Announcements

For institutions that need to develop a disaster and emergency response plan, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners provide free training on disaster and emergency response. I am only provide information on this program which might be useful. I never tried the program myself. Any other who participated in the training who like to comment?

The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services is pleased to share the full curriculum for Finding Common Ground: Collaborative Training for the Cultural Heritage and Emergency Response Communities.  This program was developed by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services between 2017 and 2018 with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

We all acknowledge the importance of preparing for disasters but finding the time to write a plan and build the necessary relationships, especially with first responders, can be difficult. Finding Common Ground is available to help institutions dedicate the time to accomplish this, work with their first responders, and provide the expertise to guide them in their planning.

Finding Common Ground is available for free on the MBLC website at https://guides.mblc.state.ma.us/finding-common-ground.  The course package includes:

• 5 pre-program preservation webinars to ensure all participants arrive with the same foundational knowledge;
• Trainers materials for the program's five workshops;
• Slide decks and text for each in-person workshop;
• Checklists to help develop your own live burn and salvage exercise;
• Videos for the live burn and salvage workshops held in MA; and
• Handouts for each workshop.

The program was very successful in Massachusetts with 198 out of a maximum possible 200 registrants. Results that made us particularly happy include almost 100% of participating institutions completing a risk assessment, at least 30 institutions with complete disaster plans, a dramatic increase in the comfort level of cultural heritage institutions in responding to disasters, and most importantly to us, almost 100% of cultural heritage institutions feel more comfortable working with their local first responders and first responders feel more comfortable working with their local cultural heritage institutions. 

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Logan Tapscott, M.L.I.S. & M.A.
Librarian/ Archivist
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