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Disaster Preparedness And Security Management In Archives
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More so,
modern accounts of damage resulting from disaster include the Florence
disaster of 1966 when a flood caused serious damage to National Library
Holdings. This was perhaps the point in time when the disaster risk was
fully realized. Also, the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986 and
the tragic fire at the Academic of Science Library in Leningrad in 1988
were examples of disaster encountered in modern times. In modern times
too, are also records of archives damaged due to earthquakes including
the National Archives in Mexico in Mexico City which was damaged by the
Mexican earthquake of 1985, the San Francisco City Archives in the U.S.A
damaged by the Loma Pieta earthquake in 1989 and several archives
institutions in the Hanshin Region of Japan in 1995.
Thus, one of the
fundamental aims of the International Council on Archives (ICA) is to
promote the preservation of the world’s archival heritage. Aware of the
widespread threats to this heritage, not least from armed conflicts in
various parts of the world, and the role of disaster planning in meeting
them, the XII General Assembly of ICA meeting in Montreal in 1992,
called for the preparation of plans and publications to assist in
preserving damage to archives from natural and man-made disaster. It
would be comforting to think that the disaster threat comes from events
which might be described as natural phenomena are therefore, infrequent
and confined to a few regions of the world. This sadly is not the cases
all too often that result from the carelessness of man himself.
Also,
a disaster can result from an act of vandalism; it could be a fire
resulting from poor maintenance, negligence or arson. It is as well
frequently simply as the result of a burst of water main pipe, which of
the devastating effect of water.
The word “disaster†is a strong one
bringing to mind catastrophic occurrence such as the Florence floods,
Mexico. One should remember that an event does not have to be of any
significant size for it to be disastrous in an archive. A small event
happening in the wrong time can be as potentially damaging as a large
one. The use of the word disaster is to describe such events, whatever
their size, is a careful and deliberate choice.
Archival collections
are created because of the enduring values which they posses. Necessary
steps must therefore be taken to ensure their protection and physical
well being. Unfortunately, the greater percentage of valuable records
and volumes of archival materials are not housed under suitable ideal
conditions but are kept as best they may be by multitudes of smaller
archives and other establishments of a public or private nature that may
not be primarily concerned with records protection.
Also, it should
be noted that far too many archives in the world have neither disaster
preparedness nor a security plan in a place. Many archivists as well
recognize the need to protect their holdings, but they fail to develop
disaster preparedness and security plan due to a number of factors
including inadequate funding and staffing and shortage of supplies.
However, these problems should not prevent archivists from developing
disaster preparedness and security plan is very simple, although it is
time consuming. Archivists do not need high tech and expensive equipment
and supplies to develop sound plans.
However, whether National
Archives Owerri Branch had or has not experienced any of these dangerous
disasters like floods, fire, earth quake, hurricane, tornado etc.
Despite, it has or has not experienced any of these mentioned disasters
since it was established, it does not mean that it could not encounter
any disaster throughout its life span. So there is a need for National
Archives, Owerri Branch to be acquainted with, and prepare for disaster
in case it occurred.
The need for disaster preparedness should be a
factor that should be taken serious by every archive establishment. The
essence, of disaster preparedness is to reduce the dangerous effect
cause by disaster since i.e. is known that total protection may not be
achieved through preventive measures; this is why efforts are made to
put in place preparedness measures. It is therefore, necessary to have a
reaction contingency plan for the purpose of reading to an emergency
situation. The objectives of such reaction will be to protect materials
and to take action to remove the threat to the archival collections.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]The project is based on the Disaster Preparedness and Security Management of National Archives, Owerri Branch. This work is divided into 5 (five) chapter.Chapter one, highlighted what disaster is and different causes and types of disaster. In chapter two, the necessary literatures were reviewed. In chapter three, the research method used was survey method, the research finding were based on the data collected from the research instrument are shown in the methodology. Chapter four, shows how date ... Continue reading---
