|
Preservation and Conservation Section
Preconference to the 69th IFLA General Conference and Council, 2003
Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best:
Protecting our Cultural Heritage from Disaster
July 30 to August 1, 2003 - Berlin
Organized by the IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section
This intensive 2-1/2 day program was designed to inform and enable library and archives administrators effectively to prepare for, react and respond to, and recover from disasters, both natural and man-made. It covered traditional and contemporary materials - books, paper, photographs, film, tape and disks.
The preconference provided opportunities to:
- Learn about national level policy planning and local initiatives
- Find out about the International Committee of the Blue Shield
- Share the experience of disaster plans in action - the theory and the practice
- Understand the human factor in disaster response
- Hear about critical lessons learned - flood, fire, hurricane, etc.
- Explore priorities for salvage of collections
- Hear about disaster management developments and models for risk assessment
- Discover new recovery techniques and technologies
In summary, to learn from the experience and expertise of countries worldwide - the trends, challenges, pitfalls and success stories.
The preconference was sponsored by:
Note: Proceedings of "Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best: Protecting our Cultural Heritage from Disaster" (English version) available from:
K.G. Saur Verlag
P.O. Box 701620
81316 Munich, Germany
http://www.saur.de
Tel: +49-89-76902-300; Fax: +49-89-76902-150/250
E-mail: info@saur.de
Programme
Welcome and Opening Address
- Steffen Wawra, Direktor, Akademiebibliothek, Berlin, Germany
- John McIlwaine, Chair, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (UK)
- Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff, Director, IFLA Core Activity for Preservation and Conservation
Session 1: National Policy Planning
This session featured speakers from countries that have established national planning efforts and/or national policies and strategies for handling disasters, specifically as they relate to cultural organizations, such as libraries, archives and museums. Several countries are organizing their efforts under the direction of The International Committee of the Blue Shield, the equivalent of the Red Cross in the field of cultural heritage.
Moderator: Nancy E. Gwinn, Secretary, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (USA)
- A Cooperative Approach to Emergency Preparedness and Response
Lawrence L. Reger, President, Heritage Preservation, Washington, D.C., USA
- The Status of National Policy for Disaster Management in Latin America
Celia Ribeiro Zaher, Director, National Library, Brazil and Honorary President, ABINIA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Setting up Emergency Plans: A Regional Approach for Dutch Cultural Heritage
Marja Peek, Consultant, Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Session 2: Plenary Session
In the context of recent events worldwide, this session discussed the importance of disaster planning, the international Blue Shield initiative and the protection of cultural heritage.
Moderator: Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff, Director, IFLA Core Activity for Preservation and Conservation
Session 3: Institutional Planning
This session focused on disaster planning at the institutional level. The emphasis was on the theoretical, but also what has been shown to work based on practical experience in libraries and other sectors, and reported in the literature. What are the human resource and response issues? What are the training requirements? How is training best implemented? What are the success factors?
Moderator: Graham Matthews, Professor of Information and Library Management and Director of Research, Faculty of Computing, Information and English at the University of Central England in Birmingham
- Earthquake Preparedness at the Istanbul Museums
Preparación ante terremotos de los museos de Estambul
Nevra Erturk, Research Assistant, Faculty of Art and Design, Museum Studies Program, Art Management Program, Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Disaster Management and Libraries: Planning into Action
Manejo de desastres y bibliotecas; planificación en acción: una perspectiva institucional
Graham Matthews, Professor of Information and Library Management and Director of Research, Computing, Faculty of Computing, Information and English, University of Central England at Birmingham, UK
- Psychological Stress and Recovery: Examples from a Library Fire Site
Maj Klasson, Professor, Library and Information Science, University College of Borås, Linkoping, Sweden
Session 4: Disaster Plans in Action
This session presented stimulating case studies of institutions that have experienced disasters. Speakers described their experiences, what the consequences were, and how they coped with what actually happened. If the institution had a disaster plan, what happened when disaster hit? Did it work? If the institution didn't have a plan, what happened? Would a disaster plan have helped? How were resources mobilized? What lessons were learned?
Moderator: Johanna Wellheiser, Information Coordinator, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (Canada)
- Development and Use of Library Disaster Plans: The Berlin Experience
Annette Gerlach, Head of Historical Collections, Zentral- und Landesbibliothek, Berlin, Germany
- The Prague Flood Diary
Jiri Vnoucek, Head of Conservation Department, National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
- System of Libraries in Vietnam: The Value of its Collections and the Protection of Cultural Heritage from Disaster
Chu Tuyet Lan, Director, Department of Library-Documentation-Information, The Institute of Han-Nom Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Hurricanes and Disaster Response: Lessons Learned in Jamaica from 'Gilbert'
John Aarons, Government Archivist, Jamaica Archives and Records Department, Office of the Prime Minister, Spanish Town, Jamaica
Session 5: Assessing the Risk
This session introduced models for assessing risk and setting priorities for salvage in libraries, archives, and museums. How does an institution arrive at decisions? Who makes the choices, and whose responsibility is it? Do politics play a role? What are the insurance considerations?
Moderator: Helen Shenton, Corresponding Member, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (UK)
- Risk Assessment and Conservation Planning at the Canadian Museum of Nature
Robert Waller, Chief Conservation, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada
- Writing a Disaster Plan: Identifying Risk
René Teygeler, Consultant, Netherlands
Session 6: Options for Collections Recovery
In this session, specialists discussed options for treating various types of collection materials following a disaster. What are the options - their benefits and risks? What are the proven treatments reported in the literature? What are the promising new technologies? What commercial services are available? Covered: books/paper; photographs and film, and new media.
Moderator: John McIlwaine, Chair, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (UK)
- Comparison of Drying Methods for Paper-Based Records
Comparación de distintos métodos de secado
Hilary Kaplan*, Senior Conservator and Kathleen Ludwig, Senior Conservator, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., USA (*presenter)
- Recovery of a Water-Soaked Photograph Collection in the Netherlands
Clara von Waldthausen, Photograph Conservator in Private Practice, Fotorestauratie Atelier C.C. von Waldthausen, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Presentation title TBD (Recovery of new media incl. audio visual)
Léon-Bavi Vilmont, Research Engineer, Audiovisual Materials and New Media, Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques, Paris, France
Discussion and Closing Remarks
- John McIlwaine, Chair, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (UK)
- Nancy E. Gwinn, Secretary, Standing Committee, IFLA Preservation and Conservation Section (USA)
|
