Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

http://lis.sagepub.com Disaster management: Sharing experience, working together across the sector
Graham Matthews Journal of Librarianship and Information Science 2005; 37; 63 DOI: 10.1177/0961000605055356 The online version of this article can be found at: http://lis.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/2/63

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Graham Matthews is Professor of Information and Library Management, and Head of Research, School of Business Information, Liverpool John Moores University. He has led or been involved in several major research projects in preservation management, including a major review of disaster management in the mid-1990s funded by the (then) British Library Research and Innovation Centre. Currently, he is leading an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project (March 2005May 2006), Safeguarding heritage at risk: disaster management in UK archives, libraries and museums.

Disaster management:
Sharing experience, working together across the sector
GRAHAM MATTHEWS
The article is based on a review, commissioned by the East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EMMLAC), of the East Midlands Museums Service (EmmS) Regional Emergencies and Disaster Squad (REDS). Research methods used included: literature and Internet review, review of REDS documentation, interviews with REDS personnel, questionnaire survey of museums, archives and libraries in the East Midlands, and select follow-up interviews. The article highlights aspects of the findings of the review, considers the transferability of the REDS model to other domains, suggests lessons that can be learned by others in the sector, and makes recommendations for further collaboration between libraries, archives and museums and others with regard to the development of disaster management in the sector. KEYWORDS: cooperation; cross-domain activity; disaster management; East Midlands Museums Service (EmmS); emergency planning; Regional Emergencies and Disaster squad (REDS)

INTRODUCTION
Disasters in libraries are, unfortunately, a recurring theme. Whether from natural or man-made causes, there continue to be examples reported worldwide on a fairly regular basis. In the last few months, for example, Ramsgate Public Library, a Victorian building in the United Kingdom (UK) was burned down (August, 2004) (BBC News, 2004a; Landi, [2004]) with the loss of thousands of books; the Duchess Anna Amalia Weimar Library, Germany, built in 1691, was also badly affected by fire in September (BBC News, 2004b; DWWorld, 2004), with an estimated 50,000 books lost and up to 62,000 damaged; and, in November, reports of major flooding in Hawaii included accounts of damage at the Hamilton Library, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, (Guardian Unlimited, 2004; Leidemann, 2004), with loss of books and documents and damage to map and photograph collections. More recently, after the immediate shock of the tsunami disaster in south Asia and the efforts to provide immediate humanitarian aid, national and international associations and others, whilst sensitive to other priority areas, are beginning to address how they might support the restoration of library services in affected regions. See, for example, American Library Association, 2005; Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, 2005; International Federation of Library Associations, 2005; UNESCO, 2005. One way in which libraries have attempted to facilitate disaster planning to help prevent or mitigate the effects of disaster has been through cooperative activities or networks, both formal and informal. Such action may help to spread individual institutional resources by pooling or sharing them through,

Address: School of Business Information Faculty of Business and Law Liverpool John Moores University John Foster Building 98 Mount Pleasant Liverpool L3 5UZ UK Tel: +44 (0) 151 231 3861 Fax: +44 (0) 151 7070423 E-mail: G.Matthews@livjm.ac.uk

Copyright 2005 Sage Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi) Vol 37 (2): 6374 [DOI: 10.1177/0961000605055356]

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for example, joint training programmes, the purchase and storage of emergency equipment and supplies, and making staff with appropriate expertise available. Unfortunately much cooperation only happens in the immediate aftermath of a disaster when other institutions in the vicinity offer assistance. Formal cooperative schemes seem more common in the United States (see Davis and Kern, 2003, who describe various models of cooperation there; and CoOL, a preservation and conservation website, which offers links to various collaborative networks in the US [http://palimpsest.stanford/edu/ bytopic/disasters], most of which are for libraries, archives and record centres, but some cover museums) and Australia (see, for example, CAVAL Collaborative Solutions [http://www.caval.edu.au/about/cs/] which serves libraries, archives, museums and galleries, and whose coverage includes disaster management and recovery). The best known in the UK is the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries, M25 Disaster Management Working Group (http://www.m25lib.ac. uk/m25dcp/). The other is the East Midlands Museums Services (EmmS) Regional Emergencies and Disaster Squad (REDS) (http://www.emms.org.uk/reds.htm), whose primary focus is support to museums in the event of disaster. Towards the end of 2003, the East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EMMLAC), contracted the Centre for Information Research (CIRT), based at the University of Central England in Birmingham (UCE), to undertake a review of REDS. The project was undertaken, between December 2003 and May 2004, by Professor Graham Matthews, Director of Research for the Faculty of Computing, Information and English, and a team of researchers in CIRT. A report of the review and its findings is available on the EmmS website (http://www.emmlac.org.uk/REDS%20report.doc). That report focuses on REDS and its future, but the project also considered options involving REDS extending its work with others and looked at its potential transferability to other regions and domains. The research involved gathered information of relevance to a wide audience across museums, libraries and archives. This article highlights aspects of the review of a service aimed primarily at museums and considers their significance for libraries, transferability of the REDS model, lessons that can be learned, and the potential of further collaborative work between libraries, museums, archives and others in the area of disaster management. It begins with a brief introduction to REDS and the review.

