Librarians, museum curators, and archivists learned 10 things to do to prepare for emergencies at workshops held in three different regional locations during the month of October.
Julie Page, Co-Coordinator of Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service and principal consultant to the grant, described to Topeka workshop participants the difference between an emergency and disaster. She also noted that during an emergency a person operates at 20% capacity (photo, left).
A few weeks later, Tom Clareson (photo, left), Senior Consultant with Lyrasis, encouraged a group assembled at Botanica, The Wichita Gardens to “have a plan, train your people and then practice your plan.” Tyra Grant, Head, Preservation Department, KU Libraries, led a similar group of librarians and museum curators at Dodge City Public Library and remotely at Pioneer Memorial Library in Colby in an exercise on what to do in the first 10 minutes after an emergency has been identified.
At each workshop Donna Schenck-Hamlin (photo left) from the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, located at Kansas State University, led participants in a discussion of what makes for a successful collaborative relationship.
Participants at each workshop discussed ways to involve others in their emergency plan. All three groups previewed a draft outline of proposed website content for an online statewide emergency resource guide. This web site is targeted to be active March 1, 2010.
These workshops were part of a statewide planning grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for emergency preparedness that Kansas received earlier this year.
Next year Kansas will be eligible to apply for a grant from IMLS to implement the plan created from the input received in these workshops. Partner institutions for this grant are: State Library of Kansas, Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas Library Association, Kansas Humanities Council, Kansas Arts Commission, Kansas Museums Association, University of Kansas Libraries, K-State Libraries, and Kansas City Area Archivists.