Team Members
Disaster Response Team Job Descriptions
Disaster response administrator
The disaster response administrator is typically a library director, senior curator, or a senior delegate of that person. Since salvaging library material can be expensive, this person should be familiar with the collections, the available sources of funding, and the administrative channels within the library and the institution. The disaster response administrator is responsible for the following: authorizes procurement of workers, supplies, equipment, and services; seeks additional emergency funding from the institution or other sources if necessary; makes all final decisions on how much money can be committed to which parts of the salvage effort; makes all final decisions on what to salvage or where to concentrate salvage efforts; coordinates insurance matters; keeps the records needed to prepare an insurance claim; documents all expenses (including those for temporary personnel overtime); documents losses; organizes records and photographs of damage to the structure and collections; and serves as the public relations contact for the news media.
Building representative
The building representative is typically someone from the library facilities or maintenance staff who is familiar with the physical plant of the building, including floor plans and utilities. The building representative advises on methods for containing damage, controlling the environment, and gaining access to areas of the building and assists in these efforts.
Disaster recovery director
The disaster recovery director for any major emergency is normally the head of preservation or his or her delegate. The director is thus familiar with the technical aspects of the recovery of library materials and with the resources available to the library. The director: Serves as head of the disaster action team, plans recovery strategy and methods, coordinates all recovery operations, organizes and directs procedures for handling and removing materials, identifies and procures necessary workers, supplies, equipment, and services.
Emergency coordinator
The emergency coordinator is the on-site supervisor working under the direction of the disaster recovery director. This person should be selected for his or her personal qualities (calmness, practical skills, ability to work under stress, good organizational and supervisory skills) and general familiarity with the library, the building, and the staff. Some knowledge and training in disaster recovery techniques and environmental monitoring are highly desirable. The emergency coordinator: Assembles the disaster action team, supervises the workforce, including employees, temporary staff, and volunteers, coordinates activities with outside individuals or companies (such as pickup and delivery), serves as liaison to the disaster recovery director to identify needed supplies, equipment, or services, organizes the monitoring of environmental controls.
Library specialist
The library specialist is normally a bibliographer, selector, or curator—someone with specialized knowledge of the collections involved, including their physical location and their value to the overall collection. Large library units may wish to identify different specialists for different areas of their collection (different stack levels). The library specialist: Makes on-site decisions about collection priorities, weighing the costs of recovery against the value of the items to the collection, ensures that necessary bibliographic records (card catalog, circulation records) are saved, plans and oversees necessary record-keeping and marking of boxes to aid the later sorting and rehabilitation of the collection, provides information on the value of damaged material for insurance reports.
Communications director
In addition, the emergency coordinator may wish to identify on-the-spot people, such as the Communications director, to carry out certain functions. The Communications director: Coordinates all communications among members of the disaster action team, organizes and directs a team of runners if regular communications are disabled, organizes the setting up of temporary phones or radios if necessary, organizes the reestablishment of ordinary communication lines.
Regional mutual response team
In addition, the emergency coordinator may wish to identify on-the-spot people, such as the Regional mutual response team, to carry out certain functions. In the event of a catastrophic disaster, a regional mutual response team, consisting of representatives from neighboring institutions, may be available to assist in recovery activities. Some institutions attempt to establish a cooperative approach to disaster recovery through mutual aid agreements.
Recorder
In addition, the emergency coordinator may wish to identify on-the-spot people, such as the Recorder, to carry out certain functions. The Recorder: Works with the disaster recovery director and others to record all decisions and activities, documents the nature and extent of the damage, including organizing photographs, records information that may be needed for insurance claims or reports.