"Ready—Or Not": Free Consultation Services

• What happens at a full-day site visit consultation?

An emergency preparedness consultant travels to each site for a full-day consultation (9am-4pm). The agenda includes an introduction and discussion of emergency preparedness goals, followed by a 3-hour Q&A session on past incidents, current practices, and risk assessment. After lunch, there is a facilities walkthrough, and a wrap-up meeting for final questions, impressions, and next steps. If the walkthrough takes 2-3 hours, a full-day is suitable for your organization.

• Can my organization meet for a half-day consultation?

An emergency preparedness consultant can visit for a half-day (e.g. 10 am to 2:30 pm). The agenda has a flexible schedule but is meant to include a 3-hour Q&A session on past incidents, current practices, and risk assessment. There is a brief facilities walkthrough. If the entire building, including cultural heritage storage, can be seen in 30-60 minutes during the walkthrough, the half-day option is suitable for your organization. If some staff or volunteers are present for part of the day, the schedule can be adjusted to meet their availability.

• We have offsite storage and multiple locations. Can you visit all my sites?

Yes, if you are a multi-site organization that holds several locations under one entity, we can plan to visit each site. Please provide the number of branches, buildings, or offsite storage locations to be assessed. This will help us schedule one or more days for site visits to cover all locations. We will tailor the consultation schedule to accommodate your organization's needs.

• What staff need to be at the consultation?

We encourage attendance from as many staff and volunteers as possible, particularly those in Collections, Facilities, and Operations, during the consultation. If some individuals need to arrive or leave mid-day, the consultant will adjust the agenda to accommodate their participation. For instance, if the facilities manager can only join for an hour, we will prioritize covering facility-related questions and walkthroughs during that time. If your team is small (one or two members), we still encourage as many people as possible to attend and actively participate in the disaster planning process, including the site visit consultation and assessment.

• Can my organization really participate if we only have one staff/volunteer or a small collection?

YES! "Ready – Or Not" encourages small organizations to participate. We work with your small organization to determine what your disaster planning needs are and how much capacity your staff or volunteers have to carry out recommended actions.

• What do we discuss at the site visit?

The discussion focuses on past incidents, current practices, and risk assessment for building, collections, and human safety.

• What is in the report after the consultation?

The Emergency Preparedness Assessment Report provides observations and recommendations for various areas, such as business continuity, IT security, physical building security, protection of collections, facilities risk mitigation, water and fire protection, and human safety. The report, tailored specifically to your organization, includes best practices and actionable recommendations to minimize risks, plan and prepare for disasters, and effectively respond. Additionally, the report includes an Appendix with valuable resources to support your organization's disaster plan.

• When will the consultant send the report?

You receive an Emergency Preparedness Assessment Report about two weeks after your site visit consultation.

• How long do organization staff or volunteers have to make edits to the report?

We encourage organization staff or volunteers to review our Emergency Preparedness Assessment Report and make any factual corrections within three months of the visit.

> Julie Bly DeVere

Julie Bly DeVere is based in Santa Clara County, in the heart of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. With more than 20 years of experience in curatorial and collections management, she brings deep knowledge to the project. DeVere also taught Museum Collections Management and Cultural Heritage Preservation in the Museum Studies Program at San Francisco State University for seven years, helping shape the next generation of museum professionals.

According to DeVere, one of the most meaningful parts of her work with the “Ready—Or Not” Cultural Heritage Disaster Preparedness Project has been reconnecting with organizations she has supported before. “Earlier this year, I had the chance to revisit a site I’d worked with previously,” she shared. “It was really rewarding to see the progress they had made in just a couple of years, and to offer support to help them reach their next milestones.”

Travel is a big part of the role, and DeVere recently completed a 1,700-mile road trip for in-person outreach visits at 11 sites across Northern California. Highlights included stops in Modoc and Lassen counties, where she met with organizations stewarding collections that reflect the diverse histories of their regions. “I’ve loved the chance to connect with a wide variety of collections and organizations from across the state,” DeVere noted, “from libraries, to archives, to fine art museums and local historical societies, and cultural centers.”

What stands out most in her experience is the impact these free services have on under-resourced organizations. “We all battle with not having enough resources,” she reflected. “So the chance to offer these services for free is pretty special.” The dedication of the people she meets is also rewarding. “No matter how much a site is already doing, they never think they are doing enough. It always feels good to reinforce the good work they are already doing.”

