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Records Emergency Information

State, Tribal, and Local Governments

Emergency preparedness minimizes damage from any emergency, whether a small-scale building problem or a catastrophic natural disaster. When a records emergency does occur, effective response and recovery actions are necessary to salvage and preserve as many state, tribal, and local government records as possible.

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Prepare

Prepare in advance so damage to records can be prevented. When records are damaged, response and recovery techniques will limit damage and allow more records to be saved.

• Vital Records and Records Disaster Mitigation and Recovery: An Instructional Guide
  
  
• Salvage Operations for Water Damaged Archival Collections: A Second Glance
  
  
• Fire Prevention
  
  
• Emergency Preparedness Bibliography
  
  
• Lessons Learned in Emergencies
  
  
• Special Challenges (Fire and Fire Suppression)
  
  
• Records Emergency Toolkit

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Respond and Recover

Respond as soon as it is safe to enter the area after an emergency and Recover records or cultural property damaged by the emergency.

Water encountered during an emergency may be contaminated. The most common and dangerous contaminants in water are salt, chlorine and sewage. Contaminants, especially sewage, may require special health precautions. Follow advice of your local health officials. Protective gloves/clothing must be worn at all times when handling contaminated materials.

• General Information on Drying the Environment and Wet Materials
  
  
• After Action Report: Long Form
  
  
• After Action Report: Short Form

Immediate Response

• Emergency Assessment Checklist
  
  
• Records Recovery Vendors

Information by Media Type

Paper (unbound documents, maps, drawings, posters)

• What Do I Do With Wet Records?
  
  
• Comparison of Drying Techniques

Photographs and Film (prints, negatives, sheets and rolls)

• Northeast Document Conservation Center's Preservation Leaflet 3.7: Emergency Salvage of Wet Photographs
  
  
• Microfilm
  
  
• Microfiche
  
  
• Motion Picture Film

Bound Volumes (books, periodicals)

• Volumes with Cloth or Paper Covers
  
  
• Volumes with Leather or Vellum Bindings
  
  
• Volumes with Coated (glossy) Paper

Audio and Video (tapes, disks)

• Magnetic Tapes: Audio, Video and Data Storage
  
  
• Phonographic Disks (vinyl, shellac and acetate)
  
  

Electronic Media (hard drives, diskettes, CDs)

• Hard Drives
  
  
• Diskettes (floppy disks)
  
  
• CDs and DVDs

Artifacts

• Minnesota Historical Society: Paintings on Canvas
  
  
• National Park Service: Salvage at a Glance - Textiles
  
  
• National Park Service: Salvage at a Glance - Natural History (specimens)
  
  
• National Park Service: Salvage at a Glance - Objects
  
  
• American Institute for Conservation: Salvaging Water-damaged Textiles

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Contracting Emergency Recovery Services for Archival Records Template