Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) for Libraries Emerging from a Worldwide Pandemic

Posted by Maddie Romansic on January 15th, 2021 Posted in: Emergency Preparedness, News from NNLM, Public Libraries, Training & Education
Tags: disaster information, disaster preparedness, emergency preparedness, online education

---

We’re partnering with our colleagues at NNLM Southeastern/Atlantic to bring you this 2-part series. Thanks to Liz Waltman for putting together this introduction:

We all hope that by the end of the summer 2021 the COVID-19 pandemic will mainly be behind us, and the large bandwidth that the pandemic has taken up over the past year can be used for pressing needs that may have taken a back seat. One of those needs is disaster planning. While there is a vaccine to assuage the impact of a pandemic, there is no antidote for the personal and economic devastation from events that disrupt the provision of core library services, such as an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or civil unrest. It is essential for all libraries to resume planning for disasters, which includes knowing how to respond to a disaster, how to develop partnerships with local emergency planners, and how to find a backup library to mitigate the impact of a disaster.

This two-part webinar series held on Tuesday, January 26 and Wednesday, February 10 will provide attendees with the awareness and tools necessary to face disasters of any kind. Hosted by Dan Wilson from the University of Virginia, Part 1 will provide first-hand accounts of how libraries have responded to a disaster and introduce a template for participants to begin creating their own one-page continuity of operations plan. Part 2 will answer attendee questions that arose while writing their COOP, and match libraries from the northwest with similar libraries in the southeast who can potentially partner as a backup library.

These two sessions are intended for members of the PNR & SEA regions: AK, AL, DC, GA, FL, ID, MD, MI, MT, NC, OR, PR, SC, TN, USVI, VA, WA, and WV. Participants from other regions are welcome to attend, however, we may be less likely to match you with a COOP partner.

After attending both sessions, participants are eligible for 4 MLA CE credits. This class is also eligible for Disaster Information Specialization continuing education credit awarded by the Medical Library Association.

Part 1 Registration

Part 2 Registration

For questions, please contact Liz Waltman.