MEASURES TO BE PUT IN PLACE TO AVOID LIBRARY DISASTERS IN RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS IN AFRICA

Transcription

1 MEASURES TO BE PUT IN PLACE TO AVOID LIBRARY DISASTERS IN RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS IN AFRICA BY G. M. KINGORI The Library University of Nairobi Nairobi - Kenya: [email protected] PROF. J. OTIKE School of Information Sciences Moi University Eldoret Kenya ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explore the measures that can be taken to avoid man made disasters and minimise the effect of all types of disasters within a newly established library in a research organisation. Current literature on disaster management will be reviewed to determine the new trends in this field. An outline of the likely disasters that can happen in Africa will be given. Although the disaster management process involves four major phases, only two - prevention and preparedness phases will be examined in detail. The two phases involve strategies and actions that prevent disasters to occur. INTRODUCTION Disasters in libraries and other related information centres have become a common occurrence in the recent past in all parts of the world. These disasters are due to both man made and natural causes. Fire can be caused by faulty electrical systems, or arson; flooding can occur as a result of heavy rains (like elnino) or burst water papers and theft as a result of inadequate security.

2 A disaster involving any of the above can cause tremendous amount of damage to a library s collection record and also equipment. In the recent past, the following disasters have taken place: The 1966 flood in Florence, Italy caused tremendous damage to the Bibliotheca Nazionale Central di Firenze. Approximately 80,000, pre1840 volume and 350,000 past volume were damaged by flood waters. In 1967, waters (? Estimated that it would take a team of 100 restorers 20 years to complete the taste of restoration. Ramsgate public library in UK was burnt down in August 2004 with the loss of thousands of books. (Matthews 2005). The disaster at the library of the Academy of Science of the Soviet Union, (now Russia) in Leningrad (now St Petersburg) in The fire destroyed 400,000 volumes and caused water and smoke damage to a further 11,100,000 volumes. National and international associations are beginning to address the restoration of library services affected by the Tsunami disaster of (Matthews 2005). Stanford University where 400,000 books were damaged by water flooding the library. The method used for restoration was the use of a vacuum chamber the same one used to test the moon over machine. Definition Disaster is any incident which threatens human safety and/or damages, or threatens to damage, a library s building, collection or items, equipment and systems (Eden and Matthews 1996). According to Boehm (?), disaster can also be defined as an event whose timing is unexpected and whose consequences are seriously destructive. Disasters can have serious financial implications and also cause disruption of services. In fact there is no library that is free from risk and disaster- whether natural or manmade can happen any time in any part of the world. In spite of the above scenarios, most public libraries do not have disaster control plans. As a result, there is need to sensitize senior managers so that the institutions can be prepared. In order to avoid disasters to affect the 2

3 library and information centre in a research institution, it is necessary to have a disaster management plan. Why a disaster management Plan is important? Disaster management includes disaster control planning. It also encompasses broader issues such as risk assessment, training and finance for a successful implementation. Recently the term risk management has been used to highlight the need of tackling the problems of known risks at source. Good disaster management can prevent fires floods, thefts etc from happening, and if they happen, their effect would be greatly minimised. Disaster control is a properly structured and systematic plan which should be known by all staff. The staff should also know the risks involved and their roles in the event of an actual disaster situation. Disaster management is important because of the value of the material, physical and human resources which can be affected by them. Some of the materials which were destroyed by floods such as the one in Florence, Italy are irreplaceable not to mention the cost of repairing or rebuilding the physical facilities. Luckily there has been insignificant loss of life in the cases which are documented on disasters in libraries and related information based facilities. In order to prevent great losses brought about by disasters, it is necessary to take precaution. Kinds of Library disasters in Africa Although I have not come across any documented literature on disasters in Africa in academic journals, I am aware that a number of school libraries have been burnt to ashes by angry students during school strikes. Kenyan daily newspapers have a lot on this. Library disasters in Africa can be quite devastating due to lack of preparedness programmes not only in the institutions but also nationally as a country. (1) Fire Recently there was fire in Meru town where we were informed that the municipal council had no fire fighting equipment. People were using buckets of water to put out fire which 3

4 consumed several storey buildings. This is an indication that most of our public institutions are poorly prepared for disasters. It is expected that every institution both big and small should have detailed fire precautions. Small institutions can work together to share the few resources available. This includes aspects of fire precautions, staff awareness and training in the use of fire fighting equipment. (2) Floods, earthquakes & volcanic eruptions Flooding in libraries occur either from the intrusion of rainwater after heavy storms or from plumbing faults e.g. central healing leaks, frozen cistern pipes or joins between pipes, sprinkler systems, etc. Most institutions in Africa do not have precautions on minimizing unwanted water. It is therefore necessary to consider measures to minimize the effects of floods and earth quakes especially in the tropics. The equatorial region is notable for floods and the Rift Valley is notable for earth-quakes. Volcanic eruptions are notable in Bunia, in the Republic of Congo. (3) Wars and Student riots Civil wars and student riots have caused serious problems to libraries and other information centres. I am aware through the Kenyan media that students especially in primary and secondary schools are well known in burning to ashes any building in school compound during student disturbances. This has led to a loss of both library materials and buildings. (4) Negligence This is another common cause through electrical faults and overflowing of water from taps left running overnight by careless workers. (5) In adequate security 4