The services of the Squad are available to all museums in the East Midlands participating in the Museums Registration Scheme administered by Resource: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries. Additionally, every Record Office in the region registered with the National Register of Archives may participate, as may public libraries containing archive material. The governing body of the museum, record office or library must be an EmmS member. (East Midlands Museums Service, Regional Emergencies Disaster Squad)

REDS/EmmS/EMMLAC
REDS was established in 1991 as a service of EmmS with the aim of coordinating pre-planned response and specialist support to museums, libraries and archives in the East Midlands region in the event of disaster or emergency (Read, 1991). As regards membership:

REDS is a high profile, established brand name in the sector (Matthews et al., 2004: 68). It is well known nationally and internationally and is often cited as an example of good practice. REDS offers subscribers the facility to call out trained emergency squad members, with access to emergency stockpiles throughout the region, for immediate disaster response. It also provides subscribers (and others) with an emergency manual (available as hard copy, later, on CD-ROM) that outlines procedures and actions to enable institutions to produce their own plan (see REDS website for details: http: //www.emms.org.uk/reds.htm). These services have been consolidated and developed to varying degrees over the years (Matthews et al., 2004: 8). A Squad Coordinator manages (on a part-time basis) and directs the work of REDS in collaboration with the Squad members, who are all volunteers, on potential call-out 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Permission for their participation is given by their employers, who allow them without charge, in addition to being available for call-out, to attend training sessions and meetings, and to take part in regular Squad member and Coordinator discussion via e-mail. The recent establishment of the regional museums, libraries and archives councils (MLAs), and the implementation of new national and regional initiatives have had implications for REDS and EmmS. EmmS, an area museums council, was established in 1981 with a membership that comprised nearly all museums in the region including many independent museums. EMMLAC, the new sector wide regional agency covering museums, archives and libraries, was established in April 2002. EmmS, EMRAC (East Midlands Regional Archive Council) and EMRLS (East Midlands Regional Library System) continue as independent agencies working closely with EMMLAC. From April 2002, EmmS no longer received core funding for its operations from Resource (now MLA) and has evolved into a membership organization. REDS continues to be managed and supported by EmmS and is funded by EMMLAC (Matthews et al., 2004: 10).

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Registration scheme for museums and galleries (accreditation)

Another significant factor for the review, and museums in general, was the ongoing development of a new registration scheme for museums and galleries. The existing Registration Scheme for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom, Registration Guidelines (Museums and Galleries Commission, 1995) addressed the need for emergency planning thus:
Each museum should aim to develop emergency planning systems for the protection and rescue of the collection in the event of emergencies such as thefts, fire, flood or other catastrophes.

The guidelines went on to suggest that an emergency planning system might include the compilation and updating of a manual, floor plans and checklists. Resources new draft Registration Scheme placed more formal requirements on this area of museums and galleries management (Resource, 2003b) which have been affirmed in the new accreditation scheme for museums in the UK published towards the end of 2004 (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004a). As part of the standard, with regard to emergency planning:
1.7.1 Museums must have an emergency plan (or disaster plan as these are sometimes called), and must show a copy to their assessing organisation on request. The plan must include: (a) the arrangements for staff and visitors (b) the arrangements for collections and buildings (c) a risk assessment of threats such as fire, water, theft and vandalism or other disasters (d) procedures to be followed by staff on discovery of an emergency. 1.7.2 Museums must review emergency plans every five years as a minimum. The date of the last review must be provided. (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004a: 18)

plans; suppliers of specialist equipment; checklists of routine maintenance; and staff awareness procedures. Additionally, it suggests museums might also find it useful to produce an Overview Emergency Plan to facilitate getting the right people to the right location to make the decisions necessary in the first 24 hours of the crisis and to initiate the recovery process (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004a: 45). Incidentally, it refers to the REDS Emergency manual (East Midlands Museums Service, 2001), and one from the North West Museum Service (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council North West [n.d.]), as helpful. Such requirements are likely to result in a need for more advice and support for further development of disaster management/emergency planning in museums and galleries, particularly smaller ones, throughout the UK, to help them meet the demands of the new Scheme.

