Statewide Disaster Plan Advisory Committee Meeting
MassachusettsState Archives
April 24, 2007
This was the first meeting of the advisory committee for the IMLS-funded project “Lessons Learned: A New Model for Statewide Disaster Planning.”
In attendance:
Martha Clark, MassachusettsState Archives
Michael Comeau, MassachusettsState Archives
Lori Foley, NEDCC
Jim Hogan, College of the Holy Cross
Jane Long, Heritage Preservation
Kara McClurken, SOLINET
Beth Patkus, Preservation Consultant
Aimée Primeaux, NEDCC
Ann Russell, NEDCC (morning)
Bob Schnare, Naval WarCollege
Jack Sullivan, FEMA, Region I
Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, Mass. Board of Library Commissioners
Kate Viens, New EnglandMuseum Assoc.
Vicki Walch, Council of State Archivists
Jack Warner, Mass. State Archives (morning)
Christine Wiseman, GeorgiaState Archives
Julia Young, Mississippi, Dept. of Archives & History
The meeting started with a brief introduction by Aimée about the project. She explained that the goal is to create a statewide plan for libraries and archives in Massachusetts. Then, use that plan to create a model that other states could use to write their own plans. The grant stipulates that in year 1, we will create a plan for libraries working with the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) and in year 2, we will adapt that plan for archives working with the Mass. State Archives (MSA). After an initial conference call, staff at NEDCC, MBLC, and the MSA decided that it would be better to create the model plan up front, and bring museums into the conversation. So, with that in mind, Beth Patkus, our consultant and author, will create a model plan with input from the advisory committee. Then, we will test the model plan using MBLC and MSA. Aimée also mentioned that the Southeastern Museum Conference has drafted a regional response template, and she will ask for permission to distribute that to the committee.
Gregor Trinkaus-Randall – Explanation of MBLC’s Emergency Assistance Program (EAP)[1]. Gregor described the long road of advocacy for emergency preparedness that he’s been down. Since 1981, Massachusetts has had a “Mass. Emergency Management Team” which meets on a monthly basis. It is activated during inclement weather, and other major events such as the Boston Marathon. Gregor represents cultural resources on this team. Also, cultural resources are in the statewide plan in Massachusetts.
There are four official (one unofficial) components of the EAP:
- Training – Gregor teaches somewhere around a dozen workshops a year; they have increased in the last few years, and he’s seen many requests for dPlan™ training.
- Supplies – there are 16 caches around the state. In each of them there are 100 rescubes, 2 react paks, and a min/max thermohygrometer. These supplies are available to anyone; the only requirement is that they return them when they are done. Each cache of supplies costs approximately $3,000 (not an exact number; Gregor will have to look this up).
- Technical Assistance – Libraries who have emergencies call MBLC. If the call is after hours, they are directed to call NEDCC, where there is a 24-hour disaster assistance hotline. MBLC has a contract with NEDCC for their staff to respond on-site in a disaster situation if needed. NEDCC always offers 24-hour telephone advice.
- Contract with Munter’s[2] – if any public library needs to contract a firm, they can contact Munter’s on a no-bid basis. This is only for public libraries, and someone from either MBLC or NEDCC needs to contact Munter’s. There is also up to $25,000 in assistance funding for public libraries that need to use this service. This is available through LSTA funds.
- Weather e-mails – this is the “unofficial” component of the EAP. Gregor sends out e-mails to various listservs, including public libraries, town clerks, historical societies, New England Archivists about inclement weather.
GIS system – Gregor also wants to create databases of cultural institutions that could be overlaid on GIS maps. They already have a list of public libraries, and the Cultural Emergency Management Team (CEMT) of Boston wants to put together a list of cultural resources in Boston.
Gregor also mentioned the important role that libraries played after Katrina; often providing Internet access, bathrooms, etc. Jane and Kara mentioned that in Florida libraries are considered vital in recovery and staff can be pulled to do anything. The role of public libraries and the role of archives will be different. Kate Viens mentioned that museums are often filled with school children, and some states have acknowledged the importance of including museums in their statewide plan for this reason.
Julia interjected that committee members from Massachusetts don’t know how lucky they are. A poorer state like Mississippi doesn’t have a conservation lab, an advocate like Gregor who has been working on this for a long time, or money – their LSTA funds would most certainly be used for other things. We need to keep that in mind as we develop this model plan; it needs to work for other states that don’t have these resources.
Vicki Walch – description of the Council of State Archivists (CoSA)’s Emergency Preparedness Initiative[3]. Vicki described how they got involved: After Katrina Christine Wiseman and Ann Frellsen from Emory went to Mississippi for an assessment of damage. Some of the pictures they took were posted on the CoSA website and their hits went up fivefold. Around the same time, Allen Weinstein told the President that all fifty State Archives would have disaster plans by Sept. 2006.
So what did they do? With funding from NARA and NHPRC, they convened in Atlanta for a Hurricane Conference which included archives staff from nine southeastern states, as well as national and regional representatives in the preservation and archives community. They created a tool for each of the states to set benchmarks that can adjust to different states. Each state then used the tool and filled out a survey that was sent back to CoSA. All fifty states responded and a report was written. The report has gotten Washington’s attention. People are becoming aware that you need records to get up and running after a disaster. CoSA has formed a relationship with the National Governor’s Association, National Emergency Management Association, and the National Association of Secretaries of State. They are also participating in conference calls between FEMA, emergency managers, state archivists, and NARA. They have had executive briefings with NARA and FEMA and have prepared a slide show for such events. CoSA representatives have met with town clerks, and people in local government. Bob Schnare asked if police had been invited to enter the conversation, Vicki said not yet, but court workers had.
