This is an excellent sugggestion.

I would also encourage you not to just use a cut
-and-paste approach but to genuinely survey your insitution for
potential risks - is any area of the building prone to flooding? If
so, where? Look over the engineer's plans and locate where all of the
water pipes and drain pipes run in the structure - are there any
sensitive collections or records immediately underneath them? Who in
the instituion is repsonisble for things like shutting off water and
power if a disaster strikes? Make sure that their responsibilities and
knowledge are shared, because disaster has a nasty habit of happening
when key staff are out of town. Talk to other local intstituitions and
local conservation organizations to develop a disaster resource list
and also develop a group of local experts who you can call on in any
disaster response. Have someone on staff take a disaster workshop and
then develop your plan and practice it! You do not want to be knee
deep in water doing a response and recovery for the first time. Also,
here in Califonria we have to be very aware of potential seismic
events - but there are also many other areas in the country that may
be unsuspectingly at risk - check and double check to make sure that
your risk for earthquake is low (remember history - the New Madrid,
Missouri event in 1812 was far larger than the 1906 event in San
Francisco and actually reversed the flow of the Mississippi river -
http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/prepare/factsheets/NewMadrid/).

If hurricanes and northeasters are within range then also be prepared
for both flooding and wind and loss of power.

Don't just develop a document as just another management document - be prepared!

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California

On 1/10/07, Christina Phillips <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> the following site might be useful:
> www.dplan.org
>
> >>> [log in to unmask] 01/10/2007 11:35:27 AM >>>
> Hope all are well. Actually, we too are in the process of working on a
> new disaster plan.   I would appreciate it if you could copy me on
> your
> responses to Katie. Thank you.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Devon
>
>
> Devon M. Akmon
> Curator of Research
> Arab American National Museum
> 13624 Michigan Avenue
> Dearborn, MI 48126
>
> Tel: 313.624.0229
> Fax: 313.582.1086
> http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Knaub, Katie
> Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 11:19 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Disaster Plan
>
> We are in the process of working on a disaster plan for our museum.
> Does
> anyone have a plan that they would be willing to share as an example.
> You can respond to me off list.
>
> Thanks
>
> Katie Knaub
> Director of Education
> The National Watch and Clock Museum
> The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors
> 514 Poplar Street
> Columbia, PA 17512
> 717-684-8261 ext.237
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