National Survey Identifies Disaster Preparedness Gaps in Philippine Libraries

A Review of: Superio, D. L., Yap, J. M., Sebial-Guinanao, J. M. L., & Calilung, R. P. (2024). When a disaster strikes: Are libraries in the Philippines ready? IFLA Journal, 50(2), 322-340. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352231222039 Objective – To assess the level of disaster preparedness and management practices of Philippine libraries. Design – Web-based survey questionnaire. Setting – Online survey conducted between March and May 2019. Subjects – Ninety head librarians or officers-in-charge of academic (52), school (24), public (8), or special (6) libraries in the Philippines. Methods – Participants were recruited online by convenience and snowball sampling. Invitations were posted on the Facebook pages of various library associations and councils and shared through personal posts and messages. Main Results – Thirty-nine (43%) of the respondents indicated that their libraries had experienced at least one natural or human-caused disaster between 2009 and 2019, including earthquakes (18%), floods (18%), typhoons (16%), and fires (10%). However, only 21 (23%) of the surveyed libraries had a formal disaster management plan (DMP). Limited financial (51%) and human (41%) resources were the most frequently identified constraints for the lack of DMP. Even so, most libraries did employ some preparedness measures, such as fire and theft alarms (63%), emergency kits (59%), or scheduled trainings or drills (46%). Conclusion – Noting the limited capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters at most Philippine libraries, the researchers called for systematic interventions by national and local government agencies and library associations to provide the necessary resources and training to improve knowledge around and capabilities for disaster resilience across all types of libraries.