On May 1, 2009, AIC sponsored a session at the American Association of Museums (AAM) annual meeting in Philadelphia on disaster preparedness and recovery. Barbara P. Moore, an objects conservator in private practice in Rochester, NY, was Chair for the session. The panel included Anna Stanfield Harris, Curator of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Mississippi, Robert Herskovitz, Outreach Conservator at the Minnesota Historical Society, and Jerome Thompson, State Curator of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Approximately 100 people were in attendance
Anna Stanfield Harris demonstrated how the Ohr O’Keefe Museum’s emergency plan was applied during Hurricane Katrina, how well it served the Museum, and how that plan has been further developed in light of lessons learned to include regional collaboration on a “safe haven” storage facility.
Jerome Thompson then spoke about the state-wide communication networks that were used effectively during the floods in Iowa in the summer of 2008, and about the state-wide disaster response planning effort for cultural institutions that he is undertaking now.
Bob Herskovitz, who has been first on site to assist many cultural institutions that have suffered serious damage to their collections, spoke about what museum personnel can do before a disaster, in the midst of a disaster, and during the recovery phase to lessen the impact of the event on collections, staff, and institutions.
Finally, Barbara Moore gave the audience an overview of resources for museums to use both in developing disaster plans and in responding to emergencies.