Crisis and Care: Rewriting disaster response for the people behind recovery

Abstract: Disaster plans in libraries, archives, and museums center collections recovery but overlook the simultaneous impact that disasters have on our staff. These plans assume an immediate response to disaster and collections recovery which can be unrealistic or impossible to activate when disaster disrupts the lives of those responsible for leading and executing recovery efforts. Most disaster plans and recovery response literature focus on the necessity for rapid recovery of materials which may produce better outcomes for overall collection recovery and loss minimization, and doesn't account for the personal and community impacts of extreme weather. Library staff dealing with extreme weather events and recovery at home while shouldering the burden of recovering their collections are faced with the impossible challenge of balancing the two, compounding trauma and stress for staff. This presentation explores the necessity to shift responsibility for disaster recovery, adjust and adapt response approaches, and improve priority setting so that staff needs are incorporated into institutional documentation and recovery plans. Using recent extreme weather events in the Houston metro-area as examples, this presentation will highlight how these events affected library staff, making existing recovery plans impractical and unworkable. By highlighting gaps in current institutional disaster response policies, the speaker will propose a framework for institutional recovery after extreme weather events – one that prioritizes the well-being of staff and formalizes this care in institutional documentation and disaster recovery plans.