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Emergency Preparedness Planning
Hope for the best but plan for the worst. Emergencies can happen at any time and therefore museums need to be ready to respond when they do. Planning and communication with staff prior to an event can help eliminate the risk of damage to people and objects within a collection. The primary objectives of emergency planning are to identify risks in order to anticipate and, if possible, to avoid emergencies; to retain control when and emergency occurs; and to mitigate potential damage as quickly as possible.

Emergency Plan Contents
Staff members who will implement the procedures of the plan should be involved in the writing process. According to the Getty, an emergency plan should cover the following:
 * 1) Prevention - Take steps to eliminate initial hazards or risks. Examples include making sure areas are clear and buildings are up to code.
 * 2) Preparedness - Once a plan is established is it important that staff are aware of how to respond. This could include making sure that staff are aware of evacuation procedures, know where fire extinguishers or eye wash stations are, creating telephone lists, and having enough supplies. An emergency plan should identifiy the roles each member plays in the event of an emergency so that the correct individuals can be contacted. Museums should also so research and be aware of common natural disasters to the area in order to prepare themselves for the possibility of that event happening.
 * 3) Response - Being prepared and trained to handle an emergency will help ensure that staff knows how to respond when / if one ever takes place.
 * 4) Recovery - After en event occurs museums need to evaluate the situation, secure the area, identify the problems, and create a new plan for moving forward.

The Collections Team
The job of the collections preparedness team it to evaluate the collection thoroughly to determine where the institution is vulnerable and what to do during an emergency. It is important to remember that no object is worth a human life, but staff should be trained on how to properly handle objects so that if there is time to remove items in a safe manor that can be done without causing extra damage to an object. It is also important that the collections team identifies which objects will need to be saved first. The collections team will also have to work with conservators in order to asses the best plan of action for handling objects after an emergency has occurred. The Midwest Regional Conservation Guild provides general guidelines for handling various objects should it be needed. These guidelines can be found here: https://themrcg.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/mrcg-disaster-flyer.pdfhttps://themrcg.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/mrcg-disaster-flyer.pdf

Resources
In the event of an emergency it is important to know if your museum can work with other local establishments to store items prior or after en event takes place. Other local museums might be able to offer storage space for items in the collection. Museums can also call on the National Heritage Responders for onsite assistants during emergencies.