Content-Type: text/html

>Some of you on the List may recall my dilemma a couple of years
>ago.  Sources referenced and contacts made were very helpful.  (Check the
>archives in October 2000 under "freeze-drying records.")  We had an old
>storage building that had a leaking roof for two years (from Hurricane
>Georges) before we found out.  We put what records we could salvage in an
>ice cream freezer trailer at 10 below zero.  We also found out that the
>professional companies were too expensive for our situation, but we rented
>the equipment - dehumidifiers, fans and milk crates - from one of them and
>did the labor ourselves.  It took us about 6 weeks to dry out 700 boxes of
>records.


In addition to what Tim had provided here as a "capsule version" of the
process, you may want to look at InfoPro, March 2001 (pgs. 20-23) for the
whole story.

This is an excellent example of what can be done in a self-sufficient mode.

Some of the comments relative to the use of Disaster Recovery vendors have
been interesting.  The fact that these types of services aren't available
to all of us seems to escape those of us in areas where the firms are
readily available; additionally, the realization that it doesn't happen
without incurring a serious cost has been overlooked my some.

Keep in mind also that these vendors/services are best obtained on a
proactive rather than reactive basis.  Advance contact needs to be made
with providers to perform a review and analysis of your specific situation
to determine the potential risks/hazards and identify the physical location
and volume of the records you would expect a need to recover in the event
of a disaster.  This allows the vendor to estimate the level and volume of
equipment and personnel that will be required to respond to an incident at
your site.  If you wait until an incident occurs, in many cases, the
vendors may not be able to respond in a timely manner.

A few other things you may need to consider is in the event of a disaster:

- Will this vendor be able to come on site at your facility (security or
clearance concerns)
- Are they listed on the approved access list with your Emergency
Preparedness Team
- Do you have the ability to issue a Contract "on site" for services
- Do you have a retainer agreement with them for services
- Have you worked with your building owner, etc. to ensure YOU will be able
to gain access
- If the disaster involves a larger geographic area, what priority will you
have to service
- Understand that the Emergency Services Personnel responding to an
incident have a list of priorities, and physical assets are last on that list
- Make sure there are a list of AT MINIMUM 3 people on the contact list for
records related issues in the event of an emergency, and that those making
the calls understand that water damaged paper (or other records, diskettes,
photos, computers) qualifies as an emergency for RIM

Most of the items listed above are on the radar screen for many RIM
professionals, but I mention them anyway because there are a wide range of
experience levels here on the Listserv.  Also, there are many resources
available to assist you in planning for an emergency such as a broken water
pipe, or accidental sprinkler system discharge, broken windows in the case
of a storm, all of which seem to take place after normal business hours or
on weekends when no one is at your place of work.

One thing I'd definitely recommend everyone obtain AT LEAST ONE OF would be
the "Emergency Response and Salvage Wheel" from Heritage Preservation in
Washington, DC (1-888-979-2233) or www.heritagepreservation.org .  We have
provided copies of this wheel to each of our Records Liaison Officers at
our facility, and it's one of the most valuable tools they have beyond
their own powers of observation for "first response" to a disaster.   This
is an item that should be reviewed with your emergency preparedness
personnel to ensure there is nothing stated on the "Emergency Response
Action Steps" (side 1 of the wheel) that are contradictory with your Site
Plan, and if there are, modify the wheels to reflect this prior to
distribution.  The "Emergency Salvage Steps" (side 2 of the wheel) provides
a glossary of terms and details some of the steps required to salvage a
wide range of materials.

No financial involvement with the organization... but thinking about the
number of contacts they're going to be getting from this, maybe I should
have!  =)

Larry

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact <a href="/cgi-bin/wa?LOGON=A3%3Dind0211%26L%3DRECMGMT-L%26E%3D0%26P%3D735754%26B%3D--%26T%3Dtext%252Fplain%3B%2520charset%3Dus-ascii" >[log in to unmask]</a> for assistance