REDS REVIEW
With these recent changes and developments at regional and national level, a general raising of awareness of disaster management, and increase in the availability of information and advice (much of it since the mid to late 1990s via the Internet), a review of the REDS scheme was thus timely.

Aims
The review aimed to:

investigate the current and past position of the REDS organisation, make recommendations on its future development and examine the possibility of utilising the REDS model within other regions; identify other disaster response networks (national and international) and training awareness programmes. (Matthews et al., 2004: 12)

Method
To achieve these aims the project team, in conjunction with EMMLAC, determined an appropriate methodology within the resources and time available that would elicit information on REDS services, facilitate assessment of them, and make recommendations, including suggestions for a regional disaster response model. The methodology included the following stages:

Appendix 4 of the document provides guidance on drafting an emergency plan and outlines an effective approach, including, for example, appointing a crisis management team to assess the risks and produce the Plan, analysing the current situation and removing or reducing risks, researching the experience of others, recording contact details of other relevant organizations, devising a call-out system, publicizing the plan, and practising and improving it. It goes on to indicate what a full emergency plan may usefully include in addition to the required elements in 1.7. These elements include: membership and responsibilities of the Crisis Management Team; the Incident Management Team; assessment of risk, alert, evacuation and safety procedures; contact details of on-call staff, departments and services; floor

requests to other regional MLAs for information on disaster management activity; review of REDS documentation; interviews with the REDS Co-ordinator and REDS Squad members; questionnaire survey of all museums, libraries and archives in the East Midlands region, (including members and non-members of REDS). Questionnaire

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coverage included issues such as: in-house disaster management provision, usage of REDS, satisfaction with service, suggestions for improvement, training, and future requirements; follow-up interviews with select questionnaire respondents; literature and Internet review of other networks, disaster management organisations and training and awareness programmes. (Matthews et al., 2004: 1213)

Interviews took place with the REDS Coordinator and five of the 10 Squad members (covering each of the five counties in the region and a range of expertise and length of service with REDS). The questionnaire was sent to 150 institutions; 39 (26%) responded; and there were follow-up interviews with eight institutions, covering each county, large and small local authority organizations, small voluntary/independent organizations, and museums, libraries and archives.

FINDINGS SELECT ISSUES OF WIDER INTEREST

As mentioned above, the full report of the REDS review is available on the EMMLAC website (http://www. emmlac.org.uk/REDS%20report.doc). What follows here is a discussion of select findings and recommendations from that report that have relevance to disaster management not just for museums, but for libraries and others.

Cooperative activity and networks

There seem to be few prominent formal networks specifically addressing disaster management/emergency planning in the cultural heritage sector in the UK other than REDS and the M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries, Disaster Management Working Group (http: //www.m25lib.ac.uk/m25dcp/). As mentioned above, this consortium focuses on developing disaster preparedness support including promoting awareness and best practice in disaster management, assisting in dissemination of disaster control management information and, more recently, arrangements for service continuity (see Wise, 2003 for a brief overview). Participants sign up to a Multilateral agreement for mutual subject support in the event of a disaster this support may include provision of services (e.g. access to special collections, borrowing rights) in addition to those offered in the general M25 mutual support agreement (study space, basic enquiry service). It does not offer support for disaster response (but it does offer advice and information on disaster control management via its website [which has recently been enhanced in terms of content and presentation], e-mail discussion list and training events). Membership is subscription-based.

