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Project title
Connecting to Collections Statewide Planning Grant
Partners
State Library of Kansas
Kansas State Historical Society
University of Kansas Libraries
K-State Libraries
Kansas Library Association
Kansas Museums Association
Kansas Arts Commission
Kansas Humanities Council
Kansas City Area Archivists
Heritage League of Greater Kansas City
I. Overview
The goal of this grant was to catalyze collaboration across the state that would foster
sustainable networks of local-to-regional emergency planning. Grant partners proposed to
address the emergency preparedness needs of Kansas cultural heritage institutions. Three
objectives were set to achieve this goal: 1) provide training in developing an emergency
preparedness plan through a series of regional workshops led by preservation experts, 2)
gather feedback from regional workshop participants of training needs on emergency
preparedness for their institution or institutions in their area, and 3) to establish an online
statewide resource guide that would serve as a framework for collaboration and sustain
future efforts. The grant goals were achieved. Project partners conducted three regional
workshops in four locations that provided basic training on emergency preparedness.
Feedback gathered at the workshops produced a list of skills needed and a means for
implementing training and targets for training. Based on the feedback, a web site was
developed which provides resources and training opportunities.
II. Project Activities
Two activities were identified: a series of regional workshops that would educate as well
as provide a means for gathering feedback for training needs and establishing an online
statewide resource guide for emergency planning.
In approaching the theme of statewide emergency preparedness, the Kansas Connecting
to Collections Planning Board focused on community level awareness and regional
coordination as a strategy for activating museum and library staff. By offering face-toface workshops to cultural heritage institutions in three regions of Kansas, the board
hoped to catalyze diverse participants to partner with local-to-regional emergency
response teams and other civic organizations.
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A draft of content for a statewide emergency planning guide was developed by the
Planning Board prior to the workshops, with a general outline of components presented
for participant feedback. Workshop sessions generated many suggestions for Kansas
specific training, experts, and volunteer groups. A priority in the layout was nonredundancy with existing websites and an emphasis on Kanas resources and
communications.
III. Project Audience
Invitations for three regional workshops were sent to over 500 librarians, historians, and
archivists who work in a cultural heritage environment, students enrolled in preservation
coursework and county record keeping agencies. An emergency recovery vendor,
BELFOR Property Restoration, attended all three workshops, providing information to
participants and donating break refreshments. Grant partners made a personal effort to
invite institutions not registered and make them aware of the workshop opportunity. In
follow-up, grant partners have further targeted libraries, archives and museums that may
have been unable to attend the initial workshops by presenting at association conferences.
The online statewide resource guide was created to aid libraries, museums, historical
societies and any cultural heritage institutions in preventing, preparing for and recovering
from various emergencies.
IV. Analysis
With the leadership of project consultant Julie Page, the Planning Board formulated
workshops that focused on two key elements: meeting emergency planning needs of
Kansas cultural heritage institutions, regardless of size, and establishing a sustainable
network that crosses institutional lines and encourages collaboration within regions. Each
six-hour workshop offered baseline training in emergency planning, a tabletop disaster
scenario exercise and moderated breakout sessions. Afternoon breakout sessions focused
on regional networking.
A fourth venue was added in the geographically-large western region. Northwest Kansas
institutions connected via video conference to the workshop in southwest Kansas. This
necessitated having a second facilitator, handouts, packets, supplies and catering, but
enabled a dozen librarians and museum staff to participate in the workshop.
Workshop participants were encouraged to complete an emergency planning template
using the Council of State Archivists’ Pocket Response Plan (PReP). Each registrant for
the workshop was sent a partially completed PReP. The first 10 institutions from each
workshop location to submit a completed PReP received a Heritage Preservation Disaster
Wheel.
At each of the workshops, cross-community collaboration was encouraged by assigning
seating so that regions or cities sat together with a variety of institution type. This was
particularly important during the disaster scenario exercise and the breakout sessions
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which reinforced the consultant’s emphasis on local communication and collaboration as
the best means of preventing or mitigating a disaster.
Partner members from University of Kansas Libraries filmed the first workshop
presented by our primary consultant, Julie Page. The intention was to provide those who
expressed an interest in the workshops but were unable to attend due to conflicts the
essential training that was offered by the workshops. With grant funds, an additional 250
DVD copies were made to distribute to museums which were proportionately
underrepresented at the workshops.
Feedback sessions and training needs expressed by workshop participants culminated in
the establishment of the Kansas Cultural Heritage Emergency Resources Network
(KCHERN) Coordinating Council. Comprised of staff from libraries, museums and
archives, this group is charged with maintaining the KCHERN web site, maintaining a
list-serv, promoting collections care and training, promoting emergency preparedness and
the formation of regional collaborative networks.
A. Accomplishments of project
1. Three regional workshops in four locations that offered baseline training in emergency
planning and inventoried more detailed training needs
2. Established an online resource guide http://kansaschern.wordpress.com/
3. Listserv dedicated to emergency planning, prevention, response, and recovery
4. Creation of Facebook page to promote the resource guide and training opportunities
5. Dissemination of 200 DVDs of the first workshop
6. Additional training for workshop attendees who expressed a commitment to regional
collaboration (Lyrasis webinar “Establishing Emergency Response Networks for Cultural
Collections”)
7. New leadership (generated 30 volunteers for regional leadership; sixteen committed to
serving on the KCHERN Coordinating Council)
Lessons Learned
Personnel changes in institutions were unanticipated. The director of the Kansas
Museums Association was vacant during the planning part of the grant and remained
unfilled until after the workshops were concluded. This required extra effort on the part
of the grant partners in contacting museums to let them know about the workshops and to
encourage them to attend. The CFO of the PI institution was vacant from December 2009
until March 2010, which made a request for a grant extension necessary.
