COMMUNICATION AND DISASTER RESPONSEDenise O’SheaMontclair State University

My Background• Librarian, Head of Access

Services & Systems, Harry A. Sprague Library

• Montclair State University (MSU) -- a large, public institution located in Northern NJ

• Enrolled in the master’s degree program in Public and Organizational Relations at MSU

• Background in Public, Special, Medical and Academic libraries

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Introduction“One of the most critical, yet often overlooked, elements of a disaster plan is communication. Active communication

and coordination of activities is fundamental for a successful resumption of services”

Kahn, M. (2012). Disaster response and planning for libraries. Chicago: American Library Association.

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Categories of Disasters• Two types of Disasters

• Natural (e.g., earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, etc.)

• Human• Negligence or human error• Criminal Activity -- sabotage,

terrorism, vandalism, computer virus, etc.

• Scope• Small Scale / Local –

limited to an isolated area, disruptions are brief and mostly handled in-house.

• Large Scale / Wide Area

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Essential Communication Activities• Let the following groups know what happened, what you

are doing to recover, and what is needed, if anything:• Staff and administration/board• Suppliers, vendors, patrons• Media and the general public

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Preparation• Prepare library staff• Make plans to keep library website, online resources, and

social media accessible and updated.• Develop a relationship with institution / community

emergency responders• Work with other community partners

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Elements of a Library That is Ready to Deal with a Disaster1. Disaster Plan that is updated regularly.2. Has a Disaster Team.3. Communication plan that incorporates redundancy of

communication (such as what to do if cell phones don’t work) and procedures for updating website, Facebook, and/or Twitter, and situation reporting.

4. Conducts at least 1 training exercise or drill per year.5. Library and/or librarians integrated into community/parent

institution’s disaster plan.6. Core print materials available for use if the Internet is down.7. Servers with core online resources on extended or unlimited

emergency power.8. Regular contact with emergency planners.9. After-action Review within 7 days of a service disruption

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Situation Awareness Reporting• Practice reporting:

• What• When, and • Where before, during, and after a service disruption

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Example of a Situation Report• Please remember to dial 924-SNOW tomorrow morning before heading out to

work. If the University is closed, all non-essential staff should not report to work. Essential staff will communicate with Tony, who will be communicating with Gretchen.

• Due to the many uncertainties of this storm, it's hard to tell at this time what conditions will be like during the morning commute. Most of the forecasts I've seen show snow throughout the day, so even if we can open the library we may be in an early closing scenario. However, we'll have to let it play out and make adjustments along the way.

• The Service Continuity Team (SCT) and essential services staff are now on stand-by. Essential services staff from the standpoint of staffing the library and the SCT from the standpoint of keeping our core services available from their homes. Since there is the potential for power outages, Bart will coordinate the SCT. If you are on the SCT and you lose power during business hours, please contact Bart. Bart will then notify a backup, if one is available.

• David Moody will be handling messages on the library's website, and will be in communication with our social media maven, Kimberly. Therefore it is essential that David is made aware of any changes to our hours.

• Questions? Please let me know.

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The Basic Response Plan• Have a central point of contact• Establish a Disaster Response Team • Develop a strategy in advance

• Create basic scripts and practice

• Internal Response Plan:• Phone trees and emergency contact lists• Institutional email and listservs• Library and institution websites• Campus, institution or township alert system

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Example of a Basic PlanEXAMPLE OF A BASIC DISASTER COMMUNICATIONS PLAN FOR A PUBLIC LIBRARY

Staff: If Library closes due to major service disruption, Library Director will notify the Library Disaster Team. Director will use Staff phone chain and email blasts if available.

Public: Library Director posts status through Police & FEMA phone alert, digital sign and community broadcast alerts.

Schools: Library Director contacts School Superintendent.

Voicemail update: Library phone message has to be changed onsite using login codes.

Library Website: Tech Coordinator will update the website http://library.org and the staff intranet site for alerts.

Social Networking: Communication Coordinator will post on Library’s Facebook page, Twitter accountand contact press.

Library Communications:Library Director contacts the State Library, the state library association and local library consortia.

Media Communications: The Library Director is authorized to speak with the media, with Library Board President as back-up.

