Recommended Resources

These web resources were recommended by Florida school library media specialists and LM_NET members.

General Resources

FEMA: Are You Ready?
Learn about different types of disasters, how to prepare, recover and rebuild. Describes government programs available to assist.

FEMA for Kids
Herman, the spokescrab, teaches students how to be prepared for disasters and prevent disaster damage. Kids can also learn what causes disasters, play games, read stories and learn about FEMA. Teacher and parent resources are also provided.

Additional Crisis Planning Resources
Compiled by library media specialist Alice Yucht.

Crisis Response Box: a Guide to Help Every School Assemble the Tools and Resources Needed for a Critical Incident Response
From the California DOE, this 18 page PDF outlines the steps necessary to assemble an emergency response plan for local schools/districts, and includes examples of the documents needed to ensure that "school administrators will immediately have the information essential for effective management of a major crisis incident."

Department of Homeland Security
President Bush created a new Department of Homeland Security by largely transforming and realigning many government activities into a single department whose primary mission is to protect our homeland.The agencies that became part of the Department of Homeland Security are housed in one of four major directorates: Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, and Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection.

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
Resources to help the school community avoid, prepare for, and cope with crises, tragedies, and disasters of all kinds.

Ready.gov
Steps to follow to be ready for any situation. Includes ready.business, ready.america and ready.kids. Business guide could easily apply to schools. Kids site includes interactive games, lesson plans for teachers, and tips for parents.

Special Resources

How to Deal with a Tornado @ Your Library (a blog post)
The libraries' blogging community has an interesting thread about how to deal with emergencies at the library in the wake of the tornados that went through Kansas. Read one librarian’s story and the follow up discussion about other library’s disaster plans—for all kinds of emergencies.

Hurricane Preparedness for School Libraries
A hurricane action plan from Alachua County, Florida.

Compiled Resources

Amigos: Emergency Preparedness and Recovery: A Selected Bibliography
Books and articles related to disaster preparedness and response.

Michigan State University Libraries
A complete manual from the MSU Disaster Preparedness Project Team. Technology, methods, and sources of information, assistance, and supplies needed for disaster response.

Shambles: Emergency Planning
Websites designed to help your library plan for and recover from emergencies and disasters compiled by Chris Smith.

Shambles: Trauma
Websites designed to help you and your school community deal with emotional trauma and traumatic stress which may result from an emergency or disaster. Compiled by Chris Smith.

Sites and Tools for On the Job: Book Preservation/Disaster Planning for Libraries
Links to techniques, plans, products and vendors for disaster planning and recovery.

Hurricane/
Water Damage
and Recovery

Caring for Your Collections
From the Library of Congress: Advice on the care of books, photos, videos, and other media in your collection. These publications from the Preservation Directorate, whose mission is to assure long-term, uninterrupted access to the intellectual content of the Library's collections, either in original or reformatted form, answer many questions about the care, handling and storage of your valuable collections.

Cleaning Books
Illustrated directions for cleaning moldy or sooty books after a disaster.

Dealing with Mold
Cleaning dirty or moldy materials. From a course on disaster prevention and emergency planning.

Tips for Salvaging Water-Damaged Valuables
Tips for homeowners who have had family heirlooms and other valuables damaged by flooding, but may also apply to libraries.

See also "A Librarian Copes with Disaster in New Orleans," by Marshall Oliver (pp. 18-21) in the April/May 2006 issue of Library Media Connection for a real-life story of a school library media specialist dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Sidebars include a list of things she would have done before the hurricane had she known better and a summary of techniques and services available for the recovery and restoration of paper.

Prepared at the request of the Florida Department of Education, Office of School Library Media Services,
for Florida's K-12 school library media specialists.

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