Contents:
- Introduction
- The Disaster
- Initiating Recovery
- Planning Cleaning and Stabilization
- Mobilizing Volunteers
- Roles and Teams
- Managing Risks
- Preparedness Takeaways
- Outcomes, Next Steps and the Need for Digital Preservation
- Appendix: Cleaning Procedures
The subtitle of this paper is “A case study on the recovery of Eyebeam Art+Technology Center’s multimedia collection following Superstorm Sandy.” It’s goal, to share Eyebeam’s experience during Superstorm Sandy with cultural heritage institutions in the hope that it will be of benefit as organizations consider preparing for future disasters.It describes how a core group of qualified organizations mobilized and managed a large group of volunteers in the recovery of a flooded multimedia collection in Manhattan. It describes the steps taken, gives advice on what worked, what is important to keep in mind and includes photo illustrations and a link to a documentary on the subject. It ends by emphasizing the importance of applying basic archival collection management principles and how urgent it is that analog collection holders begin to migrate and manage their collections in a digital archive.
A clearly written description of how you might approach a flooding disaster. This case study offers invaluable help, not only because it includes actual step by step instructions that archives can formalize into their disaster plans, but by being honest in where the problems lie, and how one might minimize making the situation worse. The case study presents in some ways a best case scenario in that many very qualified people were immediately able to help and the collection was relatively small. Nonetheless, the tips and steps the paper offers are applicable in any size organization. It certainly offers any archivist charged with disaster planning a very strong ‘reality check’.