Putting It Into Practice

Preparing a Disaster Plan

Writing a Disaster Plan

A disaster plan must include both prevention activities and response instructions. A written document containing this information must be prepared by members of the disaster planning team and approved in writing by senior management. The plan should list all staff members (and any others, such as fire department contacts) who will be given a copy, and it should indicate where the plans will be stored. Copies should be placed in all departments and at all points of contact (e.g., reference desk, circulation desk), and copies should also be stored off site.

Writing a disaster plan can be extremely complex and time-consuming. While you cannot complete your plan as part of this session, you have already begun the process.

Look at this sample Disaster Plan Table of Contents (PDF, 432k), which reflects the Notebook activities you have undertaken throughout this session.

You can use the information you have collected as the basis for your disaster plan by:

• Expanding on it to create your own plan (see Taking It Further for links to sample plans), or
• Using dPlan, the Northeast Document Conservation Center's online disaster planning template. Input the information you have collected, along with additional information, and dPlan will generate a plan for you.