In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we found that traditional disaster planning, preparedness, and recovery tools were not useful or responsive. NJSL worked with Emergency Management on an Appendix to our original Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Toolkit that was developed back in 2016, to gather additional resources and guidance. The 2021 NJSL Pandemic Appendix does not duplicate the efforts recommended in the original Toolkit. Rather, its purpose is to augment the information covered earlier in the Guidebook. Librarians should apply the concepts of risk management emergency response, disaster recovery, and business continuity to the work demands of their institution given the demands and restrictions imposed by a widescale disease outbreak. This Appendix lists a short summary of major illnesses over the past century that reached the pandemic level. Many of these diseases persist and have the potential to reemerge and grow to be pandemics. The table includes other illnesses plaguing society including a growing number of behavioral disturbances.
We hope you find the new Pandemic Appendix informative and useful. We welcome your feedback on both resources.
Back in 2016, the New Jersey State Library commissioned the Librarian’s Disaster Planning and Community Resiliency Guidebook and Workbook to help libraries in New Jersey and across the country be better prepared to accept the mantle of responsibility being thrust on them as safe havens in times of crises. These resources were conceived and designed with input from the Emergency Management community to help libraries themselves become more resilient so that they can return to operations quickly following a disaster. You can find the Guidebook and Workbook, and other resources here: https://www.njstatelib.org/services_for_libraries/resources/disaster_planning/
Michele Stricker
Deputy State Librarian
Lifelong Learning, Library Development
New Jersey State Library
