Preserving the Collection: Disaster Planning, Response & Recovery

 In this article, "A roadmap for making a salvage plan. Valuing and prioritising heritage objects", Jernaes evaluates guides and manuals for salvage plans and assesses their ability to aid in prioritization of collections. Most require professionals to ascribe value, so she then provides a brief roadmap with flow charts that are tailored for non-professionals who are working to devise a salvage plan for their collection.  Jernaes, Nina Kjolsen. 2021. " A roadmap for making a salvage plan. Valuing and prioritising heritage objects ". In International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 59.  

October is Texas Archaeology Month. Cultural heritage isn't only found in buildings, it's also outdoor spaces with varying protections from the weather. This 2019 article, "Preparing for the Future Impacts of Megastorms on Archaeological Sites: An Evaluation of Flooding from Hurricane Harvey, Houston, Texas", by Reeder-Meyers and McCoy, uses Hurricane Harvey as a test for two models that attempt to predict vulnerability of archaeological sites to climate change, and make recommendations for improving predictions and preparing for damage in the future. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/preparing-for-the-future-impacts-of-megastorms-on-archaeological-sites-an-evaluation-of-flooding-from-hurricane-harvey-houston-texas/A071425AD1C69A33E763A61378C87260

 This page currently contains about a dozen webinars hosted by AIC & FAIC tailored to the interests of the National Heritage Responders, with topics for every step of preparedness and salvage. The webinars are free, but require you to register for them. https://learning.culturalheritage.org/responders

 The Field Guide to Emergency Response (https://store.culturalheritage.org/site/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=FAIC-2) is our go-to recommendation for salvaging collections in disaster situations. But if you would like a physical resource that discusses a wide range of materials and focuses on preventing damage and dealing with small-scale disasters (like finding bugs in a box of old quilts), we recommend Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions by Don Williams (retired Senior Conservator of the Smithsonian Institution) and Louisa Jaggar. Publisher Website: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Saving-Stuff/Don-Williams/9780743264167 Digital Library: https://archive.org/details/savingstuffhowto0000will

 This set of videos hosted by AIC & FAIC, "After the Fires: Health and Safety" and "After the Fire: Object Salvage", provide great advice for protecting yourself and dealing with fire-damaged collections, but much of the advice can be used in other disaster situations, including flooding. After the Fires: Health and Safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n74zCl0f7Nc   After the Fire: Object Salvage:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOLvVy9AI5k  

 This video, "So Now What? Dealing With Materials After a Disaster", hosted by AIC&FAIC as part of their MayDay 2025 program, provides a great overview of how to protect yourself during a salvage operation, and how to deal with materials--including how to dispose of damaged items. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKfLC4V8uT0 

 Remember, family treasures including documents, photos, and books may look bad after a flood, but they can be saved! FEMA's Save Your Family Treasures page has links to documents in multiple languages with easy-to-follow explanations of what to do with various items after a flood. https://www.fema.gov/disaster/recover/save-family-treasures