I have been watching as the news reports capture images of the flood damage currently taking place in Iowa.  My heart goes out to everyone involved in this natural disaster that has damaged so many homes and businesses. But,  the story of the efforts to save the books stored in the basement of the University of Iowa Library has made a particular impact on me and my academic librarian heart - library staff, students, faculty members, other volunteers (book lovers all!) joined forces to save and move books to higher floors.  Kudos to all involved in this unexpected team “move” … you all make me proud!

Read more about the University of Iowa’s “Libraries Evacuation Timeline” here.

 

This would be an appropriate time to direct your attention to the need for disaster preparedness in all libraries. Johnson notes “All libraries should have an up-to-date. comprehensive disaster preparedness plan.  This document, also called a disaster response plan, provides a policy and procedures for responding to emergencies and specifies priorities and techniques for salvaging different types of material if damaged by fire, flood, or other kinds of disastets.  It lists who should be notified, what the chain of command is, who is responsible for which steps, where equipment and supplies (such as buckets, plastic sheeting, gloves, dust masks) are kept, and safety considerations.  It will provide contact information for services, which may include collections transport and rapid freezing, need to respond to different conditions. (Page 162).