Don't forget to talk with your local fire and police departments; in
an area-wide disaster, coordination with local public safety agencies
and other community agencies and institutions can be critical in
keeping damage to a minimum.

And, from experience (I was a staff member of Colonial Williamsburg in
1989 when the DeWitt Wallace Museum flooded and we had to move objects
through the water to safety on the 2nd floor), revise your disaster
plan annually, go over it with every member of the staff at least once
a year, and incorporate what you learn from one event into the next
revision of the plan.  You won't think of everything that can go wrong
(who can?!), but having to rethink plans in the light of experience
will help everyone think through the "what if" situations.

And, for those interested, the Fall issue of the ALHFAM Bulletin (vol.
38, No. 3), is on the theme of "Hard Times & Disasters".  It includes
the following articles:

"Museum Emergency Preparedness," by David Hoth
"Maybe Someday I Will Tell You," by Ann Cejka (about the floods at
Ushers Ferry Historic Site, Iowa, last year)
"Planning a Livestock Event for Maximum Safety," by Barbara Corson
(preventing a disaster by properly planning events involving
livestock).

Issues of the Bulletin can be purchased on-line by going to
http://tinyurl.com/ALHFAM-Bulletin.

Martha Katz-Hyman
Independent Curator

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