ENSURE INFORMED, COORDINATED, AND EXPEDIENT RESPONSE
PANEL CONFERENCE CALL
Tuesday, March 6, 2007, 11:30am – 12:45pm
Call Summary
Present: Ann Hitchcock, NPS, Co-chair
Nancy Odegaard, AIC, Co-chair
Doris Hamburg, NARA
Eric Pourchot, AIC
Ann Seibert, NARA
Larry Reger, Heritage Preservation
Mary Rogers, Heritage Preservation
1. Long-term Goals Status Reports
Create guide for establishing mutual assistance networks
Panelists commented that the draft recommendation written by Ann Hitchcock is comprehensive.
 Larry Reger suggested that test communities be identified before the workshop is held so that representatives from those communities could take part in it.
 Doris Hamburg noted that the workshop could involve looking at those communities as case studies.
 Mary Rogers reported that the Northern Ohio Alliance for Response is working on establishing a disaster supply cache but has encountered several issues. She has also contacted representatives from Charleston
Archives, Libraries, and Museums (CALM) and Mountain Area Cultural
Resources Emergency Network (MACREN) for information on their

 activities and agreements.
Doris Hamburg and Debbie Norris have identified a Winterthur student who is interested in working on the guide for several weeks this summer.
If the student produces a guide or template, Ann Hitchcock suggested that a Federal solicitor review it for compliance with Federal agreement/contracting standards. At least one template should meet government standards, making it easier for Federal entities to sign on to a mutual assistance network.
 Because NARA will be funding the student’s work, Doris Hamburg noted that whatever work the student creates will be put up on the NARA Web-
 site and then shared with other Task Force members.
Doris Hamburg noted that the project grant proposal might include a request for funding for the test communities to buy supplies or for network
 administration activities.
Ann noted that Jane requested that time and cost estimates be added to all recommendations.
Next Steps:
(Updated from previous call:) By May 15 th
, finalize recommendation for creating mutual assistance network guide. Funding will be needed to write, post, publish,
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and distribute the guide. The recommendation from the panel can be the basis of writing a funding proposal for the project.
Assignments:
 The panel needs to determine what tasks the student would be assigned, such as establishing the principles and concepts of developing a mutual assistance network. This product would inform the workshop and other subsequent activities.
 Heritage Preservation and Eric Pourchot will work on a cost estimate for
 the workshop.
 Ann Hitchcock will amend the recommendation milestones to reflect today’s discussion.
Larry Reger will talk to Nancy Schamu about SHPO emergency planning activities.
Develop, test, and implement GIS geodatabase and related standards for archives, libraries, and museums
The draft recommendation by Ann Hitchcock details the project milestones.
 Eric Pourchot asked if this project will build on GeoLib, a Florida public library GIS project.
 Ann Seibert noted that the Council of State Archivists has as an action step (to address collectively at the national level) in their recent report
Safeguarding a Nation’s Identity to: o conduct surveys in each state of all public and private organizations that hold archival collections.

Surveys should include college and university special collections, public libraries, museums, local historical societies, and historic sites. Build and maintain a GISlinked database about where these collections are held and the extent and nature of the holdings so that appropriate resources can be mobilized when the collections are threatened or damaged. (page 11)
Next Steps:
Hosting the workshop to develop the attribute list will require funding (and this will take place before NPS tests the standards on NPS units). The panel will need to determine the time and costs estimates for this project.
Assignments:
Ann Hitchcock will ask John Knoerl (NPS) about GeoLib and its relation to
NPS’s CRGIS.
Establish national listing of cultural responders
Ann Hitchcock reported that the NPS Emergency Incident Coordination Center
(EICC) can maintain a list of responders after the Task Force has collected the information. The EICC process is:
 Government agencies collect information from employees who are available for emergency deployment (under ESF #11)
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 That information is sent to EICC, where it is loaded into the database, which is then used by various agencies to deploy volunteers in an emergency.
There would be costs associated with collecting names to be added to the database but EICC would absorb the costs for uploading the names and maintaining the database.
Issues for the panel to consider include:
 What organization/agency would be responsible for collecting volunteer
 information?
 What would be the process for screening volunteers, if any?
Who would use the list and how/when would it be used? How would
FEMA and ESF #11 make use of these names?
Other comments:
 Larry Reger noted that the Task Force worked with FEMA several years
 ago on this project.
Nancy Odegaard reported that when AIC’s Collections Emergency
Response Training (AIC-CERT) is complete, a list of response-qualified people will exist, and it would be nice to have a mechanism for sharing that list with FEMA (through EICC).
 It was noted that different levels of responders would be needed, from those who can provide assistance by phone to those who can assist on-site.
 Several panel members noted that the Sahana tool recommended by
Daniel Lobo could be useful in organizing a response but there was a question of who would maintain this tool on an ongoing basis if it were used to manage the response list.
Next Steps:
The panel will discuss these issues in more detail on the next conference call.
Assignments:


Larry Reger will talk to Alan Aiches about FEMA’s use of list.
Nancy Odegaard and Eric Pourchot will discuss AIC’s possible involvement with such a list.
Short-term Goals Status Report
Recommend essential training for cultural responders
Ann Seibert drafted an introduction to the training course list.
 Larry Reger suggested that CERT (Community Emergency Response

Teams) training could be added to the essential training list. He noted that
Bev Perkins, AIC’s Volunteer Coordinator during hurricane season 2005, says that CERT training, which issues a badge and credentials, is one of the best ways to ensure access to a disaster site.
Doris Hamburg suggested that the wording of the training package be modified – “essential” to what? Ann Hitchcock noted that “essential” refers to the “basic” or “minimal” training a cultural responder needs.
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Next Steps:
(From previous call:) The list will focus on courses available on-line, but the introduction should reference other courses that are available. The training package will need to be posted on-line (on Heritage Preservation web-site and other Task Force members’ sites) and promoted by Task Force members. The list will be divided into “essential” and “recommended” courses. It will include core courses for all museum/archives/library and historic preservation responders and resource-specific courses that are “essential” or “recommended” for specialists, such as the AIA online training, which would be “essential” for all responding architects.
Assignments:
Ann Seibert will be contacting panelists for input on the course list; and panelists are encouraged to contact Ann with any suggestions for additions to the list.
3. Next conference call
The next conference call will take place on Monday, April 2, 2007 from
11:30am – 12:45pm. Ann Hitchcock will send call-in information to panelists.
*See notes from this and previous conference calls at www.heritagepreservation.org/programs/tflessons/
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