An emergency situation that impacts an institution of higher education. Generally defined as “an event, often sudden or unexpected, that disrupts the normal operations of the institution or its educational mission and threatens the well-being of personnel, property, financial resources, and/or reputation of the institution” ( Zdziarski, 2006 , p. 5).
Published in Chapter:
Navigating Campus Disasters from Within the Library: Lessons and Implications from Gulf Coast Institutions
Mahauganee Dawn Shaw (Miami University, USA)
Copyright: © 2016
|Pages: 26
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8624-3.ch015
Abstract
The post-hurricane recovery processes of two universities are presented in this chapter, with an emphasis on the experiences specific to their library facilities and holdings. Interviews were conducted with library staff and campus leaders at both institutions. Case studies are constructed of the experiences of these libraries with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Fall 2005 Semester. One library experienced major destructive damage and the other suffered minor damages to the collection. The tales of recovery presented lead to implications for disaster management within academic libraries. Recommendations are offered for each stage in the crisis management process: planning, prevention, response, recovery, and learning. These recommendations provide guidance on disaster mitigation and contingency planning for librarians, library staff, archivists, curators, and university administrators.