Libraries learn lessons in flooding aftermath

Libraries learn lessons in flooding aftermath
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BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff

Although Tropical Storm Allison caused very little damage to Fondren Library, more than 100 other libraries in the Houston area were not so fortunate. Representatives of three libraries that were flooded by the June storm shared their experiences during a Sept. 19 program at Fondren so that other libraries might benefit from lessons learned.

Jon Schultz, director of the O’Quinn Law Library at the University of Houston Law Center, showed a video he shot in the aftermath of Allison as he entered the law library, which occupies two underground floors, one of which was flooded. As the camera zoomed in on stairs leading down into water, tables and chairs floating near the ceiling and books everywhere, Schultz noted that 200,000 of the library’s books became flood victims, as did the rare archival collection of the papers of the late Judge John R. Brown and the foreign and international law collection. The library’s 1.2 million microfiche got flooded too, but Schultz is hopeful they can be salvaged with special processing.

“The main thing I learned from experience in dealing with this is the need for speed,” Schultz said. “The minute the water rolls out of there, you’ve got mold forming. You’ve got to act fast.”

Schultz quickly contracted with disaster-remediation companies so that portable air-conditioners, dehumidifiers and electrical generators were in place within the first few days after the storm.

He encouraged library staffers to develop a disaster plan that includes a list of local emergency consultants and suppliers, a drawing that shows the location of all shelving, furniture and equipment, a video inventory of the library and related physical facilities and a comprehensive description of each collection. “Volume count and quantification are absolutely essential for insurance purposes,” he said.

Elizabeth White, director of the John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center at the Houston Academy of Medicine–Texas Medical Center Library that was flooded, applied a triage system similar to that used in the emergency rooms of nearby hospitals. Realizing that the entire collection could not be saved, she determined the most important items in each section of the library so they could be retrieved in time to minimize damage.

“Spend your money and personnel on the things that are most important,” White said.
She warned library administrators about the personnel shortage that is likely to occur after a flood, noting that some staff members will have flooding problems of their own to address at home and some won’t be able to come to work because of road closures or flooded cars. Cross-training staff members can help them cover for others during a disaster. White said “the whiners” — the staff members who really don’t want to be there — should be sent home. “You cannot expend your emotional energy dealing with the whiners, and the group who stays to do the recovery work will be more cohesive,” she explained. She recommended hiring members of labor pools, friends, family members and volunteers from churches to assist with recovery efforts.

Because of the critical timing after a flood, library administrators might have to make decisions about spending without going through the standard approval procedure, White said. “There are times when it is better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission. If you don’t believe this, you may not be able to manage a disaster,” she said.

Tom Takaro, librarian for the Houston Symphony Library, had to salvage more than 90 years of sheet music accumulated by the symphony from the eight feet of water in the basement of downtown Houston’s Jones Hall. He estimates there were more than 2,000 separate musical works, each with a score for the conductor showing all the instruments and individual parts for each instrument.

Although most of the sheet music can be replaced, Takaro’s goal was to preserve the water-damaged music because it contains the musicians’ and conductors’ personal markings. He sent all the music to a company for freeze-drying and won’t know until the end of October whether everything was salvageable. But based on an early sample, Takaro expects to be able to photocopy the markings from the freeze-dried music so they can be used again.

In the meantime, Takaro is hunting for an above-ground location in Jones Hall for the symphony’s library. “Our insurance company won’t insure the music if it goes in the basement again,” he said. His presentation featured a slide show of images from the flood in Jones Hall, including the library and the pianos and basses that were destroyed, accompanied by a recording of dramatic music performed by the Houston Symphony.

James Zemlicka, a technical specialist in the mitigation department of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), also spoke at the program at Fondren. “We cannot prevent disasters, but we can change their outcome if we plan ahead,” he said.

Zemlicka reiterated the need for library staffs to have a crisis-management plan. “Plan now. Have a book or list of procedures thought out ahead of time so that you don’t have to make snap decisions during the moment of crisis. Emotions run high during a disaster, and it’s hard to control things,” he said.

Besides flooding, Houston is subject to a number of other risks, such as hurricanes, fire, mold and tornadoes, Zemlicka said. He advised that a crisis-management plan consider multiple risks simultaneously. Tips on preventing the loss of life and property are available on the FEMA Web site at <www.Fema.gov>.

Rita Marsales, preservation librarian at Fondren, organized the program with the help of Fondren Library’s Disaster Recovery Team.

Fondren Library director Sara Lowman summed up the need for the program in her introductory remarks: “Flooding has been the main cause of library disasters, so we all need to prepare.”