Each department, unit, or library should identify the parts of its library collections that should be protected or salvaged first in an emergency. List these library materials, records, and collections in order of priority. It is best to list the collection priorities in detail. Establishing priorities within collections is equally important (for example, the call numbers of specific items within a collection). Along with this priority list, attach a floor plan to the disaster response plan to indicate the locations of fire extinguishers and alarms.
In establishing priorities, consider these questions:
1. What is the monetary and intrinsic value of the
collection as a whole or of individual items?
2. How fragile is the material? (Is it brittle? Does
it consist of unbound issues of serials?)
3. How vulnerable is the material to damage from a disaster?
(Is it located under pipes or near water fountains?)
4. Is the material replaceable? Can most of the items
be replaced in the same format or a different one? What
are the economics of replacing items? Which materials
can be replaced more economically than they can be salvaged?
What is the estimated average replacement cost of a
monograph? What are the costs (direct and hidden) of
deaccessioning materials? What materials can be discarded
rather than salvaged? What are the legal requirements,
if any, for retaining documents and material?
5. Why is preserving this material critical? (What is
its importance to collections or to institutional programs?)
6. Besides the collections, what other items are valuable
for operations? (The catalog, shelflist, terminals,
other data?)
