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A Call to Action on MayDay
Protecting our collections is one of our fundamental responsibilities as archivists.
The Heritage Health Index, released in 2005 soon after hurricanes Katrina,
Rita, and Wilma struck the Gulf
Coast, reported that few institutions have disaster plans and for those that
do, often the plan is out
of date. It’s easy to put off emergency response planning as we devote
our attentions to tasks
with more immediate “payback.”
But on May 1 – this year and every year – you can do something that will make
a difference when and if an emergency occurs. That’s the purpose of MayDay – a
grassroots effort
whose goal is to save our archives.
MayDay is a time when archivists and other
cultural heritage professionals take personal and
professional responsibility for doing something simple – something that
can be accomplished in a
day but that can have a significant impact on an individual’s or a repository’s
ability to respond.
Individuals can do many things on their own: For example,
set aside time to read key policy
documents once again, just to keep the information fresh. Quickly survey
collections areas to
ensure that nothing is stored directly on the floor, where it would be especially
vulnerable to
water damage. Note the location of fire exits and fire extinguishers. Encourage
your repository
to participate in MayDay.
Repositories may engage in activities involving all
staff: For example, conduct an evacuation
drill to acquaint staff members with the evacuation plan and to test its effectiveness.
Or update
the contact information in your existing emergency preparedness plan and create
a wallet-size
emergency contact roster to facilitate communication and rapid response.
SAA has prepared a list of ideas that includes a number of simple MayDay activities that can help
you respond to an
emergency when and if it occurs. You should adapt them to those hazards that
you’re most likely
to face: a repository in San Francisco might plan an earthquake drill, while
another in Georgia might plan for a hurricane. Many resources are also available through SAA's MayDay partners, Heritage Preservation's Heritage Emergency National Task Force and the Council of State Archivists (with its Emergency Preparedness Initiative).
The most important thing is to do something on
MayDay that will
help save our archives. If you come up with other activities, we’d like
to add them to the list. Please send information to
the Society of American Archivists at MayDay@archivists.org so
that we may share it with
others. We’d also like to track who has participated in MayDay activities
and what you did. If
you or your repository conducts MayDay exercises, please send a note to the
same address. Here's a list of groups and repositories that notified us of their participation in MayDay 2006.
You can help “save our archives” by participating
in MayDay 2008!
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