Disaster Recovery Funding
for Archives in the United States
LIS 2215: Preservation Management
University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences
19 November 2013
anz31@pitt.edu
effective disaster recovery
Advance Planning
-- >
Immediate Action
-- >
Advance Planning
- Know whom to contact to mobilize volunteers
- Know whom to contact to obtain funding
Treatments
- Dehumidification
- Air drying
- Vacuum freeze-drying
- HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaning
- Vacuum fumigation
- Gamma radiation
professionals
- Industrial hygienist
- Conservator
- Licensed fumigator
- Sample National Archives contract for 29 discrete tasks
that sounds expensive!
Cooperative Preparedness
Example: Alliance For Response Pittsburgh
- National Institute for Conservation Heritage Preservation
- Shared disaster supply cache
- Funded by $6,000 NEH Preservation Assistance Grant
- PA Academic Library Consortium
Federal emergency management agency
- State governor must request aid from the President
- Presidential Declaration of Emergency
- Request for Public Assistance submitted within 30 days
- Private Nonprofit Museum Eligibility Policy
- Public Assistance Coordinator can approve projects up to $100,000; projects over $100,000 forwarded to Public Assistance Office
- Emergency work completed in 6 months; permanent repair work completed in 18 months
- Example: New Orleans Notarial Archive received $1.7 million to stabilize records damaged in Hurricane Katrina
national endowment for the humanities
- NEH Emergency Grants
- protect humanities collections when assistance from FEMA is unavailable
- Up to $30,000
- Division of Preservation and Access
State Archives
- Example: New York State Archives
Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund:
- Up to $20,000
- Overseen by Regional Advisory Officer
Society of american archivists
- Created in Fall 2005 in response to Hurricane Katrina
- "Any repository that holds archival records or special collections" is eligible
- Use for direct recovery activities, supplies, and personnel
- Initial grants up to $2,000 (additional funds can be requested)
- Review panel of appointed representatives
- Report required within 6 months of receiving funds
regional associatons
- Example: Mid Atlantic Regional Archives Conference
-
Open to "any institution with archival holdings or special collections in the MARAC region" w/ MARAC member on staff
- May be used for direct recovery, supplies, personnel
- Up to $2,000
- MARAC Steering Committee reviews applications within 2 weeks
- Must notify of "intent to file an application" within 30 days of event
Questions?
For discussion:
- What are some of the pros and cons of collaborative emergency preparation?
- Has your organization faced a disaster, and if so, where did they obtain funds to recover? Do they have a plan for future disaster recovery?
sources
- Federal Emergency Management Agency. "FEMA Grant Helps Restore New Orleans' Katrina-Damaged Archives." Last updated July 16,
-
2012. http://www.fema.gov/news-release/2012/02/03/fema-grant-helps-restore-new-orleans-katrina-damaged-archives.
-
---. "Submission of Request for Public Assistance by Applicant." Last updated June 14, 2012. http://www.fema.gov/submission-request-public-assistance-applicant.
- Heritage Preservation. "Before and After Disasters: Federal Funding for Cultural Institutions." Last updated September 2005. http://www.heritagepreservation.org/PDFS/Disaster.pdf.
- ---. "Pittsburgh Alliance for Response." Accessed November 19, 2013. http://www.heritagepreservation.org/AfR/Pittsburgh/.
-
Mid Atlantic Regional Archives Conference. "MARAC Disaster Assistance Fund Guidelines." Last updated October 1, 2008. http://www.marac.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75.
- National Archives. "Contracting Emergency Recovery Services for Archival Records." Accessed November 15, 2013. http://www.archives.gov/preservation/disaster-response/contracting-emergency-records-recovery-template.pdf.
-
New York State Archives. "Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund: Disaster Recovery Grants Overview." Accessed November 17, 2013. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/grants/grants_lgrmif_disasterguide.shtml.
-
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn. Preserving Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2010.
-
Society of American Archivists. "National Disaster Recovery Fund for Archives." Last updated September 2008. http://www2.archivists.org/news/2008/national-disaster-recovery-fund-for-archives.