Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

1. Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery Pari J. Swift Local Government Records Archivist Ohio Historical Society Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

2. General Topics • Basic Records Storage • Environmental Controls • Disaster Prevention • Disaster Protection • Disaster Recovery Plans • Disaster Response • Recovering Wet Records Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

3. Records Storage • Keep records flat • Use minimal metal fasteners • Use minimal adhesives • scotch tape • Acid-free folders • permanent documents Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

4. Records Storage • Metal Shelving or microfilm cabinets • Shelves should be at least 6 inches off floor • Standard-sized storage boxes • Permanent records-acid free if possible • Fire alarms and extinguisher • Locked storage room • Intrusion alarm system • Monitor record users Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

5. Environmental Controls Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

6. Environmental Controls-Paper • Temperature= 70 F or lower • Relative Humidity= 35%-40% • Constant Air Circulation • Reduces mold, mildew, insects • Lighting • Remove/Filter florescent lights • Keep lights off in storage areas Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

7. Master Negative Off-site storage limited access protection from fire, water, chemicals 40%-50% Relative Humidity 60-70 F Do not mix different types of film in same cabinet Roll Film Reels made of non-corrosive metal or inert plastic Fiche inert metal, plastic or acid-free paper cartons Office/Use Copies Normal office temperatures Closable drawers/cabinets Do not mix different types of film in same cabinet Environmental Controls-Microfilm/fiche Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

8. Environmental Controls-Computer Tapes • Temperature=65 F (+/- 3) • Relative Humidity=30%-40% • Avoid dust, smoke, magnetic fields • Store upright on grounded metal rack • Plastic canisters that support reel at the hub • Use a visible label for identification Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

9. Computer Tape Maintenance • Prevent sagging by turning reel one-quarter turn on storage rack every 6 months • Text read for errors once a year • transfer to new tape if necessary • Look for physical damage to tape and storage containers once a year • Clean and precision rewind every 2 years Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

10. Disaster Prevention • Assess potential sources of emergencies to your office’s records • Natural Disasters-tornadoes, floods, fire • Housekeeping Hazards-old roof, scheduled construction, old wiring, no fire suppression system • Put into effect all possible preventive measures Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

11. Disaster Protection • Water detection equipment • Fire detection/suppression equipment • Supplies for protection and recovery • Planning and Training • Control of environment • Enclosures, housing, storage of records Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

12. Disaster Recovery Plan Contents • Telephone numbers of emergency response team • Report Tree • Contact information for local emergency response agencies • Fire, Rescue, Police • Disaster Recovery Services/Consultants • Location of supplies (on and off-site) • Detailed recovery/rehabilitation techniques for materials Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

13. Disaster Recovery Plan Contents • List (map)with locations of high priority items • vital records • Prevention and Protection assessment and recommendations • Appendices • Supply providers • Service providers • Maps • Bibliography Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

14. Vital Records • Vital Records • 3-5% of your office’s records (average) • contain information needed to keep your office functioning in the event of or to rebuild after a disaster • needed to re-create your office’s legal and financial status • determine rights and obligations of employees and citizens • irreplaceable-copies do not hold same value as originals • only format admissible as evidence • Not the same as historical records • Examples: contracts, insurance policies, personnel information, executive orders, minutes of governing boards, order of succession Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

15. Electronic Records Backup • Regular electronic records backups • Rule of Thumb-every 8 hours of computer use • Scheduled backups (weekly, monthly, etc.) • Clearly label backups • Name of department/office • Descriptive contents title • Dates of creation • Security classification • Identification of hardware and software used Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

16. Electronic Records Backup • Keep copies of… • Application software • Operations manuals • System documentation • Program documentation • Operating systems tapes or disks • Backup should have… • Previous generation of data • Active data • Copy of active data • Store backups off-site! Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

17. Disaster Recovery Plan • Give copies of the plan to: • All members of the office response team • Fire and Police • Store copies of the plan off-site • Update annually • Be sure it is in writing! Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

18. Disaster Response • Look to person in charge for guidance • Predetermined in disaster recovery plan • What is the extent of the disaster? • What and how much was affected? • How serious is the damage to the records? • Is the cause of the disaster being addressed? • Are the collections not affected being protected from potential damage? • Has everyone on the disaster plan been notified? Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

19. Disaster Response • What supplies and services will be needed? • Are required supplies and services available? Will more have to be ordered? • Is extra space required for air drying or storage? • Will you need more staff to assist? • Will records need to moved off-site? • How are the affected records going to be dealt with? • When will office service and access to records be restored? Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

20. Disaster Recovery • Remove standing water and contaminants • Set up cleaning methods • Protect undamaged collections • Remove and pack wet materials • Remove, clean, and pack contaminated materials • Record and document all activity • Stabilize materials • Begin recovery method or methods • Be sure volunteers and staff are supervised Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

21. Recovery Hints-Wet Records Wet records must be stabilized to prevent mold and physical distortion • Keep temperature as low as possible • Keep relative humidity at 40% or less • Provide good air circulation • Remove wet furnishings or carpet Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

22. Recovery Hints-Wet Records • Moderate to heavily wet records should be frozen ASAP to prevent mold and distortion until further decisions can be made about how to dry them. • Blast freezing best-temperatures below -25F • Any freezer with temperatures below 0 F • Do not freeze photos and negatives! • Several methods of freeze drying to actually dry books • Contact specialized drying companies for computer and AV equipment • Dehumidification for buildings and furnishings Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

23. Dehumidification not good on coated paper good on damp materials freeze some records, leave others in place for dehumidifacation saves money Air Drying physical distortion as books continue to swell more space required mold recovery cheap, rehabilitation expensive (rebinding) Use on small amounts of wet records Drying Techniques Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

24. Packing Wet Records • Do not attempt to straighten or fix mishapen pages • Pack bound records spine down • Pack books one layer deep • Records can remain in folders or boxes • Records in file drawers or archival boxes can be transferred to freezer as is • Loosely wrap every other book in wax paper to prevent adhesion or ink transfer • Do not stack boxes more than 3-4 high • Try to keep the material in order Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

25. Document Irretrievable Records • If possible, make copies of records before disposing of the originals • Document records disposal using the Application for One-Time Disposal (RC-1) • Give as much detail as possible as to which records were lost and why Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

26. Summary • Cool • Dry • Constant • Stabilize Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery

27. Pari J. Swift Local Government Records Archivist Ohio Historical Society (614) 297-2553 1-800-510-9676 pswift@ohiohistory.org http://www.ohiohistory.org/lgr Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Recovery