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. Once completed with this course, we recommend the Disaster Preparation and Recovery course taught by Susan Duhl and Helen Alten to provide more information about staff organization and management during and after a disaster.

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

 

Required Textbook: Steal This Handbook! A Template for Creating a Museum's Emergency Preparedness Plan

 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.

Course dates: September 1- October 24, 2014

Sign up now at: www.museumclasses.org