1. Disaster Preparedness
Why Prepare?
Flood
⬜ University of Iowa, June, 2008
⬜ University of Hawaii, October, 2004
Tornado
⬜ University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa,
April, 2011
Fire
⬜ University of New Mexico, April, 2006
Active Shooter
❏ Virginia Tech, April, 2007
Earthquake
❏ Library of Congress, August, 2011
❏ California State University,
Northridge, January, 1994
Hurricane
❏ Tulane University, Katrina, August,
2005
--Fill out the card on your seat
--Give to Mary so we can be sure we
address all your questions.
--Two lucky questioners will get a
prize!
What do you hope to learn today?
Establish your team
❏ Include representatives from across
the library
❏ Authority to develop and implement
the plan
❏ Utilize multiple strengths
PREPARE so you don’t have to think
Ask the experts
❏ Consult the bibliography provided
❏ Check out websites:
FEMA
Ready.gov
PLAN

2. ⬜ Consult with your campus police
⬜ Talk with your fire marshall
⬜ See what others are doing.
⬜ Don’t plan in a vacuum
LOOK for experts on campus
Start with your existing plan, (you
probably have one)
Revising is easier than starting from
scratch
REVIEW AND REVISE
Include features of your building
fire extinguishers
emergency exits
elevators
stairwells
Places to “shelter in place”
ELEMENTS OF A PLAN
Plan for all emergencies:
Tornado
Water leak
Active shooter
Fire
Saving collections and people.
ELEMENTS OF A PLAN
Shut off valves for water
Identify air exchangers and find who
on campus can shut them down in an
emergency
Do your doors automatically lock in a
“campus shut down” event?
Inventory emergency supplies
TOUR YOUR LIBRARY
WAKE ALERT:
During an alert, the university will notify by:
1. Tone and message on outdoor speakers
2. Text messages
3. Phone calls to those who do not have text
messaging
4. Banner message on university cable TV
FIND OUT ABOUT ANY EMERGENCY
RESPONSE SYSTEM

3. 911 Calling:
If you call 911 using
a cell phone, you’ll
get WS City Police
who must then
contact WFU.
On campus, call
758-5911 using a
cell phone –or-
simply 911 from a
landline.
Include graphics for quick reference
Go to kit that contains most needed
items in an emergency
Assemble emergency Kit
ZSR’s Emergency Manual
available at:
http://zsr.wfu.edu/about/publications/
Publish
Train staff annually
Train students too!
Create a pocket sized emergency plan
to distribute.
TRAIN
⬜ Identify your “FIRE” team in advance.
⬜ Everyone should evacuate the building
immediately. The Fire team members are
responsible for certain areas/floors
⬜ Those responsible should quickly walk
through the assigned area then proceed
outside
EVERY FIRE ALARM IS A TRAINING
OPPORTUNITY
Know the location of fire
extinguishers and how to use
them
Fire extinguishers

4. Fire Extinguisher Training
The plan is never done.
Review and revise
Annually
After every event
“Our plan doesn’t sit on the shelf. In
fact there is no shelf!”
PLAN TO REVISE the PLAN
⬜ Ensure area is safe and remove excess water
⬜ Assess extent of damage to materials
⬜ Don’t panic- you have time!
⬜ Disaster Committee and library administration should meet,
survey the damage, and develop a recovery strategy
⬜ Damaged materials will be recorded, (collect barcodes by
scanning into a spreadsheet) and stabilized until a detailed
recovery can be developed
⬜ Box very wet materials and store in freezer
⬜ Slightly damp materials can be dried by fanning open the
pages of the book

5. Drying books
by “fanning pages”
Is there a volunteer to wrap and pack books?
Wet Books Demonstration
Mary Beth Lock
lockmb@wfu.edu
(336) 758-6140
Craig Fansler
fanslerc@wfu.edu
(336) 758-5482
Questions?