Description
Special interest in topics relating to library management over the last decade has led to the close examination of crisis management practice among library professionals. Due to the importance of the archives, documents, and books housed within libraries around the world, preemptive planning for potential disaster is necessary to all librarians and their staff.
The Handbook of Research on Disaster Management and Contingency Planning in Modern Libraries brings together the latest scholarly research, theories, and case studies to investigate the scale and types of disasters that can impact a library. Through the evaluation of past crisis management strategies and future best practices, this handbook is an essential reference source for librarians, library staff, archivists, curators, students, professionals, private collectors, and corporations with archival collections to learn from the experiences of others, expand their definition of disaster, and create or redesign their own disaster plans with newfound awareness.
This handbook features timely, research based chapters and case studies on crisis management, emergency response, exhibition loans, natural disasters, preserving archives, public and staff safety, and risk assessment.
Reviews and Testimonials
Editors Decker and Townes present students, academics, researchers, and library professionals working in a wide variety of contexts with a collection of academic papers and scholarly articles focused on the scale and types of disasters that can and have affected libraries. The editors have organized the twenty-five contributions that make up the main body of the text in three parts devoted to making a plan, surviving disaster, and lessons learned. The editors are with the Atlanta University Center of the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Georgia.
– ProtoView Book Abstracts (formerly Book News, Inc.)
I highly recommend this handbook for those interested in learning more about disaster management for libraries. Instead of simply instructing the reader on how to write the steps for a disaster plan, this handbook shares the reasons why these steps are necessary. By using recent, relevant examples of small and large disaster experiences, this handbook shows that the authors have experience dealing with disasters and can share what steps did and did not work. Disaster plans are very important for libraries, and it is essential that a plan be updated and reviewed regularly to ensure that it will actually be helpful when disaster strikes.
– Leslie M. Koller, University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA
Author's/Editor's Biography
Emy Decker (Ed.)
Emy Nelson Decker is the NextGen Public Services Manager for the Georgia Tech Library. She holds an MLIS from Valdosta State University and an MA in Art History from the University of Chicago. Emy’s current research interests are centered on leadership and team building, professional development, and reimagining library services toward a greater focus on user engagement and the needs of digital thinkers. In addition to presenting in venues such as the American Library Association and the Association of College & Research Libraries, she has published numerous refereed journal articles and book chapters within the library field. She is also the co-editor of the
Handbook of Research on Disaster Management and Contingency Planning in Modern Libraries.
Jennifer Townes (Ed.)
Jennifer A. Townes is the Unit Head for Information and Research Services at the Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library. She holds an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BA in English Literature from Agnes Scott College. Jennifer’s research interests lie in information literacy, assessment, and faculty collaboration. She developed an interest in disasters and their impact on modern libraries during graduate school and has honed her expertise in the field ever since.