Recording the Damage

The recovery team must then proceed as methodically as possible. Generally, several things will need to be happening at the same time, hence the importance of assigning specific duties to each member of the disaster team. The extent of the damage must be assessed: what materials are affected and how badly. Photographs should be taken before any work begins. The damage can be described in writing, by speaking into a tape recorder or by taping with a video camera.

Common sense must prevail. If the emergency is discovered right away and is relatively minor, such as a leak from the ceiling, it's often possible to avert serious damage by simply draping some plastic sheeting from the disaster salvage kit over materials directly below the leak. A commercially made product called a Water Diverter; can be a useful part of the disaster kit in a building with recurring roof leaks. The building engineer should be notified, and the insurance; company, if applicable. 

RECOVERY PREPARATIONS

When damage is more widespread, the leader of the response team will assemble rescue workers from among the staff, students, community, etc. It generally works out well to group people into teams, or at least pairs. These generous and hardy souls should be provided with adequate safety equipment, such as plastic gloves and boots, facemasks if necessary and some instructions on safe lifting techniques. If insurance ;restrictions will allow only staff in the building, it may be possible to set up another work area to which the wet materials can be brought on book trucks, dollies, etc. for processing. Another method of removing materials is by forming a human chain: workers are stationed at intervals from the site to a working area and items are passed from one person to another. This is a good method for removing materials from cramped quarters and is often the quickest and safest.

In cases of major disasters, additional workers may be needed. The Red Cross can sometimes help with volunteers and transportation. Civic associations, historical society members, and volunteer fire departments may be able to provide support. 

CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY IN THE DISASTER AREA

After a flood, standing water, wet carpeting and furniture and the wet research materials themselves make the air in the building extremely damp. The building maintenance staff must begin immediately to regulate the environment in order to retard the development of .i.mold; growth. Wet carpeting carpeting, wet; should be ripped out and standing water removed with .i.sump pumps; or wet/dry vacuums. The temperature must be reduced below 65_F (lower if possible), relative humidity must also be lowered and the air must be kept moving. All libraries should own several large fans;. These can be put into use as soon as the building engineer or emergency personnel allows. It is very important to wait until the area is declared safe to enter: damaged wires, standing water and extension cords could be a deadly combination.

To reduce humidity in summer, it is sometimes necessary to run heat and air-conditioning simultaneously and to use additional dehumidifiers. If this is not possible because of HVAC system limitations or because power cannot be restored immediately, an outside salvage firm should be contacted. They can bring in high capacity .i.dehumidification equipment;, .generators;, .i.air movers;, etc. (Section, 6)

It is crucial to maintain low temperatures, exhaust humidity and keep air moving during the recovery, especially if it will take several days or weeks. The institution should own some .i.monitoring equipment; and it should be checked at regular intervals, all year long. This equipment will be especially needed during a water disaster. (See Section 5, for sources of various humidity meters humidity and thermometerstemperature meters, as well as flood alarms.)

In the event of power failure;, generators; can be used to supply electricity to certain areas of the building. Renting or buying generators in an emergency will be much easier if the library or museum knows what must keep running. Some pre-planning is needed since lights, air-conditioning or heating plants might have different electrical requirements. Circuits can be combined by an electrician so that each generator can run more than one set of lights or piece of equipment. A record should be made of the type, size and number of generators needed. To locate equipment, check in the Yellow Pages under Generators, Electric  and Tools, Renting.