Tuesday, May 22, 2018

How the Library Responds to Emergencies

The library response to emergencies such as storm events is coordinated by a group called the Library Emergency Response Team (LERT). Its members include David Banush, Dean of Libraries and Academic Information Resources; Andy Corrigan, Associate Dean of Libraries; Donna Capelle Cook, Director of Technical Services; Conservation Librarian Sabrena Johnson; Pat Vince, Director of User Services and Library IT; Dorothy Mackendrick, Director of Administrative and Strategic Services; Hortensia Calvo, Director of the Latin American Library; Hayden Battle, Head of Access Services; and Michael Jones, Web Services Manager. The LERT is currently co-chaired by Andy Corrigan and Donna Capelle Cook

The LERT maintains communication during emergencies and has access to a current list of all library personnel names, phone numbers, and alternate email addresses. The list is maintained in the Library Administrative Office. In addition, in advance of events such as weather emergencies each library department head is also given a current list of employees with phone numbers and alternate email addresses by the Administrative Office. Before departing for an emergency event each staff member is referred to Tulane’s emergency response procedures and the Tulane ALERT Line (862-8080 or 1-877-862-8080) for updated info. In the event of an evacuation, library personnel, once settled, should try to contact their supervisors to provide an update of their status and supervisors will try to reach any staff member from whom they have not heard.

A number of LERT members are able to post to this blog, which is intended as a library-specific communication tool in the event of an extended evacuation, longer than 5 days. Anyone can comment or reply in response to the posts. No special login is required.  Otherwise, in advance of and during and after storm events library personnel should monitor the Tulane Alert Line, the Tulane emergency web site, and local media for important campus information.

In the event of a hurricane or disaster, an incident command system would be activated in which key LERT members would become first responders or assist in coordinating the operations or first responders onsite.  During an emergency they would be key contacts for disaster recovery vendors and other campus partners from departments such as the Office of Emergency Management, Facilities Services, Risk Management, and Capital Projects and Real Estate.

An event resulting in substantial harm or risk to library collections would trigger a related set of pre-planned procedures involving key collections contacts with the library.  The library members of the LERT will provide guidance and direction but, in the event of a major hurricane or disaster, an expert hazard mitigation firm would be called upon to directly handle the stabilization of library materials, the building, and its climate as needed.

Tulane’s Office of Emergency Management annually organizes an onsite team that remains on campus during storm evacuations, plus a team of fast first responders charged with checking campus buildings, including the library's buildings, for damages after an event.