NASCIO – video that will be sent to all state archives. It is available online:
They also created a Pocket Response Plan (PReP), with startup funds from MyFamily.org, and are selling tyvek envelops to put these in so that they can be carried around by staff.
Vicki mentioned the Partnership for the American Historical Record (PAHR), which has been proposed by SAA, CoSA, and NAGARA, and if funded would be like an LSTA for archives. They have thought about doing state inventories with funding from PAHR.
Julia Young mentioned the “Culture Club,” a group of representatives from the Miss. Dept. of Archives & History (MDAH), The Miss. Arts Commission, the Humanities Council, and the Miss. Library Commission. They meet monthly, and have established communication where there was none before.
She noted that the restoration of culture was extraordinarily vital in the aftermath of Katrina; after saving lives, of course. Because so much is destroyed, the cultural resources that are left are so much more important after a disaster. The psychological role of culture is very important. Also, grant funding does not work for emergency preparedness; it’s too slow and forces states to compete; builds walls that we are trying to tear down.
Bob Schnare asked her about the responders that came to Mississippi. Julia noted that the affected institutions need to call one central place, and the responders then need to go to that central place. This did not happen after Katrina. Multiple teams conducted assessments, and institutions became weary of being assessed and just wanted help. Vicki mentioned that FEMA has set up a conference call line to serve as a central place for people to call in at a specific time. Julia said that in the immediate aftermath they felt the intense need for a 1-800 number with voicemail because people couldn’t always get phones to work during business hours. Kara mentioned that SOLINET is considering setting up a wiki, or a system where people could call in to the member services desk.
After a tour of the archives and a short lunch, Aimée and Beth Patkus briefly introduced the model plan that had been distributed to the committee and opened the floor up for discussion about the structure of the document, as well as the contents.
Jane Long said that she hoped this document would define a process for funding, building relationships, etc. that staff will need to get started.
Julia and Vicki urged us to consider what other organizations are doing similar type of work. Also, create a document that states can use to implement this incrementally.
Everyone agreed that key relationships are one of the most important aspects, and should be woven through the entire process. There was also discussion about using FEMA’s ICS chain of command, which under incident command includes “operations,” “logistics,” “finance,” and “planning.” For training, Vicki noted that states might be able to send people to EMI, and FEMA is very interested in vital records training (Rex Walmsley working on a curriculum?), and that we should incorporate drills into this document. Christine asked that we provide samples of a tabletop exercise, contracts, memorandum of understanding, etc. Bob suggested we also include a resource bibliography.
Aimée asked if the “risk mitigation” section worked. Christine pointed out that the states should already have done a risk assessment. We should suggest that our users contact experts who can identify these; this is a key relationship to establish (we could help users identify who those experts might be). Vicki Walch suggested we include information about what to do if the major institution in the state has a major disaster. Jack suggested we consider how this fits into the ICS command structure; how it affects operations, planning, logistics, and finance. Under Risk Management – Louisiana is working on GIS information for records management. Under Risk Evaluation – Julia suggested that we leave out the word “important” when talking about collections and avoid prioritizing collections. She also reminded us that disasters can be regional; they don’t stop at state lines. Gregor mentioned EMAC. Jim Hogan noted that disasters also occur in topographical regions.
It was suggested that we start with the “Preparedness” section first, and instead of the “fill-in-the-blank” section, instead propose a list of actions that staff can check off the list as they go through.
Aimée asked about the structure of the document, if it worked, and how we could restructure it if it didn’t. Vicki suggested that we set it up as a series of meetings, and we provide topics to talk about at each meeting. We could set goals for each meeting, and/or outcomes & objectives. That way functions are addressed, not just people. Bob noted that he’s afraid it will be disjointed, and we should make it clear that one topic may consist of several meetings. He also suggested that we include a “mission statement” or “statement of purpose” for the model plan. Jack suggested that they should be cyclical; that is, once all topics have been addressed, staff should return to the first topic to revisit their decisions or build upon what they did the first time around. This will make the plan easier to implement incrementally.
Topics were suggested based on what is in the draft plan currently and given to Beth. Overarching themes will be: Key Relationships, Communication, and ICS command structure.
Vicki noted that NARA, National Park Service, Coast Guard, National Guard and local government are not mentioned in the plan. Julia suggested we bring someone from NARA into the committee.
Kate Viens reminded us that we need to get buy-in from institutions; they need to know to call in after a disaster for instance. We need to think about marketing this document.
Everyone agreed that one or two more face-to-face meetings will be necessary in order to work through this plan. Some people suggested setting up a wiki in order to facilitate communication and comments on the plan without a plethora of e-mails back and forth. Aimée agreed to set this up. Aimée announced that after her maternity leave (starting May 21st), she will be coming back part-time as the “special projects coordinator.” This will be one of the projects she’ll manage, but between late May and August Lori Foley will be the contact.
Meeting adjourned at 3:00
“Lessons Learned”: A New Model for Statewide Disaster Planning
Advisory Committee Meeting
April 24, 2007
Agenda
8:30 – 9:00 Coffee
9:00 – 10:30Introductions and overview of project
10:30 – 11:00Explanation of MBLC’s Emergency Assistance Program, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall
11:00 – 11:45Update on CoSA project, Vicki Walch; update on other relevant projects by other committee members
11:45 – 12:30Tour of the Archives
12:30 – 1:00Working Lunch – Review of framework
1:00 – 2:30Review of framework
2:30 – 3:00 Next steps, comments
1
[1] Information on EAP can be found at the MBLC website:
[2] Gregor mentioned that Munter’s is used because they can take care of both collections and buildings.
[3] Information on CoSA’s EPI can be found at their website: