Is Your Library Ready
For a Disaster?
Disaster Recovery Planning
Melissa Lefebvre
Bibliomation, Inc.
[email protected]
Background Information
Bibliomation is on of the library consortiums in the state
consisting of:
49 Public Libraries
24 School Libraries
Servers:
14 including E-Mail, Web, Anti-virus,
and ILS
8 onsite
6 at ISP location
Getting Started
What’s a Disaster Recovery Plan anyway?
“A disaster recovery plan (DRP) or a business continuity
plan (BCP) is a comprehensive set of measures and
procedures put into place within an organization to ensure
that essential, mission critical resources and infrastructures
are maintained or backed by alternatives during various
stages of a disaster.
-Paul Chin
“Introduction to Disaster Recovery Planning”
http://intranetjournal.com/articles/200503/pij_03_2
4_05a.html
Getting Started
Why do I need a plan?
If you’ve thought through various scenarios
before they happen, it will make it far easier
to recover from the disaster.
If a disaster does occur
Your plan will guide you step by step
to recovery. You won’t have to think,
the steps will already be laid out for
you.
Getting Started
Questions to ask:
If there is a disaster, how do we
rebuild?
What will it cost to get our library back
up and running?
What will it take to restore our services
to the public?
Where do we start and how?
Murphy’s Law
“If something can go wrong, it will”
Disasters occur when:
▪ Key people are on vacation
▪ It’s a holiday
▪ It’s least convenient
Basic Steps
Your Disaster Recovery Plan should:
 Outline initial action to be taken in event of a
disaster
 Outline long-term steps to complete a recovery
effort
 Provide contact information essential to a
successful recovery
Writing the Disaster Plan
Steps:
 Survey the library building and grounds
 Take a complete inventory
 Outline the disaster recovery plan
 Write the plan
 Revise, revise, revise
Outline the Disaster Plan
I. Emergency telephone numbers and a list of
contractors and service providers
II. Disaster team members and duties
III. Emergency Instructions
IV. Priorities for salvaging materials
V. Recovery procedures
VI. Inventory of the disaster response closet
VII.Disaster reports
Disaster Recovery Team and Duties
Examples:
• Team Leader
• Recovery Specialist
• Crew Manager
• Supplies and Transportation Manager
• Recorder
• Photographer
• Communications Manager
A Word about Mold
Mold WILL grow within 48 hours unless the
environment is stabilized
Damp books in temperatures above 70°F and
70% humidity will be subject to mold
Undisturbed archival files will not be so quickly
attacked by mold
Very wet books or those still submerged in
water, will NOT develop mold
A Word about Freezing
Freezing water-damaged materials below zero
degrees will stabilize mold growth
Freezing will NOT remedy mold damages and it
will NOT harm the materials further
Priorities for Salvaging Materials
• Mold
• Questions to ask when setting priorities
• Categories
• First Priority (salvage at all cost)
• Second Priority (salvage if time permits)
• Third Priority (salvage as part of the
general clean-up)
Most Common Salvage Methods
• Air Drying
• Freezing
• Vacuum Freeze Drying
• Vacuum Drying
Special Problems during a Disaster
Mold and Mildew
Asbestos
Electric equipment
Recovery Procedure Steps
1. Assess the damage
2. Stabilize the environment
3. Activate the disaster recovery team
4. Restore the area
Tips
DRP procedures must be written clearly and concisely
Assume that the people carrying out the DRP
procedures will not be the same people who wrote it
Avoid the use of acronyms
Reference the title of the person not a name
Maintain an up-to-date calling tree
Be consistent with word usage and page layout
DRP Resources
Disaster Recovery Journal (http://www.drj.com/new2dr/samples.htm)
“Introduction to Disaster Recovery Planning”
Paul Chin
http://intranetjournal.com/articles/200503/pij_03_24_05a.html
“Writing the Disaster Response Plan: Going Beyond Shouting “Help! Help!”
Stephen Henson
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/proceedings/00pro28.html
Preservation and Conservation for Libraries and Archives
Nelly Balloffet and Jenny Hille
http://www.alastore.ala.org
Society of Rocky Mountain Archivists
(http://www.srmarchivists.org/preservation/publications/disasterrecoveryplan.htm)
“Disaster Recovery Plan”
Michael McColgin
Colorado Preservation Alliance
(http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/cpa/articles/disaster/disasterplan2.html)