Whether in Silicon Valley or small towns across Northern California, DeVere is proud to help fellow stewards prepare for the unexpected, ensuring that collections—and the stories they hold—remain safe for future generations.

> Modoc County

As an emergency preparedness consultant with the “Ready – Or Not” team I recently reached out to cultural and historical sites in Modoc County, including the Modoc County Museum, a place I had visited at least a half dozen times as someone who spent her childhood summers in the region. The visit to Modoc County is not easy, as it is one of the most remote areas of California, with only 8,700 people, a mere 2.25 people per square mile, it is the third-least-populated county in the state.  The rural landscape is home to old emigrant trails, two national forests, three wildlife refuges, two national monuments, and John C. Fremont and Kit Carson’s camp along the route from Fort Sutter that marked some of the first non-Native people to pass through the area.

While I was in Alturas, I visited more than a half dozen cultural organizations and shared information about the free resources that “Ready – Or Not” offers to historic collections and communities that experience disasters like wildfires, floods, and severe storms. In Modoc County, sites are at severe risk of wildfires and moderate risk of earthquakes and landslides, while also facing extreme risks from air quality combined with a rising heat index. The “Ready-Or Not” assessment is beneficial in defining an organization’s risks and recommending strategies and actionable steps to reduce the impact of future disasters. Helping organizations recover faster and get back to their mission driven activities.

- Julie Bly DeVere, Emergency Preparedness Consultant

> Pollak Library University Archives and Special Collections

The Pollak Library’s University Archives and Special Collections (UASC) safeguards California State University–Fullerton’s institutional collections. In southern California’s high-heat environment, climate control is a critical challenge for long-term preservation. To protect the collections, UASC identified an independent HVAC system as a priority and requested an Emergency Preparedness Assessment for a comprehensive list of priorities.

The resulting "Ready–Or Not" report detailed risks such as temperature and humidity fluctuations and the potential damage they could cause. By documenting these concerns, the assessment gives UASC a clear roadmap for action and strengthens the case for securing funding for a dedicated HVAC system. Implementing this system will reduce risks, protect historic documents, and ensure lasting access.

> Calabasas Library

Having faced wildfire-related evacuations in the past, the Calabasas Library recognizes the critical need for proactive disaster preparedness and long-term collections care.

In December 2023, the library staff participated in a “Ready—Or Not” emergency preparedness assessment to strengthen the protection of its Special Collections and improve institutional resilience. 

During the on-site assessment, Emergency Preparedness Consultant Mario A. Gallardo discussed the staff’s emergency preparedness goals, past incidents, current practices, and a facilities walkthrough. After the visit, the staff received a customized emergency preparedness report. 

Based on the recommendations, the library successfully secured a 2024 Groundworks Grant to implement key improvements, including:

• Archival-quality supplies for the rehousing of Special Collections
  
• Risers to elevate materials during potential environmental hazards
  
• Equipment for inventorying and cataloging rare items
  
• Workplace safety gear and spill response kits
  
• Backup external hard drives for digital preservation
  
• Environmental monitoring tools for better collections management

In addition to physical improvements, the Calabasas Library created and distributed customized Pocket Response Plans (PRR) for all the staff—a foundational step in enhancing disaster response and continuity of operations.

Thanks to the “Ready—Or Not” initiative and the Groundworks Grant, Calabasas Library staff are better equipped to safeguard their collections and ensure the library remains a resilient resource for the community.

> Corita Art Center

The Corita Art Center, newly located in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, prides itself on a collection of Corita Kent's serigraphs, watercolors, 35 mm slides, and archival materials. The Center requested a visit in May 2024, emphasizing a concern for better storage practices and mitigating harsh light damage on their materials. 

During the on-site assessment, Emergency Preparedness Consultant Mario A. Gallardo discussed the staff’s emergency preparedness goals, past incidents, current practices, and a facilities walkthrough. After the visit, the staff received a customized emergency preparedness report. 

With the assistance of a 2024 Groundworks Grant, they improved their storage capabilities and environmental control in their spaces. This included funds for shelving, an emergency kit, a spill kit, and materials for rehousing and evacuations. Additionally, they have improved their documentation efforts by developing comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, ensuring that staff, collections, and their space have the necessary assistance to persevere in the event of a disaster. 

Corita Art Center and its staff join one of the many participants of the "Ready—Or Not" project who put their best foot forward in accomplishing the steps necessary to protect their collections, staff, and space.