Whilst not a network, it is appropriate at this point to mention another national organization, the UK and Ireland Blue Shield Organisation (see: www.bl.uk/ services/npo/blueshield/overview.html). Blue Shield is the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross (the symbol is used to mark cultural sites to give them protection from attack in the event of armed conflict). Its website is hosted by the National Preservation Office and is being developed by Sue Cole who is seconded from English Heritage and has been working with, among others, regional MLAs. The site, which is under development, currently offers basic disaster advice and practical links but at the time of writing most content focuses on international developments and activities in line with its remit. Contacts at five of the other eight regional MLAs responded to a request for information about the provision of disaster management in their region. Their replies revealed no formal regional disaster response networks, but some evidence of local arrangements. Some training activity takes place but this is not formally or centrally coordinated on a regional basis. A will to address the need for disaster management/emergency planning in the regions is evident especially with regard to the draft Registration Scheme and strategies being developed for collection management. A brief search of the websites of the regional MLAs that did not respond showed little activity in disaster management, but some links to sources of information. It should be noted that regional branches of professional associations such as the Museums Association, the Society of Archivists and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals occasionally offer training events on disaster management. The research also revealed that major cultural organizations such as English Heritage and The National Trust undertake various activities with regard to disaster management and their properties. During the course of the research, other activity in the East Midlands region was identified. In 2002, the East Midlands Universities Association (EMUA) established a Disaster Prevention and Control Working Group (later called the Disaster Prevention and Control Implementation Group) which reported to the EMUA Librarians Task Group in 2003 (Kirk and Housley, 2003). The group achieved several positive outcomes, including a successful training day, a database of addresses of suppliers, sharing of knowledge, for example in writing disaster management plans, and agreement on access for staff and students to other EMUA libraries in the event of a disaster. The Group decided, however, not to develop its own website, as it felt that the M25 website (http://www. m25lib.ac.uk/m25dcp/) was more than adequate, nor to share equipment, as institutional Estates Departments would provide this. Having achieved its aims, the group disbanded but continues as an e-mail discussion group.

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Civil emergency planning

An area where recent activity has become more apparent in the UK is civil emergency planning. Since Autumn 2001 (and the events of 11 September) there has been a considerable increase in government activity at national, regional and local level relating to civil emergency planning, with wide dissemination of advice and support. Ongoing terrorist attacks worldwide, and recent severe flooding in Europe and the UK have kept such planning high on political agendas. Activity in this area includes co-operation between government agencies and other bodies at national and local level and much of the work in this area is pertinent to those charged with responsibility for disaster management/emergency planning in the cultural heritage sector. In the UK, websites such as UK Resilience (www.ukresilience.info/home.htm) and the MI5 website (www.mi5.gov.uk/) offer advice on threats and provide links to other useful sites. Local authorities are also developing similar websites. For example, London Prepared (www.londonprepared.gov.uk/) offers advice and links on various aspects of preparation and prevention; this is also the case in the East Midlands, where Leicestershire County Councils emergency management website pages (www.leics.gov.uk/chief-execs/emergency_ management/) provide details of contacts and responsibilities, leaflets on emergency management and a newsletter. Hampshire County Councils Emergency Planning Unit web pages provide useful links for all those involved in emergency and disaster planning across the UK (www.hants.gov.uk/hcc/emergency).

Lessons for cooperative activity

Scope Those networks that do exist are varied in purpose, governance, funding, membership, scope and services offered. They offer a range of services and activities to different kinds of organizations across different sizes of territory (see, for example, Gertz (1999: 239) who carried out work on behalf of the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries, which included a survey of shared preservation programmes in other countries). Whilst the scope of the REDS survey did not permit a detailed review of networks elsewhere, some of the general findings of Gertzs survey appear to be applicable to those identified in this work. For example, they very much reflect the particular circumstances of their environment and as such do not offer a readily transferable composite model that may be directly applicable elsewhere. From the review, and the literature, it is possible, however, to draw up an outline of the aspects a local or regional disaster service or support network can address. In practice none may offer all of these, but a combination of some, according to local circumstances and determined remit.

