MS 205/6:
Disaster Plan Research and Writing
Instructor: Terri Schindel
Dates: March 7 to April 29, 2011
Price: $475
Location: Online at www.museumclasses.org
Description:
Every museum needs to be prepared for fires, floods, chemical
spills, tornadoes, hurricanes and other disasters. But surveys
show 80 percent lack trained staff, emergency-preparedness plans
for their collections, or both. Disaster Plan Research and
Writing begins with the creation of disaster-preparedness teams,
the importance of ongoing planning, employee safety, board
participation and insurance. Participants will learn everything
they need to draft their own disaster-preparedness plans. They
also will be required to incorporate colleagues in team-building
exercises.
A written disaster-preparedness plan is not only a good idea,
it's also a requirement for accreditation. In the second half of
the course, instructor Terri Schindel reviews and provides input
as participants write plans that outline the procedures to
follow in various emergencies. The completed plan prepares
museums physically and mentally to handle emergencies that can
harm vulnerable and irreplaceable collections. You will have a
completed institutional disaster-preparedness and response plan
at the end of the course.
Course Outline:
1. Introduction to Disaster Planning
2. Disaster Team
3. Risk Assessment and Management
4. Health and Safety
5. Insurance
6. Documentation
7. Prioritizing Collections
8. Writing the Disaster Preparedness Plan
9. Emergency Procedures
10. Disaster Response
11. Emergency Procedures - Recovery
12. Emergency Procedures - Salvage
13. Emergency Procedures - Salvage Techniques and Guidelines
14. Emergency supplies and location of regional resources
15. Appendices: What to put in them
16. Next steps: planning drills and further resources
17. Conclusion
Logistics:
Participants in Disaster Plan Research and Writing work at their
own pace. Instructor Terri Schindel is available at scheduled
times for email support. Opportunities for interaction include
forums and scheduled online chats. Each section includes a
written assignment that becomes support material for drafting an
actual disaster preparedness plan. Materials include readings,
lecture notes, links to relevant web sites and handouts. The
course is limited to 20 participants.
MS205/6: Disaster Plan Research and Writing lasts eight weeks.
To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html
If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at
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Required
Textbook:
Disaster Planning I uses the required textbook Steal This
Handbook! A Template for Creating a Museum's Emergency
Preparedness Plan, which is available for purchase at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html
Student Comments for MS205/6
Disaster Plan Research and Writing:
This course was a great motivator to get me to work on the
disaster preparedness plan.
The course exceeded my expectations … I am looking forward to
developing a plan that will protect the collections. I really
enjoyed the course and plan on taking additional courses in the
future.
Terri was good at asking little questions about procedures that
I had either overlooked or had not considered, and this got me
moving in new directions.
To write the disaster preparedness and response plan, you need
to set aside a significant amount of time and this class forced
me to do that so I completed most of the plan. Hooray!
A great motivator to get me to work on the disaster preparedness
and response plan. I really appreciate Terri's time, knowledge,
and flexibility.
The Instructor:
Terri Schindel, graduated from the Courtauld
Art Institute, University of London with a concentration in
textile conservation. Since 1988 she has taught collections care
and preventive conservation to museum staff. She has assisted
museums in writing disaster plans for more than a decade and
helped develop national standards for disaster-preparedness
materials. Ms. Schindel specializes in collection care and
preventive conservation and works regularly with small, rural
and tribal museums. She is familiar with the many challenges and
lack of resources facing these institutions. Ms. Schindel is
committed to maintaining the uniqueness of each museum while
ensuring that they serve as a resource for future generations.