A disaster response plan should address three general areas: risk identification through a facilities and risks audit, preventive action and readiness to lessen the impact of disasters, disaster and salvage response to speedily rescue and recover damaged library and archive material. All three areas should be approached systematically and cooperatively, with the full support and force of the library or archive administration. For libraries and archives in larger entities, such as government and academic institutions, the disaster response plan should be put in the larger context of the parent institution, incorporating the broader planning mechanisms that might already be in place to respond to major emergencies. Experience shows that it is often libraries and archives that initiate disaster response planning, however, so librarians and archivists should not be constrained from acting in the absence of more general plans.

This section is divided into four main steps. It is recommended that you follow each section in order, as the information is cumulative.
1. Selecting task force members
2. Setting agendas
3. Appointing a disaster action team
4. Developing a disaster telephone tree