Middle Eastern Libraries and Archives don't have a Disaster Management Plan .
While I was studying at the Univesity of Illinois in Urbana Champaign, I sent this survey to 19 Countries in the Middle East. I would like to thank all of those who have participated in filling or spreading this questionnaire. Mainly the questions were about the kind of library they are, the type of materials they have and if they had a disaster management plan or not. The result was not so unexpected but the aim of the study was to make institutions think more seriously about the importance of creating a disaster management plan insuring that it will protect the cultural heritage these libraries have. We all know that the Middle East is not the most peaceful area on earth.
The following fig.1 depicts the type of libraries that participated in filling the questionnaire. The main target was the national library in each country and the main academic institutions. Initialy, library directors were contacted but in some cases where they were not available, the heads of departments filled the questionnaire.
As I mentionned above, there was no surprises, the questionnaire revealed that more than half of the libraries didn't have a disaster management plan and those who had one were those private academic libraries who had a disaster management plan on the institution's level and not on the library or archive's level. The findings were as follow (fig.2):
So this is a shout for Middle Eastern Libraries to pay more attention to this crucial matter. We are in charge of a cultural heritage, our role is to maintain it for future generations. But what is really a disaster management plan and how to go about it? What would it involve? You can post your comments, ideas and suggestions in the comments section below.
While I was studying at the Univesity of Illinois in Urbana Champaign, I sent this survey to 19 Countries in the Middle East. I would like to thank all of those who have participated in filling or spreading this questionnaire. Mainly the questions were about the kind of library they are, the type of materials they have and if they had a disaster management plan or not. The result was not so unexpected but the aim of the study was to make institutions think more seriously about the importance of creating a disaster management plan insuring that it will protect the cultural heritage these libraries have. We all know that the Middle East is not the most peaceful area on earth.
The following fig.1 depicts the type of libraries that participated in filling the questionnaire. The main target was the national library in each country and the main academic institutions. Initialy, library directors were contacted but in some cases where they were not available, the heads of departments filled the questionnaire.
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| Fig.1 |
As I mentionned above, there was no surprises, the questionnaire revealed that more than half of the libraries didn't have a disaster management plan and those who had one were those private academic libraries who had a disaster management plan on the institution's level and not on the library or archive's level. The findings were as follow (fig.2):
 |
| fig.2 |
