Disaster 101: What Librarians Need to KnowAmanda Sprochi, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri

and Camillia Gentry, Via Christi Hospitals, Wichita, KansasBackground and AbstractThe authors received a NN/LM Professional Development award to attend two continuing education courses after the 2012 MLA meeting in Seattle on disaster planning. The day-long continuing education curriculum consisted of two courses required for the MLA/NLM Disaster Information Specialist Program. The morning course, “US Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies,” dealt with the disaster response framework and agencies tasked with disaster response and management in the United States. The afternoon course, “Information Roles in Disaster Management,” addressed the place of librarians during crisis situations as providers of information to first responders, emergency managers, and disaster professionals. The information needs of disaster workers and the information librarians can provide during emergency situations were addressed through discussion and interactive tabletop exercises. This poster highlights useful tips, information sources, and suggestions for librarians who want to participate in disaster planning and management at their institutions.

Preparation

Response

Recovery

Mitigation

Phases of Emergency Manageme

nt

Continuity of Service

How will library service be provided to healthcare workers in

a disaster? Make plans for service continuity in the event of

an emergency, by partnering with other institutions who can

step in and assist with information needs if necessary.

Networking can be done through the DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB

Listserv. http://disaster.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/dimrclistserv.html

Disaster PlanThe most important part of

disaster planning—have a plan! There are many resources

available for help, including the NLM, CDC, FEMA, WHO, PAHO and others. A good place to start: NN/LM’s Emergency

Preparedness and Response Toolkit.

http://nnlm.gov/ep/

MLA Disaster Information

Specialization Program

Developed with NLM, this program trains participants to

provide information for disaster and emergency preparedness,

response, recovery, and mitigation. Basic level

certification (15 contact hours), and advanced level (12

additional) may all be used for AHIP certification.

http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis

/

Disaster BookshelfAn inquiry by Dan Wilson on the Disaster Information Outreach Listserv led to this list of ten

titles for a “One Shelf Disaster Library.” In the event of an

emergency that affects internet access, these were the core

resources librarians agreed were necessary to keep copies of in

print.http

://nnlm.gov/ep/2009/07/10/one-shelf-disaster-library

Mobile Apps for Disaster Medicine

The National Library of Medicine has collected mobile apps for

emergency medicine, hazardous chemical and radiation

emergencies, first aid, and other disaster-related issues. WISER, a fully downloadable stand-alone

app for hazmat incidents, doesn’t even need a wireless connection!

http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/disasterapps.html

DIMRCThe National Library of

Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Research Center

website has links to many types of disaster information resources,

including emergency response tools, disaster health literature, links to TOXNET resources, and

so much more. A crucial resource for health libraries and

institutions for disaster planning, response, and recovery.

http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc.html CDC Emergency Preparedness and

ResponseThis CDC website is its primary

source for information and resources for public health emergencies. These cover

natural disaster, bioterrorism, chemical and radiation

emergencies, disease outbreaks, mass casualties, and other

incidents.http://www.bt.cdc.gov/

FEMAThe Federal Emergency

Management Agency is the disaster preparedness, response,

and mitigation arm of the Department of Homeland

Security.Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska

are in Region VII: http://www.fema.gov/region-vii

South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are in Region VIII:

http://www.fema.gov/region-viii-co-mt-nd-sd-ut-wy

FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance

FEMA offers grant programs to fund mitigation activities that

help prevent losses from future disasters. States, local

communities, tribal governments, territories, and

universities are eligible.http://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance

Prevention WebThe United Nations Office for

Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNISDR) Prevention Web serves

the information needs of the disaster risk community. Includes information on

resources, specific hazards, disaster reduction in countries

and regions, themes and issues, and the Hygogo Framework, a global 10 year plan for disaster

reduction.http://

www.preventionweb.net/english/Disaster Mitigation

(PAHO)The Pan-American Health Organization has gathered

together resources (many in Spanish) on disaster mitigation

and safe hospital planning. Mitigation:

http://helid.digicollection.org/en/cl/CL1.3/#

hlCL1_3Safe Hospitals:

http://helid.digicollection.org/en/cl/CL1.16/#

hlCL1_16 Disaster Mitigation Planning

Assistance WebsiteMichigan State University and

the California Preservation program maintain a database of

experts, companies, and suppliers who can aid libraries in disaster recovery and mitigation.

You can search by state, or nationally.

http://matrix.msu.edu/~disaster/index.php

Librarians’ Roles in Disasters

A bibliography of case reports, conferences, and publications on

how librarians can help in the disaster planning, response, and

recovery cycle in their communities. A great place to

go to find inspiration on how you can help during a disaster.

http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/bibliographydisaster.html#pubs

Helping People Cope

Medline Plus’ “Coping with Disasters” page has advice and links to resources to help people

deal with the aftermath of a disaster. Included are resources

to help children, teenagers, adults, and seniors.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/copingwithdisasters.html

Stafford ActThe Stafford Act Section 403 (a)

(3)(D) authorizes FEMA to provide Federal assistance for

the provision of temporary facilities for schools and other essential community services.

Thanks to a FEMA policy amendment passed in 2011, libraries, for the first time, are now recognized as “essential

services” and can get funding to stay open and operating in a

disaster.http://

www.fema.gov/public-assistance-eligibility

Disaster AssistanceRecent events have shown that

libraries and librarians are frequently called upon in their

communities to provide information on resources

available for their constituents in the wake of a disaster.

DisasterAssistance.gov is a portal for individuals and families

to find and apply for federal disaster assistance programs.

http://www.disasterassistance.gov/

Selected References

Centers for Disease Control Emergency Preparedness and Response: http://emergency.cdc.gov/DisasterAssistance.gov: http://www.disasterassistance.gov/ Disaster Mitigation Planning Assistance Website : http://matrix.msu.edu/~disaster/index.php DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB Listserv: http://disaster.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/dimrclistserv.htmlFEMA: http://www.fema.gov/ Information Roles in Disaster Management. MLA course developed by Robin

Featherstone: http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/info_roles.html MLA Disaster Information Specialization Program: http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/ National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Center: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc.html National Network/Libraries of Medicine Emergency Preparedness Toolkit: http://nnlm.gov/ep/ PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed Pan-American Health Organization Disaster Page: http://new.paho.org/disasters/?lang=en Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, and

Related Authorities as of June 2007: https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?fromSearch=fromsearch&id=3564

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Prevention Web: http://www.preventionweb.net/englishUS Response to Disasters and Public Health Emergencies. MLA course developed by

Mary Moore and Kimberly Loper: http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/us_response.html

WHO Humanitarian Health Action: http://www.who.int/hac/en/index.html

AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Dr. Mary Moore and Kimberly Loper of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Robin Featherstone of McGill University for their instruction and courses; the Medical Library Association Continuing Education Committee and the National Library of Medicine Disaster Management Research Center for funding and supporting disaster management courses at MLA2012; and the NN/LM MidContinental Region for sponsoring the Professional Development Award for Disaster Preparedness which funded our continuing education courses.

For more information on MLA’s Disaster Information Specialization Program, visit the program homepage at MLA online: http://www.mlanet.org/education/dis/