1. Strategic, collaborative and cooperative activities coordination of regional and local networks (single or cross domain and sector); collaboration with national agencies; liaison with other organizations, agencies and networks; promotion and awareness raising; regional and national advocacy and support; facilitation of local collaboration between large and small organizations; development of, and input to cross sectoral strategy and planning. 2. Resource development and dissemination emergency manual and disaster control plan template; repository for disaster control and emergency plans; regional stockpiles (and re-stocking) of emergency supplies; database of contractors, services, suppliers; publications (e.g. good practice brochures, special topic information sheets, briefings for senior managers) hard-copy and e-versions; developing and promoting mutual aid agreements; service and business continuity arrangements (e.g. agreements for staff/user reciprocal access) and accompanying documentation; library of disaster management and emergency planning literature. 3. Advice, support, information, networking and training; information (website, e-mail, telephone, referral, newsletter, SMART Group); advice general (covering established topics such as how to draw up emergency plans, salvaging different media, insurance, and newer topics, such as health and safety, liability, risk assessment); advice registration-scheme specific; forum (meetings for communication and discussion of disaster management and emergency planning issues, strategic planning); e-forum; site visits; training (range of activities, including provision, development of materials, coordination with other bodies of training programme); workshops, surgeries and site consultations to facilitate development, review, and updating of plans. 4. Service in event of disaster or emergency incident response initial support and advice (in person or by telephone); trained response squads for call-outs. (adapted from Matthews et al., 2004: 623)

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Transferability Whilst, as stated above, the purpose of local or regional networks may be different, for example with an emphasis on prevention and preparedness activities, rather than disaster response (as with, for example, the M25 Group and REDS) and/or determined by the specific requirements of the different domains (museums, libraries, archives), nonetheless there are lessons of common interest that can be learned and applied elsewhere. There are elements that may be adapted and used as the basis of disaster management/emergency planning schemes and models by others. From previous research and that undertaken for the review, it is clear that an effective local or regional network needs:

sustainability of a regional network and the concomitant systems and procedures (since 1991); experience of working with a range of different organisations from large publicly-funded ones to small, independent and voluntary organisations; awareness of training requirements and experience in meeting these; awareness of current issues and ideas for future development to meet these. (Matthews et al., 2004: 68)

clear aims, role and governance; a coordinator or committee, with sufficient dedicated time and administrative and technical support, to direct; training for coordinator and/or committee members; motivated, experienced and committed coordinator/ committee members with support from their employers; effective means of communication, dissemination and feedback (exploitation of ICT) for coordinator, committee and scheme participants/members; training and awareness-raising for members; mechanisms for addressing different needs of large and small organizations and domain-specific requirements; mechanisms for tapping into other relevant networks and resources; a system where speed of response is the key factor (particularly if disaster response is offered, but also in the case of arrangements with others for service continuity), so sub-regional hubs or clusters will be necessary in large regions; appropriate resourcing. (adapted from Matthews et al., 2004: 60)

Whilst the above are important factors, the main asset of REDS is its key component the people involved in it, and their cumulative experience and expertise. Between them they have considerable knowledge. This knowledge, together with the documentation, procedures and mechanisms they have developed, provides the basis for a model that might be transferred and implemented elsewhere (subject to appropriate resources). The enthusiasm and drive of individuals, coordinators and squad members is vital in sustaining services and moving them forward. This is not just recognizable in REDS but is attested to elsewhere (see, for example, Davis and Kern, 2003: 1389).

Current issues in disaster management

The current issues and ideas for future development mentioned above may also be of interest to others in terms of highlighting issues they may need to consider in setting up a local or regional network, or in confirming that they are not alone in facing particular issues and giving them the confidence to approach others to seek advice or a collaborative approach to tackling them. When REDS Squad members and Coordinator, individuals with considerable emergency planning, curatorial and conservation experience, were asked what they felt were key current issues for museums, their replies included:

Over its lifetime, REDS has acquired particular expertise and developed specific features that would be appropriate for others to learn from and adapt, for example: the emergency manual (already in the public domain), revised and refined over a period of time, and other documentation relating to this and emergency response procedures (again, refined following practice exercises); communication and dissemination mechanisms, including experience of website and SMART e-group; procedures for co-ordination of activities and liaison with members; development of stockpiles and re-stocking; experience of the management, co-ordination and

registration [accreditation] scheme risk assessment health and safety issues terrorist threat liability preparation of disaster plans security reaction training material to deal with incident. (Matthews et al., 2004: 34)

From the authors experience, with the exception of the registration/accreditation scheme, a list compiled by librarians with responsibility for disaster management would not be dissimilar. With regard to the future of REDS, the REDS

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Coordinator and Squad members mentioned: more links with external agencies, website development, compulsory deposit of disaster control plans, and more time for a dedicated coordinator. With regard to scope, they felt that if the service were to continue on the same basis as now, then the focus should remain on museums to keep it manageable; possible expansion to cover libraries and archives more broadly, and other developments mentioned here, would have serious resource implications (Matthews et al., 2004: 35). There are thus felt to be serious considerations with regard to transferring or extending the model across domains.

call upon (in addition to subscriptions to national commercial response and recovery services). So, a similar situation may apply in the libraries domain. The EMUA libraries emphasis in terms of local support is on service continuity with arrangements for users to have access to other local libraries in the vicinity. This echoes the approach of the M25 Consortium.