5 Security of the premises is of paramount importance. It is recommended that caretakers and I or security guards should enter the building they are guarding at least once every 24 hours. (6) Poor storage and environmental conditions This may lead to dampness which leads to mould growth. (7) Poorly maintained buildings. In Africa, many library buildings where information materials are housed are poorly maintained. Unattended leaks in a building cause the building to rot which can make the building or parts of the same to collapse. In Kenya, we have not forgotten the loss of lives after the Sunbeam house collapsed in the city centre of Nairobi. We need to cultivate a management culture in our institutions. According to Eden and Matthews (1996) there are four stages in disaster control planning which a library or related information centres can incorporate as follows: (i) Prevention. (ii) Preparedness (iii) Reaction (iv) Recovery. (I) DISASTER PREVENTION The old saying that prevention is better than cure is quite applicable here. It means taking preventive measures to reduce the risk to both collection and the building in a disaster. A number of libraries and information centres cannot afford sophisticated and detailed plans for protection of their collection. The Disaster action Team (DAT). This is a group of committed colleagues who form a research Action Team (DAT). The management appoints a Disaster controller with one or two Deputies to assist in the management. In smaller institutions, a number of libraries, archives and other information centres can cooperate to enable them have a viable team. 5

6 The Education process During this process, awareness of the members of the group is created. Members are instructed about the main threats facing libraries and elements of disaster planning and preparedness. Basic training in the handling of damaged library materials and safe use of fire fighting equipment is also provided. It is necessary to note that the greatest threats to libraries come from water, fire and people (Lancaster (?). Survey or risk assessment A thorough survey of the building would be able to reveal the physical integrity of the structure and the collection. From the survey it would be possible to establish where the most valuable materials are located and determine the salvage priorities in the event of a disaster. The survey or risk assessment can be done by an insurance expert. The insurance expert would be requested to assess not only the building but also the material resources. Advice would also be sought on the insurance premium for staff members working in the building. Physical facilities A new building constructed in accordance with the latest building codes would present less of a challenge than an old building. If I am given a choice, I would recommend that the library facility be housed in a new modern building. Technical means alone cannot accomplish the task of examining the physical integrity of the building. The use of thermal imaging equipment can assist the inspector in finding air, stream and water losses as well as heat or cooling losses. If leaks are known early, it will be possible to save energy and also find weak spots that could fail in an emergency. IT Infrastructure In disaster prevention, defining organization needs is synonymous with identifying needs and exposures. The library operations need to be identified together with IT components used to support each operation. IT infrastructure components may include the following; application software; servers and operating systems; data and data storage systems; local 6

7 and wide area networks; and client systems including PCs, thin client devices and terminals. Key peripheral devices such as printers should also be identified according to Toigo (2003). After identifying the library operations and their IT resources, the Disaster prevention manager should measure the impact of unplanned interruption. This is to enable the manager to justify measures that should be taken. Most analyses also include a list of threats which is used as a guide during the implementation of the control plan. Statistics It is the wish of many Disaster prevention managers that there was a guide in form of an actual table or probability statistics that could be used to assess the precise risk posed by potential disasters. This kind of statistical information is useful in creating awareness not only to the management but also to employees about the possible threats. The following example will suffice: Leading cause of data loss Hardware or system malfunction - 44% Human error - 32% Software corruption or program malfunction - 14% Computer viruses - 7% Natural disasters - 3% Source (Tiogo, 2003p.47) Fire detection and suppression system One area that is frequently over-looked is the fire protection integrity. Current thinking favours smoke detectors over heat detectors as experience has shown that the former responds more quickly to disaster detection. Sprinkler systems are viewed favourably due to two major advantages: - They prevent the spread of fire without damaging the rest of stock and building. 7

8 - It is also easier to recover a document which has been water damaged than one damaged by fire. I would recommend to my seniors to install a smoke detector for the above reasons. The fire equipment should be regularly inspected and serviced. It is necessary to locate the fire equipment ma strategic place where all staff can use them in case of an emergency. (Schnet and Collins 2001). If the building has an automatic sprinkler system, it should be operational and upgraded to reflect the increased use of plastics and or flammable/combustible liquids. Another area is structural security from floods, mudslides and high water of any type should be assessed and appropriate action taken before any emergency occurs. Finally photograph identification badges with camera at all entrance /exit doors limits unauthorized persons from the information centres. Regular Inspection of the Building The inspection of the building should be done regularly as a preventive measure. This inspection ought cover both the building and the materials there in. If this exercise is performed professionally, it will be possible to detect any faulty equipment, decay or leakage in the walls long before any disaster has occurred. Storage of Valuable items It is necessary to avoid keeping valuable materials in the basement due to the high mode of flooding if a disaster occurs. Materials can also be affected by dampness. Materials should not be placed over the walls in the basement and should be placed at least one rich above the floor. When designing the layout of the collection, it is necessary to consider placing materials where they can be moved quickly in the event of a disaster. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS Definition 8

