Your collections at risk in the event of a disaster?
You need to know about DISACT
What is DISACT?
DISACT ('Disaster ACT') was established
by cultural and scientific collecting institutions in Canberra to
improve disaster preparedness and provide local mutual assistance
in the event of emergencies affecting public collections. DISACT
sponsors disaster recovery training, conducts quarterly DISACT Network
meetings and has a website resource.
Participants include the Australian War Memorial, National Archives
of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, National Library of
Australia, National Museum of Australia, Screen Sound Australia
and a range of other agencies. These agencies have signed an MOU,
a mutual aid agreement to formalise this arrangement.
Why is it needed?
Protection of collections through Disaster Preparedness
is a goal of all cultural and scientific institutions that hold
collections in trust for future generations. The 2003 firestorm
in Canberra reminds everyone of disasters that can arise with little
or no warning. Preparation is vital; every collecting institution
needs a disaster plan.
This must cover three aspects: prevention/preparedness, incident
management and recovery.
What can DISACT do for my organisation?
Through mutual assistance, DISACT aims to
Enhance awareness and standards for disaster management for collections.
Facilitate contacts between specialists and those with disaster
management responsibilities for collections.
Provide key emergency contact information.
Develop a centralised list of equipment and materials available
for loan.
Arrange joint training in disaster management relevant to collections.
What DISACT can not do
DISACT cannot write your disaster plans, but can provide
information to help you.
DISACT cannot purchase supplies and equipment for you, but can give
short term loans and assist you to find what you need.
DISACT cannot provide long term disaster recovery services but can
provide initial short term assistance until you can engage a commercial
provider.
Where can I find more information?
DISACT has a website at,
http://www.anbg.gov.au/disact/
For a history of DISACT see Janet Hughes'
paper here.
Contact the public
officer of DISACT.
NEW!
DISACT-L is a mailing list for members of DISACT (Disasters ACT) to use to keep in touch with each other. It is used to disseminate information about meetings and to discuss relevant issues affecting collection material.
Members of this list include representatives from numerous institutions, including: AWM, NLA, NAA, NMA, NGA, ACT Govt, NFSA and the ANU.
The owners of this list are Bernard Kertesz (Australian War Memorial, Bernard.Kertesz@awm.gov.au) and Jennifer Lloyd (National Library of Australia, jlloyd@nla.gov.au). To subscribe to this list, please send a mail message to one of the list owners giving some information about your interest in DISACT and requesting to be subscribed to DISACT-L.
Distribution
Please distribute this information on DISACT in your
organisation.
Relevant people may include:
· members of your Disaster Team or Emergency Planning committee,
· conservators or collection managers,
· librarians or archivists,
· historians or heritage officers,
· building services managers.
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