Untapped Resources: Integrating Libraries into Emergency Planning

Untapped Resources: Integrating Libraries into Emergency Planning Emergency Preparedness for Librarians and Emergency Management Personnel November 18, 2010 Amy L. Major, JD Senior Law and Policy Analyst

University of Maryland Center for Health & Homeland Security (CHHS) • Who We Are: • CHHS was created shortly after the 9/11 attacks to bolster UMB’s work in scientific research, policy development, and legal analysis related to homeland security. • CHHS works with national, state, and local emergency managers and responders in the public and private sectors to develop plans, policies, and strategies that enhance and ensure public safety during natural disasters or man-made catastrophes.

University of Maryland Center for Health & Homeland Security (CHHS) • What We Do: • CHHS staff work with state and local governments to address a broad range of issues and policies pertaining to homeland security and emergency preparedness, including: • General emergency preparedness planning; • Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning and training; • Preparation of special needs populations during emergencies; • Mass evacuation and sheltering planning; • Emergency communication systems; • Hospital coordination; • Development of training and exercise programs; • Grant writing assistance for governmental institutions.

University of Maryland Center for Health & Homeland Security (CHHS) • Who We Serve: • State and Local Government Agencies • Emergency Management Agencies • Health Departments • Courts • Executive Branch Offices • Academic Institutions • Professional Schools • Colleges and Universities • Public School Systems • Non-Profit Organizations • Private Sector Organizations

Emergency Planning 101 • Emergency Operating/Operations Plan (EOP) • Outlines procedures for responding to an event • Short-Term Planning: Typically address only the IMMEDIATE aftermath of an incident • Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan • Outlines procedures for responding to an event • Short and Long-Term Planning: Typically addresses the immediate aftermath of an incident, as well as a period of time afterward (from 12 hours to at least 14 days) • Designed to ensure that an organization’s essential functions can be performed and sustained across a wide range of emergencies and events • Coordinates with and is integrated into existing emergency plans.

Why COOP for Libraries? • Assists library in maintaining functionality after a disaster • Provides for consistency of essential services to populations library serves (students, adults, children, professionals, organizations, etc.) • Helps to minimize chaos following a disaster • Allows for maintenance of vital educational and informational resources which may be helpful during emergency and recovery.

Potential Threats • Naturally-Occurring • Floods • Blizzards/The Snowpocalypse • Earthquakes • Hurricanes • Human-Induced • Intentional • Fires • Terrorist Attacks • Unintentional • Power Outages • Telecommunications Failure

Using Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning to Integrate Libraries into Emergency Planning and Response

Why COOP for Libraries? • This is a library conference. Why are you talking about COOP plans? • By coordinating with other agencies and organizations and incorporating their needs and capabilities into your library’s COOP plan, you can help your community’s response and recovery efforts during an emergency…and they, in return, can help you.

Goals of COOP Planning • Ensure timely and orderly continuous performance of essential functions during and after an emergency • Protect facilities, equipment, records, and other assets that support essential functions • Reduce or mitigate disruptions to operations • Minimize loss of life and injury to organization personnel • Plan for family support for organization personnel during an emergency

COOP Planning -- Topics • Essential Functions • Human Capital Management/Key Personnel • Delegations of Authority/Orders of Succession • Vital Records • Vital Systems and Equipment • Alternate Facilities • Communications • Reconstitution • Writing the COOP Plan • Tests, Training, and Exercises

Essential Functions • Essential functions are a subset of ALL functions that encompass those critical areas of operation that must continue even in the event of an emergency • Daily operational functions • Serving as a resource for students and faculty members • Assisting patrons with research • Emergency functions • Serving as a designated assembly area, shelter-in-place location, or alternate facility for a non-library organization • Assisting emergency responders in locating informational resources to assist with response efforts

Identifying Essential Functions • Must be performed to achieve the organization’s mission • Provide vital services • Maintain the safety and well-being of the community • Should be resumed within 12 hours of disruption • Should be sustainable for at least 14 days

Personnel Management • Goals: • Placing the right people in the right jobs to perform essential functions • Including emergency functions • Investing in training and development to build skills and competencies to increase employee flexibility • Participate in other agencies’ exercises and have relevant personnel from their agency participate in your exercises to ensure that all personnel know their roles as “emergency support.” • Ensuring all employees have a clear understanding of what to do in an emergency • Identifying key positions • Identify any family support measures

Rapid Recall List/ Employee Contact List • Rapid Recall List/Employee Contact List = cascading list in order of notification of key personnel and outside personnel • Should be updated regularly • Should include the following information for all employees: • Names • Floor location • Cell and home phone numbers

Orders of Succession • Order of Succession = Formula that specifies by position who will automatically fill a position once it is vacated • Why Have a Succession Plan? • Prepares the organization for planned departures as well as for emergencies • Provides for consistency of operations • Reduces stress during transition, whether caused by emergency or not • Preserves institutional knowledge and expertise • Maintains the organization’s functionality with minimal interruption • Must provide for continuity of all essential functions – successors must be identified within all departments • responsible for an essential function.

