Date

TO:______

FR:COSTEP Massachusetts

RE:Massachusetts Cultural Resources Disaster Information Form

This form is part of an ongoing effort to incorporate cultural resources into the municipal emergency plan. We appreciate your cooperation in filling out this form. When you’ve completed it, please deliver it to your local Emergency Management Director (EMD).

Please note the following before you proceed:

*We define cultural resources broadly to include artwork, museum artifacts, and library materials as well as archival records, municipal records, institutional records, and important cultural entities in the community. After a disaster, what records will be crucial in getting your institution up and running again? And after a disaster, what would we lose of our memories, our cultural identity, and our history if our cultural resources no longer existed? In many cases, cultural institutions (such as OldSturbridgeVillage) have a major economic impact on the community, so their viability is also important.

* Your EMD is responsible for updating and maintaining your city or town’s emergency plan. Data from this form will be incorporated into your municipal plan. EMDs are not expected to deal with the specialized response and recovery of cultural resources; that is the responsibility of the cultural community. In the event of a disaster, it is the responsibility of the EMDs to ensure that cultural resources are not ignored and to facilitate cultural resource staff gaining access to their institutions in a timely manner.

*Your EMD is NOT responsible for developing your institution’s disaster plan; you are. For assistance in developing an institutional disaster plan, cultural organizations can confer with fellow institutions, professional associations, or use the NortheastDocumentConservationCenter’s free online disaster-plan template, dPlan, at For further information regarding cultural resources, emergency preparedness, prevention, response, or recovery, contact Gregor Trinkaus-Randall at the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners at (617) 725-1860 x236 or (800) 952-7403 x236 (in-state) or at .

This joint effort between the emergency management and cultural heritage communities will help protect the Commonwealth's cultural heritage for the future and can only be accomplished by our working together. Thank you for your understanding, cooperation, and the efforts you have already undertaken toward accomplishing this goal.

Massachusetts Cultural Resources Disaster Information Form

Institution Name:______

Address: ______

City/Town: ______Zip code: ______

Latitude and Longitude: ______

1. Type of institution: (Check all applicable)

Arboretum / Archives/Manuscripts Repository / Historic Landscape
Historic Structure / Historical Society / Library, Public
Library, Research / Library, Special / Municipal Records Repository
Museum, Art / Museum, History / Museum, Outdoor
Museum, Science / Performing Arts / Zoo
Other (Please specify):

2. Main Contact: ______

Work Phone: ______

24-Hour Phone: ______

Email Address: ______

Backup Contact: ______

Work Phone: ______

24-Hour Phone: ______

Email Address: ______

3. Size of institution:

Site

Is a site/building plan available in the event of a disaster? Yes _____ No _____

Please describe the size of your facility (i.e. number of buildings, number of floors in each building, size of grounds/acreage, etc.):

People

Average number of staff on-site per day
Does the institution host group tours?
Average number of visitors per day

4. Does the institution have a catalog/finding aids/shelf list? Yes _____ No _____

If so, please indicate the format:

Paper / Electronic - internal / Electronic - external

Would the item(s) be available in the event of a disaster? Yes _____ No _____

5. Does the institution have an institutional disaster plan?

Yes _____ No _____

If so, please respond to the following questions:

What is the date of the most recent revision: ______

Has the institution worked with other institutions in developing this plan?

Yes _____ No _____

If so, please list the partnering institutions below:

Has there been contact with the fire and/or police departments and emergency manager?

Yes _____ No _____

Is this plan on file with the emergency manager?

Yes _____ No _____

Is this plan on file with the fire department?

Yes _____ No _____

6. Is the institution in a flood plain?

Yes _____ No _____

7. Insurance: Does the facility have:

Federal flood insurance? Yes _____ No _____

Property Insurance – building? Yes _____ No _____

Property Insurance – objects/collections? Yes _____ No _____

8. What kinds of collections/materials does the institution house? (Check all applicable)

Archaeological / Archives/Manuscripts / Arms & Armor / Audio/Visual (film, reel-to-reel, etc.)
Blueprints / Books, Circulating / Books, Rare / CDs & DVDs
Ethnographic / Glass & Ceramics / Historic Structures / Living Animals
Living Plants / Machinery / Maritime Artifacts / Maritime Vessels
Metal Objects / Microforms / Paintings / Paper (newspapers, maps, broadsides, etc.)
Photographs & Negatives / Sculpture / Taxidermy Specimens / Textiles
Wood Objects
Other (Please specify as many types as needed):

9. Do any of the following potential hazards exist in the institution’s collections? (Check all applicable)

Arsenic (taxidermy, textiles, etc.) / Firearms, ammunition / Nitrate film
Chemicals (Please specify):
Other (Please specify):

10. Has prioritization of the collections been done to identify the most important ones to be recovered first in the event of a disaster?

Yes _____ No _____

If so, where does this list reside?

Who is aware of the priorities?

11. Does the institution have disaster recovery supplies on hand?

Yes _____ No _____

If yes, what is included in the supply list?

12. What kind of recovery expertise will be needed in the event of a disaster? (Check all applicable)

Book/paper restoration / Building conservation / Building drying
Commercial freeze-drying / Electronic media recovery / Film restoration
Object conservation / Off-site storage / Off-site work space
Photograph conservation / Project Supervision / Textile conservation
Other (Please specify):

13. What type of immediate, fundamental security needs would the facility have in the event of a large-scale disaster?

14. Does the facility have any of the following on-site? (Check all applicable)

Climate Controls / Fire Detection/Alarms / Fire Suppression System
Generator / Generator plug-in / Security System

15. What type of resources could the institution offer in the event of a disaster?

Internet access / Kitchen facility / Meeting Room space
Other (Please specify):
Other (Please specify):