9 A disaster plan or disaster response in a set of procedures and processes where a team of trained individuals responds to a disaster and determines how to best recover the damaged materials so that business as usual can resume as possible (Kahn 1998) as quoted by Austin (?) A disaster plan guides the main players when a disaster strikes. It can save time and ensure that proper steps are taken for salvage and recovery of library materials. According to Muir and Shenton (2002), the management need to foster a disaster management culture through the organisation (M 25 Consortium 2001) as quoted by Muir and Shenton (2002). Disaster control plan According to Eden and Matthews (1996) the most important step in disaster preparedness is to draw a written disaster control plan. The written plan should include the floor plan with details of the evacuation routes, assembly points, fire extinguishers, users and stop corks. In addition, it should also contain contact numbers, priorities, list of disaster supplies, salvage techniques and revision procedure are seen as crucial in a disaster plan (Ferguson 1998) as quoted by Muir and Shenton (2002). The disaster control plan is designed by a committee or team of professionals and support staff selected from various areas or departments of the library. Some of the following should be included in the plan; security, physical plant, maintenance staff and even police and fire fighters. Eden and Matthews (1996) identify three key roles in disaster management i.e. the Disaster manager, Disaster reaction manager, and the Disaster recovery manager. The plans need to be revised after building alterations, staff changes or dummy runs to keep it up-to-date. Staff training 9

10 The disaster control manager is responsible for training programs of all library staff. To do this, the manager must be trained in disaster control. All staff, are required to know their roles and responsibilities in the event of a disaster. All library staff should know the assembly point, evacuation routes and the emergency equipment available. Dummy runs or rehearsals should be done regularly to create awareness and determine the problems likely to be encountered in the event of a disaster Supplies of emergency service and equipment A list of recovery expert and supplies of other emergency services and equipment such as dehumidifiers, deep freeze storage and transportation are necessary for contact after a disaster. List of names, address and telephone numbers is vital. However, it is necessary to note that there are few experts in Kenya in this regard. Catalogues and inventories Catalogues of collection and inventories of equipment and furniture should be kept up-to date. Copies of the same should be kept in safe separate locations for example in metal, fire-proof cabinets and if possible in another building or another site. Computers There must be a backup for software and files in the computer system. Copies of the backups should be stored outside the building. It is necessary to cooperate with the computer manager for advice. Insurance The insurance cover should be checked to see what is covered and for what occurrences. It is necessary to have adequate insurance cover for the stock and the building. It should include transportation and temporary storage in the event of disaster. Temporary services, accommodation and storage 10

11 In the event of a disaster, emergency arrangement should be made for accommodation and storage. Damaged materials and equipment will need safer ground for accommodation until things go back to normal. CONCLUSION The importance of prevention cannot be over emphasised. It is much better to prevent a disaster than to experience its consequences. The old saying that prevention is better than cure is quite applicable. However, it is necessary to remember that even if the plan is elaborate and comprehensive, it is not possible to prevent natural disasters. But it is possible to minimise the effects of any disaster where there is adequate preventive measures. Regular inspection of the danger points in the physical facilities may give early warning. The main purpose of a disaster control plan is the ability to react to a threat or event efficiently and with speed. This is obviously possible in an institution where planned procedures and trained staff are in place. A disaster plan is a must for all libraries and other information centres because it would increase the level of protection of staff, buildings and the material resources. In most of the recorded disasters, there were no disaster control plans that existed (Lancaster 1996). It is therefore high time that libraries and other information centres focused their attention in initiating disaster control plans not only for their benefit but also for mankind. REFERENCES 1. Ashcroft, Linda (ed.) (1994). Disaster planning in the 1990s - Getting it Right. 2. Austin, K (?). Courting disaster: Libraries, water damage and the need for a plan. Http: /1 www. Idaholibrarilesorg/newidaholibrarian/courtingDisaster.htm 11

12 3. Bulldog clip No. 10. Disaster (Revised). 4. Consulted Library disaster experts on 2/28/05 5. Lancaster; J. (?). Disaster Control planning. 6. Matthews G. (2005). Disaster Management: Sharing Experience, working together Across the sector. Journal of Librarianship and information Science. Vol.37, No Matthews, G. and Eden, P. (1996). Disaster management in Libraries. Library Review Vol. 45 No. 1 pp Mcintyre, J. E (?) Disaster control Planning at a National Level. 9. Muir, Adrienne and shenton, Sarah (2002) If the worst happens: the use and effectiveness of disaster plans in libraries and archives. Library management. Vol.23 No. 3 pp New library World. Vol.95 No Toigo, J.W. (2003). Disaster Recovery Planning: Preparing the unthinkable. 3 rd ed. New Jersey. Prentice hall. 12. Waters, Peter (1993). Procedures for salvage of water Damaged Library Materials http. /1 pa limpsest.stanford.edu/bytopic/disasters/primer/waters. httm Consulted on 4/13/