Use of ICT
The value of existing websites and the use of e-mail for communication between individuals with institutional responsibility for disaster management in the region were acknowledged by the EMUA libraries. In the REDS review, it was found that staff at small organizations did not all have access to e-mail and the Internet. Generally, key holders had e-mail access at work but sometimes front-of-house staff did not. One interviewee said that only 50 percent of staff had e-mail access and that one key holder definitely did not have access. This interviewee commented:
Ninety percent of our staff are over sixty so in that age group it is patchy.

Small/large institutions
Another finding of potential interest to libraries and archives is the difference between the perceptions, needs and experiences of large and small museums that emerged from the research. Most large organizations that responded considered that they had less need of REDS than smaller ones, usually because they had inhouse specialist emergency teams. Smaller organizations, especially those run by volunteers, had problems in securing the necessary time, resources and training to construct and implement a disaster control plan, although their disaster management needs could be much more easily defined (Matthews et al., 2004: 59). One interviewee commented that REDS . . . represent[s] a safety net, particularly to smaller institutions (Matthews et al., 2004: 51). The respondents who made such comments about the greater suitability of REDS to smaller organizations were all larger institutions. As noted above, their view probably reflects a situation where large organizations have developed in-house emergency teams, while small organizations would benefit from the help of an external service (Matthews et al., 2004: 51). And, in general, interviewees from smaller organizations were more positive about the REDS service. One person commented:
It is the best possible compromise having the expertise available without it costing too much on an individual basis;

This lack of ICT access for key-holders could have implications for both disaster planning and response, as up-to-date information might not be readily available on site (Matthews et al., 2004: 56) and communication and sharing of expertise might not be straightforward.

National coordination
Trying to establish networks on a regional basis across the country, and domains, has enormous resource implications. The creation of the regional MLAs could facilitate how this might be addressed and at the same time avoid unnecessarily reinventing the wheel, a potential side effect of uncoordinated regional activities striving towards the same nationally instigated goals. A collaborative approach across the domains within the sector, with involvement of other organizations and agencies involved in disaster management or emergency planning, and in the broader area of cultural heritage, with organizations like English Heritage and The National Trust, and authorities involved in civil emergency planning, might be one way of tackling this, with a sharing of ideas, experience, expertise, personnel and resources, but it would probably need some sort of overall coordination. The kind of issues and activities that might be addressed on a national level to achieve such coordination include:

and another:
independent/volunteer organisations who are maybe starting from scratch . . . would need practical support and would probably not really have any staff on hand themselves. (Matthews et al., 2004: 54)

In the light of this situation in museums, it is interesting to note the decisions of the EMUA libraries (see above) which also suggest that libraries which are part of larger organizations place less emphasis on the need for immediate local external support for response to a disaster as they have internal organizational support to

establishment of a network of regional officers/coordinators with responsibility for disaster management and emergency planning and a forum for them to meet/communicate; advice and consultancy on, and coordination of,

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development of regional and sub-regional (local) activities; liaison and cooperation with other bodies such as English Heritage, The National Trust, United Kingdom and Ireland Blue Shield Organisation, the National Preservation Office, professional associations, those concerned with digital materials (e.g. Digital Preservation Coalition) and local authority emergency planners/managers; development and coordination of nationwide strategy (e.g. for training, to include sharing of development of resources and courses to maximize expertise, spread workload, avoid duplication of effort, target different user groups; secondment of key staff); development of links with commercial services; monitoring international developments and participating appropriately; advising policy makers; lobbying government. (adapted from Matthews et al., 2004: 6970)

(see, for example, Matthews, 2005); an extract from the abstract of that paper sums up the role of the institution and others:
Clear institutional strategy and support at the top level are essential. Individual institutions must plan according to their own circumstances, but it is important to think within and without the institution very few will be able to cope on their own in the face of a major disaster. Libraries must ask what resources are available in-house and within the parent organization, and what other expertise or assistance might be available locally, regionally, or elsewhere, and from other sectors. (Matthews, 2005)

