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NEDCC staff members are available 24/7 to provide telephone advice to institutions and individuals handling collection-related disasters. Information provided includes advice on drying wet collections and dealing with damage from fire, pests, and mold. This service does not include on-site assistance.
The American Institute for Conservation’s National Heritage Responders (NHR) is a highly skilled team of conservators and other collections care professionals with expertise in emergency response. NHR members are available to provide advice to individuals as well as advice and on-site response to institutions. (NHR members do not normally provide on-site assistance to individuals, although it may be possible to do so in conjunction with other collections in an affected region.) All assistance provided by the NHR is free. Less urgent questions can also be answered by emailing [email protected].
Some disasters — such as those involving contaminated water or large mold outbreaks — are too large or complex for an institution or individual to handle alone. In these instances, NEDCC recommends working with a disaster remediation company experienced in handling cultural heritage collections. The following companies have expertise in this area and can be reached around the clock:
Belfor | 800-856-3333 |
BMS Cat | 877-730-1948 |
Polygon | 800-422-6379 |
For Massachusetts public libraries only. MBLC staff is available to provide information, advice, and assessment either by telephone or on-site visit.
The American Institute for Conservation’s National Heritage Responders (NHR) is a highly skilled team of conservators and other collections care professionals with expertise in emergency response. NHR members are available to provide advice to individuals as well as advice and on-site response to institutions. (NHR members do not normally provide on-site assistance to individuals, although it may be possible to do so in conjunction with other collections in an affected region.) All assistance provided by the NHR is free.
NEDCC has created Preservation Leaflets covering a number of emergency management topics, such as emergency salvage of wet books and records, wet photographs, moldy books and paper; integrated pest management; and freezing wet books and records. Click here for a list of available leaflets.
These reference sheets are organized by material type and include handling precautions, tips for prioritizing, and a list of supplies needed for drying twenty-one types of wet items.
http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/emergency.php
This series of videos, created by Heritage Preservation and hosted on YouTube by the American Institute for Conservation, include demonstrations of salvage techniques.
https://www.culturalheritage.org/resources/emergencies/disaster-response-recovery/fieldguide
NEDCC is grateful for support from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its collections emergency hotline, training programs, outreach activities, and web resources.
(Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these resources do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.)