Museum Disaster Response and Recovery
Museums and cultural institutions in Tennessee and Kentucky and other Southern states have been impacted by recent storms that brought flood waters through their doors. The effort to clean up the mud and other debris that has damaged these institutions will stress already strained budgets and may result in the loss of archival and other sensitive collections. That view however does not reflect the spirit of museums staffs and volunteers who are responding to the disaster. There are many resources for these responders to turn to for help, information and assistance.
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works (AIC) has a Cultural Emergency Response Team (CERT) to respond to the needs of cultural institutions during emergencies with a 24 hour emergency telephone assistance line at 202-661-8068. For institutions and individuals with damaged paper-based collections, the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) offers emergency telephone assistance 24 hours a day at 978-470-1010 for information on mold, pests and drying wet collections. Advice is free thanks to a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. http://www.nedcc.org The Library of Congress provides practical information on drying books, paper, photographs on their website http://www.loc.gov/preserv/emerg/dry.html
The National Trust for Historic Preservation booklet #82 published in 1993, though dated has valuable in-depth information about rescuing flood damaged buildings. Subjects covered in this publication include: Caring for Wet Plaster; Treatment for Saturated Wood Framed Walls and Floors; and Cleaning Out the Mud. It is available on line at www.preservationnation.org.
The National Park Service webpage “After the Flood: Emergency Stabilization and Conservation Measures” outlines things that must be done immediately to prevent further damage to buildings and collections. This webpage includes sections on personal safety, stabilization and documentation when disasters occur. http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/nps/npsafter.html
Heritage Preservation, the National Institute for Conservation offers a Field Guide to Emergency Response and a Salvage Wheel with the resources to assist with dealing with damage to collections. Both of these resources are available through their website at www.heritagepreservation.org as well as information on resources for Federal Disaster Funding for Cultural Institutions.
In Virginia, the Virginia Association of Museums has trained Emergency Response Teams to offer assistance during disasters. These ERT team members have received the CERT training as well as training specific to VAM’s efforts to provide assistance to its member institutions. www.vamuseums.org Other state and regional associations may also have similar programs.
As can be seen there is plenty of disaster response assistance for museums and cultural institutions but there is no substitute for having a disaster response plan in place. The same resources for responding to a disaster can be used to make a pro-active plan for whatever might beset an institution, whether it be flood, fire, earthquake or other environmental catastrophe. So plan now to be prepared.