Between the award of the grant and the first regional workshop, the group had a little
over seven months to coordinate three consultants, two facilitators, reserve three venues,
and come to a consensus on how to achieve our goals. The first regional workshop was
scheduled for October first with the last workshop scheduled for the end of October. This
was partly due to Kansas weather and the need to conclude travel before the weather
turned bad. In fact, several participants were unable to attend the October 29 workshop
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due to a rain storm the night before that made roads impassable. In addition to doing the
grant, partners still had job duties that needed to be done. The lead partner, the State
Library, relocated all staff and the entire library collection to temporary quarters less than
two months after the final workshop. To be able to follow up with the workshops and
conclude the grant by the end of a one year grant cycle was overly optimistic. The group
should have planned for a two year grant cycle, which we ended up taking anyway.
B. Outcomes
Tangible deliverables from the project that would not have materialized without IMLS
support were: workshop feedback; the creation of local emergency Pocket Response
Plans initiated by the workshops; a succession of local or regional meetings/exercises for
organizing emergency coordination; the organizational vehicles of website and listserv;
and a new leadership group representing widely distributed cultural heritage institutions.
Workshop sessions not only delivered useable information to participants, but provided
the Planning Board with a means of soliciting feedback on further training. These needs
were divided into recommendations as follows:
Skills (communication, planning, emergency response, recovery)
Means of implementing training (standardized, online, staff development,
repeatability, community-wide, train the trainer network, first responder)
3.
Targets for training (volunteers, professionals, cross-train, local officials, frontline
staff, special needs population)
1.
2.
Examples of outcomes
“The leak occurred while I was out of town, however, the archivists acted quickly and
according to guidelines we set up in our "pocket plans" even though the plans have not
yet been finalized. We also used the opportunity to restock our emergency supply
cabinet.” (Morgan R. Davis, Dole Institute of Politics)
“The May Day exercises were an excellent way to remind staff of the procedures involved
in responding to any emergency. The staff responded quickly to this emergency under the
general guidelines and were able to adjust as the response progressed … The planning
and discussion with staff certainly had a very positive impact on our response, as
evidenced by the return of 80% of the affected materials within 3 working days.”
(Roberta Johnson, K-State Libraries, Director for Administration and IT Services )
“We found the information in the workshop helpful when we had recent roof leaks on our
library/archives ceiling. With the info from the workshop in mind on how quickly mold
can develop and spread, we had our fans blowing before we even turned on the lights. As
a Dodge City group we have developed and shared information (cell numbers) for
support for emergency preparedness. As kind of an aside of that, last week a member of
the group had an electrical/fire problem with his apartment building across the street
from my office. I was able to give him a call from the number provided on our emergency
pocket plan and make him aware of the emergency vehicles surrounding his building. …
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the call gave him time to respond to the damage and take care of the needs of his
tenants.” (Barb Vincent, Director, Kansas Heritage Center, Dodge City)
C. Project impact
The three workshops generated 30 volunteers for regional leadership, from which nine
committed to work on the transitional KCHERN Coordinating Council. The Council held
their first meeting in November 2010 and agreed to oversight of the website, listserv, and
collaborative efforts pursuant to additional grants and statewide support. Their
distribution geographically and by type of institution validated the grassroots
development approach taken by the Planning Board. The Council continues to add new
members.
To expose more Kansas cultural heritage institutions to the activities and results of the
planning grant, a condensed version of the regional workshops was repeated at statewide
annual meetings of the Kansas Library Association April 8 and the Kansas Museums
Association October 29, 2010 and May 11, 2011 for 65 librarians at the 2011 spring
assembly of the Central Kansas Library System.
Examples where the project had long term or community impact
Regionally, collaborative initiatives were reported from Dodge City in Southwest Kansas
and from Manhattan in North Central Kansas.
“We have met with campus staff, have reviewed the ‘College Disaster Plan’ and have
begun the discussion on updates to that document in light of the October meeting. The
pocket plan template was a big hit there as well, and will likely be expanded for "whole
campus" utilization as well.” (Colleen Peters, Central Christian College Archives,
McPherson)
“We had a brief training time on emergency preparedness during our last staff meeting
(November 10, 2009) to check our flashlights, and discuss how different staff might
respond to fire, tornado, and personal threat by someone in the library. I mentioned that
we were going to make up a first aid kit and a tub for emergency supplies. Staff who
either have had children in Boy Scouts or brothers said that our Boy Scouts could help
make both.” (Melany Wilks, Pioneer Memorial Library, Colby, KS)
V. Future Plans
The successor to the Connecting to Collections grant organization is the Kansas Cultural
Heritage Emergency Resources Network Council. Their goals are to maintain and grow
the KCHERN council and encourage interest in establishing regional groups through
activity on the listserv, a Facebook page and blog. Other activities to maintain awareness
of the web site have been through activities such as contributing an emergency supply
bucket at the Kansas Library Association silent auction basket fundraiser. Flyers
describing the KCHERN council activities and web site produced with grant funds have
been distributed at the Kansas Library Association’s and Kansas Museum Association’s
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annual conference. Members of the KCHERN Council continue to offer training at these
annual meetings.
The council is planning an online survey of libraries and museums to establish cultural
institution needs in the area of emergency planning.
On behalf of the Kansas Connecting to Collections partnership and the Kansas Cultural
Heritage Emergency Resources Network, thank you for the support IMLS provided for
this important project.
Grant products included in shipment to IMLS:
Report: Connecting to Collections: Reducing Risks to Kansas Cultural Heritage
Institutions (3 copies)
DVD of first regional workshop (3 copies)
Flyers about KCHERN council (3 copies)
CD of KCHERN web site (3 copies)
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