Check out the newest LITA Guide: Technology Disaster Response and Recovery Planning
Most library disaster plans focus on response and recovery from collection and facilities disasters, such as fire and floods. But because technology is becoming ever more integral to libraries’ role in their communities, any interruption in service and resources is a serious matter. A disaster’s effect on internet and social media sites, electronic resources, digital collections, and staff and public infrastructure of PCs, tablets, laptops and other peripherals requires special consideration. Edited by Mary Mallery, “Technology Disaster Response and Recovery Planning: A LITA Guide” published by ALA TechSource, features contributions from librarians who offer hard-won advice gained from personal experience. Leading readers through a step-by-step process of creating a library technology disaster response and recovery plan, this compendium:
- outlines the three phases of technology disaster response, with examples of planning and implementation strategies from several different libraries;
- describes how to conduct an inventory and risk assessment;
- provides detailed case studies of recent large-scale technology disasters in libraries and documents how lessons learned have helped to improve technology disaster planning;
- offers an in-depth look at future trends in cloud computing, mapping out the new field of disaster mitigation, response and recovery planning;
- includes useful resources such as checklists, templates and a sample communications plan.
Mallery is the associate dean for technical services at Montclair State University Library. She has published articles and presented on library technology-related topics extensively. She is the book review editor for the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship and a regular contributor to the Web Review column of Technical Services Quarterly. She teaches classes in database design and management as well as metadata sources for library professionals at the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information as a part-time lecturer.