Template for Pocket Response Plan (PReP)™
Pocket Response Plan™
(PReP™)
INSTITUTIONAL CONTACTS
[Organization/Institution Head]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
[Staff Member 1]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
[Staff Member 2]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
SIDE A (Communications). Use this side to collect phone numbers for the individuals and organizations you are most likely to need to talk to in the
first minutes and hours after an emergency occurs: staff, emergency responders, facility managers, utilities, vendors, and assistance organizations.
FIRST RESPONDERS
UTILITIES
Police Department
[phone]
Fire Department
[phone]
Emergency medical/ambulance service
[phone]
State EMA
[phone]
Local EMA
[phone]
State Police
[phone]
Sheriff
[phone]
Poison Control
[phone]
Electricity/gas
[name]
[phone]
EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDERS
OTHER CONTACTS
[institution]
[name]
[phone]
Back Up Recovery Service
[name]
[phone]
Telephone
[name]
[phone]
[institution]
[name]
[phone]
Keeper of Administrator Password(s)
[name]
[phone]
Cultural Emergency Resource
Coalition: Maine
www.cercmaine.org
(general cultural disaster response
and recovery information)
Water
[name]
[phone]
[institution]
[name]
[phone]
Dehumidification Services (building)
[name]
[phone]
Internet provider
[name]
[phone]
[Staff Member 3]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
Elevators
[name]
[phone]
[Head of Board]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
Security / fire system provider(s)
[name]
[phone]
[Collections Committee Chair]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
INSURANCE PROVIDER
[Other Person]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
Insurance Company
[name]
[phone]
[Other Person]
[name]
[office phone] / [home phone] / [cell]
EMERGENCY SUPPLY LOCATIONS:





VENDOR PROVIDING EMERGENCY
SUPPLIES AFTER HOURS:
[name]
[phone]
MUTUAL AID PARTNERS
PRESERVATION SERVICES
See http://www.conservationus.org/about-conservation/find-aconservator to find local
conservators through the American
Institute for Conservation
[name]
[phone]
[name]
[phone]
[name]
[phone]
Document Recovery Services
(freeze drying)
[name]
[phone]
Exterminator
[name]
[phone]
Freezer Space
[name]
[phone]
Industrial Hygienist (mold)
[name]
[phone]
Refrigerated Trucking Service
[name]
[phone]
Northeast Document Conservation
Hotline
(information on paper recovery)
(855) 245-8303
American Institute for Conservation
Hotline
(general cultural disaster response)
(202) 661-8068
State Archives OR Museum OR Library
(general guidance on recovery)
[name]
[phone]
Maine Historic Preservation
Commission
(general guidance on recovery of
historic buildings)
(207) 287-2132
Maine Archives and Museums
(general guidance on recovery)
http://mainemuseums.org/
(207) 400-6965
American Institute for
Conservation - Collections
Emergency Response Team
Call (202) 661-8068 to get 24 hour
assistance from AIC-CERT.
AIC-CERT Conservator
Jon Brandon
East Point Conservation
(207) 721-0088
AIC-CERT Conservator
Molly O’Guinness Carlson
Head Tide Archaeological
Conservation Laboratory
(207) 882-9078
Print on 8 ½” x 14” paper. Trim on outside lines to 121/2” x 63/4”, fold on vertical lines like an accordion, then fold in half (bringing short sides together) so that final folded document measures 21/8” x 31/2”.
Insert in PReP™ Tyvek® envelope for protection. © 2006 Council of State Archivists (CoSA)
May be customized and reproduced for distribution free of charge with credit to CoSA.
SIDE B (Actions). Use this side to provide step-by-step instructions for archives personnel who will respond to a disaster affecting your own institution, a state or local government agency, or another archival
repository or cultural institution in your state. Ideally, steps should already be defined in the archives disaster plan. This PReP™ document is NOT intended to be a substitute for a comprehensive emergency
plan. Instead, it should distill the most important tasks to be taken in the first minutes and hours after an event occurs, especially those that occur when staff members are away from their offices.
Pocket Response Plan™
(PReP™)
Phone tree
Assessment, salvage, recovery
[customize to fit your repository]
 Ensure that all hazards are cleared
and first responders have ok’d
before entry
 Assess and document damage to
holdings, building, information
systems
Response checklist for
emergency in a museum,
library, archives or records
facility
 What type of an emergency
was it (fire, smoke, chemical,
clean water, dirty water, heat,
humidity)?
Follow these steps as you respond to
an emergency at [Your Facility].
Coordinate your response
 What areas have been
affected?
 Recognize and define the
emergency
 How much of the collection has
been affected?
 Notify public authorities and first
responders
 What types of materials have
been damaged?
 Ensure that all staff and visitors are
safe and accounted for
 Are critical information systems
functional / safe?
 Contact insurance agent
 Maintain security
 Activate the Disaster Plan
 Stabilize the environment at your
facility
 Establish communication with staff,
constituents

