Preparing Cultural Heritage Institutions for Emergencies

Most small collecting institutions like libraries and archives lack professional preservation staff, a major barrier to caring for collections and preparing disaster plans for them—and a 2004 report from the Institute for Museum and Library Services indicated that 80% of American collecting institutions lacked any kind of emergency plan for their collections. In response to this report, the Western States & Territories Preservation Assistance Services (WESTPAS) offered preservation and disaster planning workshops to libraries, museums, and cultural heritage organizations in ten states and three territories in the Western and Pacific regions of the United States. Through NEH-funded workshops and internet- and telephone-based information services, WESTPAS provided preservation and stewardship training to those responsible for protecting significant portions of our cultural heritage.

WESTPAS helped administrative staff and small and mid-sized institutions learn to care for their collections and prepare for disasters. In addition to supporting a 24/7 emergency hotline for collecting institutions, WESTPAS offered more than 2,000 one- and two-day workshops that helped institutions undertake risk assessment and create tailored disaster plans. Follow up programs offered participating institutions the opportunity to test their plans with other professionals and build collaborative networks, increasing the likelihood that disaster response would be effective.

WESTPAS sought to minimize the burdens to institutions with small budgets and limited staff time, delivering free programs on-site in rural areas—the only price of attendance was a commitment to do the work promoted by the program. More than 90% of participating institutions created emergency plans for their collections. As a result, one-third of heritage institutions in Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming now have written disaster plans. And in response to requests by collecting institutions, WESTPAS created additional programs that taught administrative staff to create and fund preservation projects.