Shortcomings and Successes: A Small-Scale Disaster Case Study

Overview Of The Literature

Much of the literature on disaster preparedness takes the form of guides or handbooks. Kulczak and Lennertz’s A Decade of Disaster: A Selected Bibliography of Disaster Literature, 1985-1995 lists over forty titles under the heading “plans and planning manuals” (as cited in Matthews, Smith, & Knowles, 2004).

There is one early publication on disaster preparedness that more closely resembles recent publications in its approach. Bohem’s (1978) paper Disaster Prevention and Disaster Preparedness was written in response to what she saw as a glaring omission. Bohem states in the foreword “despite mini-disasters which had struck libraries of two UC campuses in recent years, in which valuable materials had been lost, not one library within the UC system, not even those which had suffered, had a comprehensive disaster plan.” Bohem goes on to offer a text that is not a model plan but rather a “fairly comprehensive list of factors and options, to suit individual situations, and to be considered in the formulation of individualized disaster plans” (p. iii).