CONCLUSION
Cooperation between libraries, archives and museums, formal and informal, in disaster management does exist, but there are few formal networks in the UK. REDS and its staff have considerable experience, expertise and knowledge; they have established and reviewed procedures and practices and have worked particularly with museums, but also with libraries and archives. They thus have something to offer others as a model and as an example of what can be achieved. The M25 Consortium of Academic Libraries Disaster Management Working Group also has considerable experience, expertise and knowledge with its primary focus on a different domain, libraries, and in providing different services. Other bodies (as mentioned within the article) have experience, expertise and knowledge in other areas of cultural heritage and disaster management. It would seem to make sense for further more formal collaboration to be explored to share and maximize resources and impact of disaster management activity. There are domain-specific features and requirements and these should be acknowledged but there do seem to be areas of common ground where lessons can be learned and services provided and developed in collaboration. Commercial services available must also be taken into account. With a range of initiatives at national level and the establishment and progress of the regional MLAs, some means of coordination of activities relating to disaster management would be beneficial to share expertise, to avoid duplication of effort, and to identify, prioritize and target the development of appropriate activities among a range of bodies and organizations. Some national mechanism, perhaps a forum or centre, would facilitate coordination of regional activities and achievements. This should not remove the need for individual institutions to address their own specific disaster management requirements but those with more experience may become more involved in offering advice to those with fewer in-house resources and less expertise. There do appear to be examples of good practice from which the cultural heritage sector can learn and move forward in terms of disaster management.

Institutional role Nonetheless, even if this local or regional support within a national framework were available, it has to be stressed that individual institutions must take their own disaster management and planning seriously. Comments by several squad members flag potential danger signs in this respect:
Maybe the perception among members is that we will do everything. Thats not what REDS is about were there to help as part of wider organisational support. Could we have caused museums not to have taken disaster management seriously rather than helping them to help themselves? . . . we dont want people to become reliant on REDS. Museums dont feel they need to do disaster planning work if REDS are on hand. There is a level of confusion about what the service is perception that Squad members are super beings. Perception that they dont need to do anything in terms of disaster preparedness because REDS will do it. (Matthews et al., 2004: 31)

Any support schemes need to be aware of such possible attitudes and ensure that the roles and responsibilities of the scheme and the institution are clear. The institution and its particular circumstances, for example buildings, collections, facilities and staff and users are paramount (and, indeed, any disaster control plan template must be used with regard to institution-specific requirements) but external services and support should be identified and used appropriately following due consideration and negotiation. The author has written elsewhere about disaster management and the institution

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POSTSCRIPT
Just as the author was completing the Conclusion, at the end of November 2004, MLA made a significant announcement about the extension of the designation scheme for museums to libraries and archives (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004b). Some of the requirements for this, with regard to collection care, relate to disaster management and, indeed, some of the issues raised in this article. A brief consideration of these is thus provided here.
The Designation Scheme is administered by MLA on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The Scheme identifies and celebrates the pre-eminent collections of national and international importance held in Englands non-National museums, archives and libraries . . . (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004c: 1)

referred to another document with regard to standards (Walker, 2003). Whilst some applicants may have appropriate procedures in place to meet required standards regarding disaster management, others may not, and all would seem to need to demonstrate future plans for development in this area. This new scheme would seem to reinforce the comment made earlier in this article regarding the Registration/Accreditation scheme and the need for more advice and support for further development of disaster management/emergency planning, and indeed, the sharing of experience and expertise. See subsection Registration scheme for museums and galleries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to Stella Thebridge, Jo Spry and Clare Nankivell, members of the REDS review project team at the Centre for Information Research (CIRT), University of Central England, and co-authors of the project report. I am also grateful to all those at EMMLAC, EmmS and REDS for their participation in the review and to those institutions and individuals who responded to requests for information, completed questionnaires or took part in interviews. Any inaccuracies or omissions in this article are those of the author.

It also aims to raise standards, and institutions recognized by the scheme . . . will be expected to work with other institutions by sharing expertise, offering and receiving advice . . . (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004c: 2). The Scheme acknowledges there are differences between the domains and that not all museums, libraries and archives have the same levels of resources (Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, 2004b: 3) but all applicants must show that they:

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