Re: [padg] avian flu pandemic planning

["Doris Hamburg" <Doris.Hamburg@xxxxxxxx>]

I am away from the National Archives today, and will be returning on
Thursday, March 6.  

Ann Seibert is Acting Director, Preservation Programs,  Her contact
information is ann.seibert@xxxxxxxx  301-837-1567.

If there is a records emergency, please contact NARA security at
301-837-2900.  Security will contact the Records Emergency (Beeper)
Response Team.

-
Doris A. Hamburg
Director, Preservation Programs
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland 20740
telephone 301-837-1785
cell 240-338-9121
fax 301-837-3701



>>> padg 03/03/08 06:21 >>>


Apologies for cross-posting.

We are working on the library's part of a campus-wide effort to develop
contingency plans for an avian flu pandemic. I would be very interested
in examples anyone can share of plans or comments and observations from
similar planning efforts. In particular, I'm wondering if anyone has
thought about this from a preservation perspective? Of course, we'll
place the highest priority on safety for people, not collections. That
said, what are the potential risks to collections? If a pandemic is
severe enough to warrant shutting down the university, the main
preservation goals might be maintaining security, some level of
preparedness for a collections disaster, and environmental control when
facilities staff, the police force, and the fire department are
struggling to function. At an earlier stage or in a less severe
outbreak, how might we be affected? Has anyone looked into how long the
H5N1 virus can live on typical materials used for book covers? Would
there be reason to quarantine books on loan to or returned from
households that have people sick with the flu? If so, for how long? Will
there be calls to disinfect circulating books? (Remember the way mail
was treated during the anthrax scare a few years ago.) If so, what would
be a reasonable response?

While this may seem like a remote risk I've found it very sobering and
worrisome that our experts in public health and continuity of operations
are taking this very seriously. Anyone unfamiliar with the avian flu
a.k.a. H5N1 virus might be interested in the following:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, advice, planning examples, etc. that
you can share on or off the list.

Andy

Andrew Hart
Preservation Librarian
CB#3910, Davis Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Tel. 919-962-8047
Fax 919-962-4450
ashart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx