The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) invites participants to develop an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for their archival repositories with a free webinar series launching May 20. Over the course of five weeks, professional consultant Rebecca Elder of Elder Cultural Heritage Preservation will guide participants through the step-by-step process of creating an Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for their archival repositories. Each 90-minute webinar will focus on components of building a plan, with the final installment an opportunity to assess draft plans and review potential implementation concerns. The topics are as follows:

Week 1: Emergency Planning Basics and the Emergency Team

Week 2: Risk Assessment and Choosing a Plan Template

Week 3: Contact Lists and Salvage Priorities

Week 4: Procedures, Supplies and Implementation

Week 5: How Did It Go?

Registration is for the series. Please note that week two covers risk assessment, which would typically require access to the repository. Those not able to make on-site visits because of COVID -19 may need to address the more specific details of this module at a later date. Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1539294695231443212

Support for this project provided by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the funding arm of the National Archives.

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) serves the archival community with a range of ongoing efforts supporting the preservation of the historical record. With funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), THRAB provides free training opportunities to those working in repositories around the state. As part of the offerings for 2019, THRAB coordinated a series of educational webinars and workshops designed to help archivists combat threats from natural and other disasters by preparing collections and staff for such emergencies. Rebecca Elder, a preservation consultant who runs Elder Preservation, created and taught the Emergency Planning and Response series, which included hands-on workshops complete with wet-salvage exercises and a two-part online component.

On-site workshops were held over two days and addressed each phase of dealing with major emergency situations in an archive. Elder guided participants through processes like developing an emergency plan, assembling a team, establishing salvage priorities and purchasing appropriate supplies and disaster gear. Workshop participants performed a risk assessment exercise in the facilities in which the workshops took place and learned to identify possible threats.

Day two involved a wet-salvage project where participants learned methods of handling and recovering soaked papers, books, posters, cassette tapes, computer disks, negatives and photographs. The images above capture participants in action as they work on recovery techniques.THRAB offered the workshop at Rice University’s Fondren Library in Houston and the TSLAC’s State Records Center in North Austin.

THRAB also supports the various Archives Bazaars happening across Texas in 2019 and 2020, produces an Archives Month poster each October, honors institutions and individuals with the Archival Award of Excellence and funds a Special Award for National History Day with the Texas State Historical Association’s Texas History Day program. Keep up with THRAB happenings at THRAB.org.

The Texas Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) is offering in 2019 a series of professional development opportunities to equip those caring for archival materials with the knowledge, skills and hands-on experience needed to prepare repositories for threats and recover damaged collections. THRAB has contracted with Cultural Heritage Preservation Consultant Rebecca Elder to teach two 90-minute webinars on emergency planning and two-day hands-on workshops in Austin and Houston. Funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), workshops are provided free of charge and available to those working in Texas repositories. Registration is now open for the webinars:

• Webinar: Emergency Preparedness        4/23/2019 10 -11:30 a.m
• Webinar: Emergency Response               5/01/2019 10 -11:30 a.m.

Hands-on workshops are scheduled for June 13-14 in Austin and in Houston June 27-28. Each will be a two-day event. The first day will focus on emergency preparedness, and the second day will focus on response, including a wet salvage exercise. Each workshop will be limited to 20 attendees working for a Texas repository. Registration will open in early May. Please note that THRAB may limit registration to one person per institution to allocate space equitably.

Rebecca Elder is a seasoned preservation consultant who works with the staff of cultural heritage institutions to care for their historical collections. Elder holds a Master’s in Information Science from the University of Texas and is a former field services officer for Amigos Preservation Services. She currently teaches preservation management at the University of Texas iSchool and courses online at Kent State.

Funding for THRAB workshops provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.