Vital Records “Record” vs. “Vital Record” (For COOP) • Record = Anything created or received by an organization in the course of its business. • Can be on any media • Can be temporary or permanent • Vital Record = Record, regardless of media, which if damaged or destroyed, would • Disrupt organizational operations and information flow; • Cause considerable inconvenience; and • Require replacement or re-creation at considerable expense.

Vital Records -- Characteristics • Form: Electronic vs. paper • Category: Emergency operating records vs. standard operating records • Type: Static vs. dynamic • Location: Physical location (for paper) vs. file path (for electronic records) • Risk Assessment for Vital Records: • What are the risks? • Is off-site storage necessary? • Should there be an alternative storage media? • Is duplication necessary?

Vital Records -- Be the SME! • Serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for other organizations regarding maintenance and management of vital records: • Organization • Duplication • Storage • Preservation and restoration • Recovery and re-creation • Emphasize the reference materials and resources that libraries maintain that may be of use to other agencies during an emergency. • Medical references • Online resources

Vital Systems & Equipment • Identify each piece of equipment by determining whether it is needed to perform an essential function. • Conduct a risk assessment for each piece of equipment. • Pre-deploy any equipment, if possible. • Identify which computers in your library have internet access. Other agencies may be able to use this resource to remotely access their files during an emergency. • Coordinate with other agencies to determine if your library uses similar operating systems or server platforms. If so, it may be possible for designated areas of the library to serve as alternate facilities for an organization. • Identification of vital equipment begins with the essential functions and the critical processes or services that support them.

Alternate Facilities • Categories of Alternate Facilities: • Hot: Sit down and start working • Warm: Some activation needed • Cold: Numerous activation steps • Factors for Consideration in Choosing an Alternate Facility • Location • Building Type • Space • Distance • Transportation • Communication • Security • Lodging • Food for personnel • Accessibility

Alternate Facilities • Outline a transition plan for moving operations to alternate facility • Who will help you move? • Public works /Transportation/ Facilities – where are you on their overall priority list? • Private organizations • What needs to be moved? • Equipment • Records • What other services will you need? • IT • Phone/fax lines • If you need security, how will it be provided at your alternate facility? • How will you notify the public and employees regarding operations at an alternate facility?

Communications • Communications should provide: • Ability to communicate with essential personnel, as well as other agencies, organizations, and clients • Interoperability with existing field infrastructures • Access to data and systems • Ability to support COOP requirements • Communications systems supporting essential functions include: • Voice lines • Fax lines • Data lines • Cell phones/smart phones • Email • Internet access • Instant messenger services • Radio communication systems

Reconstitution • Process • Form team • Salvage what you can • Plan move from alternate facility • Outline procedures necessary for transition • Look to transition procedures outlined for move to alternate facility; think of them in reverse

Writing a COOP Plan • Organization is crucial (e.g. by essential function) • Should be user-friendly and tailored to meet your needs • Identify additional materials that may be incorporated into the plan • Coordination with stakeholders PRIOR to an event • Include materials from stakeholders that are relevant to your COOP plan • Identify appropriate means of storing, updating, and accessing your COOP Plan • Other considerations: • Who will draft the plan? • Who will update it? • Who in my organization will • have access to the plan?

Testing, Training, and Exercises • Goals: • Teach employees their roles (during COOP activation). • Verify that your COOP plan will actually work and employees are able to perform essential functions during a COOP event. • Clarify where your COOP plan needs revision. • Familiarize employees with alert, notification, and deployment procedures.

Testing, Training, and Exercises • Considerations: • Who should participate? • What stakeholders should be invited? • How will an exercise program be funded? • Who will design, coordinate, run, and evaluate the exercise?

Questions?? Amy Major amajor@law.umaryland.edu http://www.mdchhs.com

Untapped Resources: Integrating Libraries into Emergency Planning