The document discusses disaster management specifically in the context of libraries, outlining different types of disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and fires, along with their effects and examples of library damage. It emphasizes the necessity of having a comprehensive disaster management plan for libraries that includes responsibilities, hazard assessments, and collaborations with emergency agencies. The conclusion highlights the importance of disaster preparedness to mitigate the impact on library collections and infrastructure.

1. DISASTER MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED BY
SUBHAJIT BHATTACHARJEE & MRIDUL BHATTACHARYA

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
• What is disaster ?
• Types of disaster effecting libraries
• Earthquake, its effects on libraries & examples
• Tsunami / Flood, its effects on libraries & examples
• Fire disaster, its effects on libraries & examples
• Disaster management
• Preventive measures from disasters for libraries
• Conclusion
• References

3. WHAT IS DISASTER ?
The Disaster Management
Act 2005 given the
definition of disaster as
Disaster means a
catastrophe, mishap,
calamity in any area arising
from natural or manmade
causes which results in loss
of life and destruction of
property or degradation of
environment.

4. Types of disasters which
generally effect libraries are :
Earthquake
Tsunami/Flood
Fire

5. Earthquake
Shaking of the surface of the earth caused by sudden
movement in the earth crust
 Effect of Earthquake in Libraries :
• Building collapse
• Burying of books among
debris
• Falling of the books from the
shelves
• Restoration of service takes
longer time

6.  Examples :
• The Imperial Library in Tokyo was hit by a massive earthquake in
1923. 700,000 volumes including government documents,
manuscripts and old prints were completely destroyed.
• Ovaiatt Library at California State University at Northridge, USA
was damaged due to 6.7 magnitude earthquake in 1994. 50% of
the building was structurally damaged.
• On October 2005, a major earthquake of 7.6 magnitude shook
the Azad Jammu Kashmir. The Khurshid National Library in
Muzaffarabad founded in 1988 was completely destroyed. More
than 3,500 books and about 40,000 documents related to history
of Jammu and Kashmir and its freedom movement were
destroyed.
• In Western India, several libraries were damaged. A massive
earthquake in 2001 damaged many libraries especially in Kutch
region of Gujrat.

7. Images of Earthquake Disaster

8. Tsunami / Flood
Series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement
of a large volume of water
 Effect of Tsunami / Flood in Libraries :
• Damage all types of library
materials & resources
• Mainly damage the digital
documents
• Damage can range from
dampness to completely
soaked or submerged items.

9.  Examples :
• In India, Thapar University Library and Punjab University Library
were affected due to unprecedented floods on the night of 11th
July. Thapar Technology Campus was submerged under 1.4m to
2.4m of water for four to five days.
• Sundarayya Vignana Kendram , Hyderabad, India has two
libraries. One is the main Research Library having a rich collection
of rare books, journals, news-papers, pamphlets, manuscripts,
private papers, etc. and other is the Urdu Research Centre Library
having a valuable collection in Urdu language and literature.
Both these libraries were affected due to unusual heavy rains
during the week of 21 August 2000 which caused several flooding in
Hyderabad.
contd..

10. • In 1998, the basement of Boston Public Library was flooded due
to a break in a water pipe.
• Tsunami in 2004 in South and Southeast Asia affected several
libraries. In Sri Lanka about 170 school libraries, 55 public
libraries and 68 libraries attached to religious institution were
either destroyed or damaged.
• A natural disaster in the form of very heavy rains leading to flash
floods occurred in the state of Maharashtra, India around 26 July
2005. The city of Surat, Gujrat resulted in loss of more than 2 lakh
items in seven libraries.

11. Images of Tsunami / Flood Disaster

12. Fire
It is another disaster faced by libraries. It can happen due to
negligence, short circuit caused by loose or faulty wiring and
switches.
 Effect of Fire Disaster in Libraries :
• Library materials including paper,
film and wood. All these materials
are inflammable.
• Turn the books and other
resources to ashes.
• Heat damage the digital content
like CDs, DVD, microform, etc.

13. Examples :
• In May 1943, a fire completely destroyed the National Library of
Peru, with the loss of 100000 volumes as well as 40000
manuscripts.
• The Law School Library at University of Buffalo, USA was affected
due to fire in the lower floor of the school building in March
2005. No books were burnt or destroyed, but the collection was
covered with soot and infrastructure was damaged.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
established in 1959 to train officers for the Indian Administration
Service and the Indian Police Service. A fire broke out in 1984 and
destroyed its building and papers. Its precious library rated
amongst the best in the country was also destroyed.
contd..

14. • The university at Somapuri at North Bengal founded by
Dharmapala, the Pala ruler had its own library possessed a
wealth of Oriental literature. But the University was destroyed
by fire in the middle of the 11th century A.D.
• The library of 15000 to 20000 books at the Sikh Cultural Society
Temple in Queens, New York City was virtually destroyed in
2002 because of fire. Many of the destroyed books on Sikh
culture and Punjabi history were out of print and impossible to
replace.

15. Images of Fire Disaster

16. Disaster Management
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
in their hand-book on terminology explain
disaster management as “The organization, planning and
application of measures preparing for responding and initial
recovery from disasters.

17. A disaster management plan should be adopted by each library
for prevention from any disaster. The components of the plan
are :
1. Assigning responsibility
2. Identification and assessment of potential hazards.
3. Setting up liaisons with local emergency agencies
4. Establishment of goals and tasks for team members
5. Financial assessment
6. Document of the plan
7. Ease of Implementation
8. Maintaining the plan
Preventive measures from disasters for libraries

18. Conclusion
A disaster affects a library in many ways. It damages
the building, the furniture, the equipment and shelving.
Further, it damages the collection which has been
developed over several years.
However, the affects of the disaster can often
mitigate or avoided together by a comprehensive,
systematic, disaster –preparedness programme.

19. References
1) Disaster in Libraries : A Historical Perspective
taken from http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
2) National Disaster Management Plan
taken from http://ndma.gov.in
3) Damage to Libraries due to Water Related Disasters
- Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)
- University of Library - Lincon