MayDay, an annual grassroots effort dedicated to preserving archives and cultural heritage collections during times of emergency, is underway! Its genesis can be traced back to the Heritage Health Index report, which was published in 2005 following hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, and revealed that only a few institutions had implemented disaster plans, with many of those plans being outdated.
Taking place every year on May 1, MayDay emphasizes simple yet significant actions that can be carried out in a day to boost an organization’s ability to respond to emergencies. Individuals and institutions can take part in MayDay by performing tasks such as revisiting key policy documents, conducting brief surveys of collection areas to ensure that nothing is stored directly on the floor, identifying the location of fire exits and fire extinguishers, and encouraging others to join the movement.
Organizations can also participate by engaging their staff in activities such as evacuation drills to test the effectiveness of their plans or by updating their emergency preparedness plan contact information and creating a wallet-sized emergency contact roster to facilitate communication and rapid response. AIC offers additional recommended activities for institutions to consider. CCAHA also has a wealth of resources on emergency management for cultural institutions.
No Emergency Preparedness Plan? No Problem!
If your institution doesn’t yet have a plan but are interested in creating one, here a some helpful resources to help you get started:
- Pocket Response Plan (PReP) – A great place to start. It’s not a full plan, but will give you a place to note contact info for the phone tree and other emergency responders, and is a great first step to have in place as you work through the writing of the full plan.
- The DHPSNY webinar Introduction to Emergency Planning & Preparedness provides some tips on what to include in your plan and other considerations of the emergency planning process.
- The Getty Conservation Institute's Building an Emergency Plan booklet provides steps to building a plan as well as sample plans and case studies.
- dPlan|ArtsReady is an online tool that can be used to build a plan. *There is a free Pocket Response Resource template, but the full planning tools do require a modest subscription.
Questions?
DHPSNY staff is available to assist and answer your questions at info@dhpsny.org or 214-545-0613 ext. 337.
If you experience an emergency, you can reach the CCAHA 24/7 Disaster Hotline at (202) 661-8068.