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Critical Components of Your Plan• Cooperation & collaboration

• Communication before a disaster occurs• Test your plan before a disaster occurs• Meet your contacts face-to-face

• Communication technology• Backup plans• Alternate channels• Redundancy

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Disaster Communication Issues• Communication Breakdown

• Failed physical communication networks:• Landlines and cell phone networks• Institutional email servers and intranets

• Library website, Ezproxy, electronic databases and other eResources• Local ISPs

• Failed social networks:• Staff displacement• Chaos• Information vacuum

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Human Resources Issues• Staff may be affected by:

• Wellness issues• Physical• Emotional -- Stress, low morale

• Disaster Team members must:• Be united• Exercise efficient administrative & leadership skills:

• Be calm, frequent, and clear in all communication• Be patient and flexible• Forgive errors

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External Audiences• Communication with:

• Local emergency response agencies, disaster assistance companies

• Vendors, suppliers, consultants• Insurance companies• Patrons, library consortia (both in and outside of your region)• Media

• Contact info / business continuity• Email, phone, fax and other contact info• Physical address for temporary site • Temporary hours of operation

• Redirect deliveries of print materials if necessary• Know your vendor account info – contacts, passwords

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Enhanced Basic Response Plan

• Redundant phone lists• Alternate email addresses

• Text messaging, IM and two-way radio

• Effective use of social media and Web 2.0 applications

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Screen shots of the Pocket Response Plan (PReP) that was developed by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA). This one page plan can be kept on a device, or in a purse or a wallet, so no matter where you are you will be able to manage a response. From http://nnlm.gov/ep/disaster-plan-templates/

Web 2.0/Social Media Applications Usefulness

• Used for internal & external response, recovery collaboration and backup • Communication channel redundancy• Enables remote updating of critical disaster documents, e.g., your

disaster manual/plan• Allows staff to contribute to disaster response & recovery from wherever

they are• Maintain a dialog with patrons and other stakeholders

• A few examples• Use Twitter to seek volunteers to help with disaster recovery• Use IM, chat, Twitter & Facebook for Reference

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Your Social Media Communication Tree• Designate who will say what when disaster strikes, and

account for their whereabouts:• Primary contact for internal & external communication• Staff that will update Twitter & Facebook • Blog & Tumblr writers• The Email traffic handler for your “common accounts” (like info@ or

reference@)

• Ensure that staff is trained and equipped to work remotely• Issue regular status reports on where you are and what

has been accomplished

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Benefits of Web and Social Media Apps• Free or low cost• Immediate• Can be hosted at remote locations• PR disaster – early detection

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Drawbacks of Free Web 2.0 Apps• Long-term viability of the app (persistance)• Security• Investment in time in setting up and learning when

disasters are infrequent• Users need to be familiar with apps before a disaster occurs• Staff must keep social media skills current and Web accounts

active

• Limited usefulness due to small number of library patrons that participate in library social media

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Tips for Using Web Apps and Social Media• Go where your stakeholders are• Pick easy-to-use apps that staff are familiar with• Host at remote locations rather than on your own servers• Make sure that the your stakeholders are aware of your

alternate communication channels.

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Web Tools

• Collaboration & Documentation• Google Drive• Dropbox, Evernote• Blogs, Wikis• Google sites, LibGuides

• Synch Communication• Skype• Google Hangout• IM, text

• AsynchCommunication• Free email services &

newsletters• MailChimp, Gmail

• Social Media Tools• Facebook• Twitter• Instagram, Flickr• Tumblr

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After Recovery• Thank your staff, supporters and volunteers• Analyze your response for lessons learned, modify your

plan as needed• Market your successes

• Reopening of building and collections• Restoration of services• Importance to the community

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Wrap-up• Plans look good on paper but…• Don’t rely on an ideal scenario of physical communication

and social communication networks• In a disaster you work with the best resources available

Thank you!

oshead@mail.montclair.edu

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Resources / Examples• Disaster information resources:

• http://nnlm.gov/mar/emergency.html• Mid-Atlantic Resource Guide for Disaster Preparedness:

• http://www.ccaha.org/publications/emergency-resource-guide• New Jersey State Library Disaster Planning Resources:

• http://www.njstatelib.org/services_for_libraries/resources/disaster_planning/

• OPAL (One Page All Libraries):• http://nnlm.gov/ep/disaster-plan-templates/

• Penn State Emergency Response Guide:• https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_G06vC6SWfGdTA3NmdZbFdRaUU/

edit• Roanoake Public Library Disaster Plan:

• http://roanoke.lib.in.us/policies/disaster-plan-2/

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