Overview
What this is: A practical, low-friction pathway to develop, maintain, and test disaster preparedness plans for library collections. CRL convenes structured workshops to create basic disaster plans and runs regular tabletop exercises so members can scenario-test their plans. This leads to regularly validated plans, without requiring each library to design and implement the process on its own.
Intended outcomes / Steady state: Over time, all members have access to a basic, credible disaster plan that can be revisited and stress-tested through tabletop exercises. Preparedness becomes routine and staff gain confidence through shared practice rather than just creating documents. As cohorts repeat and relationships deepen, participating institutions may build regional or affinity-based connections that can support future mutual aid, coordinated response, or shared contracting for specialized recovery services.
Future opportunities include developing libraries of anonymized example plans and after action reports, and working with members to develop response plans or table-top scenario to improve readiness for emerging climate-change driven risk.
How it relates: Advances CRL’s mission of stewardship and collective action by increasing resilience before crises occur. Extends CRL’s long-standing preservation role beyond storage of at-risk content into preparedness and risk mitigation, aligned with the strategic frameworks on increasing resilience and taking practical action together. CRL acts as a hub and broker—lowering the cost of preparedness, making maintenance easier, and turning good intentions into repeatable practice.
Problem or opportunity statement
All libraries recognize the need for disaster preparedness, but creating and sustaining an effective plan requires time, coordination, and uncomfortable realism. Plans are often incomplete, untested, or outdated. Many established plans need updates to address emerging environmental issues. Exercises to stress test plans demand significant effort to design and facilitate. When disasters occur, response takes such significant effort that effective post-mortems may be neglected. Institutions may settle for minimal planning or defer the work entirely, concerned that incomplete plans are ineffective or risky in themselves, or from simple lack of resources. CRL can mitigate this by assuming the overhead of planning and convening, allowing members to focus their limited time on participation, learning, and development.
Practical Example(s)
A member sends two staff to a CRL-run workshop where they augment a widely accepted template with institution-specific disaster plan information covering roles, priorities, and first-response decision points. The following year, those staff participate in a CRL-facilitated tabletop exercise built around a plausible scenario, using their own plan to identify gaps and revisions. Over several cycles, the institution’s plan matures, staff turnover is handled more smoothly, and informal relationships develop with peers facing similar risks or constraints develop.
Member library deans concerned with the risks of damage or vandalism related to social and political protests ask CRL to convene a peer-to-peer conversation. Based on this, CRL gathers information from libraries that have been affected by this activity and consults with experts outside the library profession to develop a planning scenario and run a tabletop exercise. Member libraries participate and learn which campus and community resources need to be activated.
Implementation and Development
Implementation Requirements
Disaster plan template: Several models exist and CRL can begin developing a working version based on its own needs and vetting with member experts
CRL leadership has run planning programs (institutional and regional) and will oversee initial workshops and materials development; as process matures, CRL staff can be trained for sustainability
Development Process
Developing tabletop exercises will be an important resource investment: this may be commissioned work from relevant organization, or the product of a member and staff working group
Begin with internal test of template plan for CRL staff, then proceed to pilot plan creation workshop. If successful, schedule a series of plan workshops.
Begin with internal test of a tabletop exercise, or local test drawing on Chicago-area CRL members. Refine and then schedule pilot test of virtual tabletop exercise for members.
Governance and Oversight
CRL staff led, with oversight likely from CSC.
Counsel will review program plan to ensure no liability issues are created or construed