David Lintz asks about SERA's new book *Steal This Handbook! A
Template for Creating a Museum's Emergency Preparedness Plan*:
 
> How does this compare to the newly published large three-ring book
> on the same topic from the Texas Association of Museums?
 
The TAM book has a wealth of informational material on emergencies
and disasters.  The SERA book, however, is a TEMPLATE.  That is,
museums should be able to take the handbook, review it with their own
staff size, budget, physical limitations, etc., in mind, and then
revise it accordingly to complete their own emergency preparedness
plan.  E.g., you might take out the section on volcanos if you aren't
in that type of area, or on hurricanes or earthquakes if those don't
fit your geographic area.  You may change the titles of some museum
positions that don't fit those in your museum.  You may want to use
one option rather than another in responding to an emergency, given
your museum's arrangement or staff.  The main point is, with
the SERA book, museums will still have to do some work in setting up
their emergency plan, but the bulk of the research has already
been done; museums should basically only have to revise the
template.
 
One feature that is also extremely important in the SERA book and not
available in any other book we've seen is the section on cleanup.
That section includes what to do with collections and buildings to
stabilize them following an emergency until the conservator arrives.
Further, the appendices include samples of necessary forms and
descriptions on how to set up those forms for your museum.  The
bibliography is extensive, but, unlike many other publications, it
includes the address and often the phone number where you can order
the publication.
 
I hope this describes *Steal This Handbook!* in enough detail to
differentiate it from other emergency preparedness publications.
Please feel free to e-mail or phone me if there are other questions.
 
 
----------
Allyn Lord
The University Museum
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR
 
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alord%saturn.uark.edu@uafsysb (Bitnet)