Emergency Preparedness

Service Description

To assist Harvard Library repositories in mitigating and being prepared for collections emergencies, Library Collections Emergency Team (LCET) members:

  • Coach repositories in creating, practicing, and updating emergency plans
  • Collaborate with repository and facilities staff to identify and mitigate collections emergency risks
  • Maintain a cache of less common emergency supplies, available to all Harvard libraries in urgent situations
    • Collapsible, corrugated plastic boxes (aka Rescubes) in multiple locations
    • Small amounts of personal protective equipment, hand tools, ziptop bags, etc.
  • Offer group and customized training to Harvard Library and repository staff in emergency planning, response, and salvage
    • Comprehensive hands-on workshops
    • Tabletop exercises
    • 1-hour emergency response (train-the-trainers mode available too)
  • In the future, LCET hopes to coordinate a network of trained collections salvage responders for occasional deployment across the Harvard campus in support of large-scale emergency recovery.

Request information and/or service

For questions concerning emergency preparedness and response for Harvard Library collections:

Resources

We encourage all Harvard libraries to develop a written emergency preparedness plan to prevent and decrease damage to collections that are threatened during an emergency.

Harvard Tools for Emergency Planning

Outside Resources

Supplies for Emergencies

Recent Emergency Training Events

See Also