media specialist. School Library Media Research 9. URL: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/ volume09/kelsey_educationreform.cfm (viewed February 16, 2010).
McHone-Chase, S. M. 2010. The role of interlibrary loan in disaster preparedness and recovery. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve 20(1): 53-60.
The Library of Congress. Emergency preparedness: hurricane response and recovery. URL: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/hurricane.html [viewed May 10, 2010]
The Library of Congress. Emergency Preparedness: earthquake response and recovery. URL: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/earthquake.html [viewed May 10, 2010]
The Library of Congress. Emergency preparedness: fire response and recovery.
URL: http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emergprep/fire.html [viewed May 10, 2010]
United States Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General. 2007. Final audit report: Audit of Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) immediate aid to restart school operations (Restart) controls and compliance. Atlanta Audit Region.
Washington, I. 2006. Rebuilding a high school library collection after Hurricane
Katrina. Public Library Quarterly 25(3/4):159-178.
Wong, Y. L., and R. Green. 2006. Disaster planning in libraries. Journal of Access Services 4 (3/4): 71-82.
Zach, L. and M. McKnight. 2010. Special services in special times: responding to changed information needs during and after community-based disasters. Public Libraries 49 (2): 37-43.
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