Planning for what you don’t want to happen: The Library & Special Collections Emergency Management and Salvage Plan at Manchester Metropolitan University

Hughes, Fiona and Draper, Alison (2019) Planning for what you don’t want to happen: The Library & Special Collections Emergency Management and Salvage Plan at Manchester Metropolitan University. Taking Stock, 28 (1). pp. 15-17. ISSN 0966-6745

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Abstract

Manchester Metropolitan University Library and Special Collections developed their first emergency management plan in 1994 following on from the devastating fire at Norwich Central Library, which destroyed thousands of historical documents and more than 100,000 books. Norwich Central Library did not have an emergency plan at the time so when the Fire Service entered the building to try to retrieve and save material they inadvertently brought out material that was easy to replace before the more rare items, which hadn’t been prioritised for salvage. This experience highlighted the necessity for a robust emergency plan, which is now standard requirement for all libraries, museums and archives