 Coordinate deployment of staff and
volunteers for appropriate
response
 Train response and salvage crews
SALVAGE TECHNIQUES
from the Emergency Response and
Salvage Wheel ©2011 Heritage
Preservation, Inc. Used by permission.
For other types of collections, refer to
the "ERS: Emergency Response and
Salvage" mobile app, available free of
charge on Apple, Android, and
BlackBerry devices at
www.heritagepreservation.org/wheel.







o
Wrap in freezer or wax paper
o
Pack spine down in sturdy
containers
o
Freeze
Air dry flat as individual sheets or
small piles up to ¼”. Interleave.
Replace interleaving when damp.

Carefully rinse with cool, clean
water as necessary


Do not touch or blot surfaces
Inspect painted surfaces. If paint
is blistered or flaking, air dry
slowly without removing dirt or
moisture.

Air dry: hang with clips on nonimage areas or lay flat on
absorbent paper. Keep
photographs from contact with
adjacent surfaces or each other.

Hold veneer in place while drying
with weights or clamps; separate
weight from veneer with protective
layer.

If there are too many for
immediate attention, either:

Finishes may develop white haze;
this does not need immediate
attention.
o
o

Keep photos (except historic
photos) in a container of
clean water no more than 48
hours. Air dry.
Freeze. If Possible interleave
each photo with freezer or
waxed paper.
Do NOT freeze glass plate
negatives
Remove cushions, lift-out seats
and other separate pieces.

Wrap upholstered materials in
cloth (sheets, towels, etc.) to air
dry; replace cloth when damp.

Blot wood sections and air dry
slowly.

Provide adequate physical
support when moving heavy
textiles.

Keep wet paintings horizontal and
paint-side up with nothing
touching the surface. Avoid direct
sunlight.

Do not unfold delicate wet fabrics.
Do not stack wet textiles.

Rinse, drain and blot items with
clean towels/cotton sheets to
remove excess water.
o
Interleave (by groups or
individually) with freezer or
waxed paper

Pack papers or files
supported or standing up in
sturdy containers; pack
containers only 90% full.
Freeze

Remove from frames in a safe,
dry place . Do NOT separate
paintings from their stretchers.
Art on Paper or Photos with Glass
Fronts
o
Rinse off mud.

If too many items to air dry in 48
hours:
o

Textiles

 Report status to constituents
through web site, social media
Upholstered Furniture
Paintings
Do not fold or separate individual,
wet sheets
 Begin salvage
 Contact news media
Rinse/sponge surfaces gently to
clean. Blot. Air dry slowly.


 Contact outside emergency service
providers

If too many to air dry in 48 hours:


Remove from plastic/paper
enclosures and frames
Very wet: lay flat on clean
surface; interleave less than 20%
of book with absorbent material;
replace interleaving when damp

 Contact mutual aid partners

Partially wet or damp: stand on
top or bottom edge with covers
open to 90o angle, air dry
Paper


If rinsing is necessary, hold book
closed


Priority Collections
Wood Furniture
Books
Identify and gather emergency
supplies. Locations:

Photographs

Remove from frames in a safe,
dry place unless art is stuck to
glass.
Block and shape each textile to its
original form.

Air dry textiles indoors using air
conditioning/fans.

If image sticks to the glass, leave
it in frame, dry glass-side down.


Otherwise, dry artwork slowly,
image-side up with nothing
touching the surface.
If items cannot be dried within 48
hours, separate them with freezer
or waxed paper to prevent dye
transfer. Then pack flat and
freeze.
Print on 8 ½” x 14” paper. Trim on outside lines to 121/2” x 63/4”, fold on vertical lines like an accordion, then fold in half (bringing short sides together) so that final folded document measures 21/8” x 31/2”.
Insert in PReP™ Tyvek® envelope for protection.
© 2006 Council of State Archivists (CoSA)
May be customized and reproduced for distribution free of charge with credit to CoSA.