CARBICA Taskforce for disaster preparedness

Mould Protocol - CARTAS Best Practice & Model Protocol Series °1

2011-11-18T04:35:00.001-04:00

The high humidity that is naturally part of the tropical environment is a major concern to Caribbean archives. It is the primary cause of mould that can damage a collection. Care has to be taken to ensure that the storage facilities are kept safe from it and that it is not introduced through new additions. This protocol gives the basics steps to prevent an infestation, suggests ways of dealing with one and takes into account the health of both Archive staff and researchers.

Victoria O'Flaherty, National Archivist, St. Kitts and Nevis

How to conduct archives post-disaster damage assessments workshop

2011-11-11T08:40:00.000-04:00

Workshop presentation with notes is available under section DOCUMENTS.

Elements of the report of the assessment carried out in Grenada will be made available presently as an appendix to the Grenada case study, via this Blog.

Would participants consider completing the short workshop evaluation? It would be a great help.
Find the survey here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LTBHTSX

Workshop announcement

2011-10-20T06:47:00.000-04:00

Workshop at CITRA Toledo Oct 27, 2011:

How to conduct expert early response post-disaster damage assessments (records and archives)

Summary:

Probably the principal challenge facing (records and archives) disaster responders is information from the ground that is trustworthy and timely and, which is reliably circulated for use in a co-ordinated manner. A protocol, one that is established, cross-sectoral and flexible, is the focus of this workshop.

Presenter: Yulu GRIFFITH KLEIN

Presentation published

2011-05-26T03:22:00.000-04:00

CARTAS under the lens, presented at CARBICA IX, is now available.

CARTAS under the lens at CARBICA IX

2010-11-02T19:01:00.003-04:00

CARTAS under the lens - a presentation at the Disaster Preparedness Workshop being conducted as part of CARBICA IX, the CARBICA General Assembly in Trinidad & Tobago.

The presentation takes place 3 Nov 2010 and slides will be available here soon.

Report (english language version) Séisme dévastateur

2010-02-04T08:38:00.004-04:00

Disastrous earthquake/Haiti 12 January 2010
Crisis unit : « Patrimoine en Danger »

Sites concerned :
• Public historic buildings totally or partially destroyed by the earthquake which contain archives, administrative documents (records), photographic materials, books and documents in various formats (cassette, CD, DVD, etc.), works of art and other items making up the historical and cultural heritage of Haiti;
• Places where public cultural institutions and other keepers of the historic memory and other elements of cultural heritage of Haiti were located ;
• Private residences housing important collections and archives which make up the cultural and historical heritage of Haiti.

Salvage operations for cultural artefacts :
• Public and private archives ;
• Public and private libraries, artistic works and archaeological artefacts;
• Audio-visual documents ;
• Cultural objects.

1. Emergency operations :
1.1 Short term :
1.1.1. To shore up damaged buildings ;
1.1.2. To train personnel in the handling and transportation of cultural artefacts ;
1.1.3. Salvage, inventory, and box archives, documents, books, cultural items and works of art ;
1.1.4 Transport items of cultural value to a secure place and ensure that the minimum preservation standards are observed.
1.2 In the medium term : conduct a nation-wide inventory and digitise items of cultural value.
1.3 In the long term : reconstruct the damaged sites observing the minimum preservation standards.

2. Urgent needs :

a) Human resources :
- Specialists in securing damaged buildings ;
- Archivists and conservators experienced in salvage, post- natural disasters ;
- Specialists in fresco conservation ;
- Teachers in archival practice, handling and transportation of records;
- Records managers, practitioners specialising in archives-related software ;
- IT technicians adept at using archive-related software ;
- Specialists in digitisation and the management of databases who can undertake short- and long-term assignments (sponsored entirely or in part by their institutions) ;
- 40 voluntary haitian and foreign archivists (as team leaders) of groups which include IT technicians/data processing specialists, and specialists in conservation and digitisation;
- Between 10 - 15 search teams, working in mixed groups from 200 to 300 volunteers (historians, archivists, painters, numismatists, sculptors, notaries, students, associations and friends of heritage associations) ;
- 40 computer operators ;
- Conservation specialists and technicians of paper, paintings etc ;
- Specialists in conducting inventories of cultural heritage items
Experienced photographer

b) Material resources :
- 60,000 acid-free archival boxes : length : 0,35m/ width : 0,35m/ height : 0,35m.
- 150,000 plastic gloves ;
- 150,000 masks ;
- 30,000 adhesive tape (pH neutral glue) ;
- Pencils, markers, labels, pH neutral wrapping paper, pH neutral glue, string, paperclips (galvanized), staplers, needles, paper 8½ x 11, 8 ½ x 14 ;
- 20 laptops ;
- 3 central servers ;
- 100 tents to provide temporary shelter for the documents and participants;
- 20 hand-held radios ;
- 20 cell phones ;
- 15 digital cameras (semi-professional) ;
- 8 GPS ;
- 200 hardhats/helmets with lamps (like those miners use);
- 30 heavy duty flashlights ;
- 10 pick-ups (vehicles) ;
- 5 transport trucks;
- Temporary storage area : 10,000 square metres. Premises proposed by the management of the Parc Historique de la Canne-à-Sucre, is far from being enough;
- 2000 metal props with jacks ;
- 2000 tubular scaffolding with clasps ;
- 30 containers (40’) ;
- 100 food-carriers in metal or hard plastic.

c) Financial resources :
We also need money for :
• Logistical purposes (gas, food, transport, communication costs, etc.) ;
• to rent premises for a depôt;
• Rent or purchase of second-hand containers ; grant incentive bonuses for the non-voluntary participants;
• To acquire documentary, photographic, and audio-visual collections from before the earthquake ;
• Draw up a written report that includes photographs of the damages ;
• Acquire software for inventory and to set up a database ;
• Etc.
Your cash donations can be sent to the following bank account :
Archives Nationales d’Haïti BRH 111 00 60 38 or by cheque made out to « Archives Nationales d’Haïti » the address of which is :
22, Angle des rues Borgella et Geffrard
Port-au-Prince, Haïti (WI)

3. Conditions for participating in the salvage operations:

- Foreign volunteers must be sponsored by their governments, through their respective institutions or by national or international organisations, or by NGOs, including arrangements for their travel, stay , and comprehensive insurance.
- The National Archives of Haiti will take care of their reception, getting them installed/settled, and the assignment and co-ordination of tasks.

4. Contacts :

Contact us as soon as possible, because the Archives, historical and reference libraries, the works of art, in particular paintings, are under the rubble. If it rains, which is highly likely since the rainy season is starting, the risks of loss are even greater.
a) Jean Wilfrid BERTRAND, directeur des Archives Nationales d’Haïti ;
E-mail : bertrandlouissaint@yahoo.fr
Téléphone : (509) 36 78 05 31/ 35 58 03 29/ 34 58 55 28

b) Joseph Harold GASPARD, architecte de monuments;
Président ICOM Haïti
Téléphones : (509) 34 46 2888
E-mails: icom.haiti_01@yahoo.com , haroldgaspard@yahoo.ca

c) Lewis A. CLORMEUS, sociologue et collectionneur;
Téléphone: (509) 34 57 3659
E-mails: lclormeus@yahoo.fr

Fait à Port-au-Prince, le mercredi 26 janvier 2010.

Unofficial translation; mainly for the purposes of disseminating the information among CARBICA membership.
- YGK

Damage report issued from crisis unit "Patrimoine en danger"

2010-02-03T14:10:00.003-04:00

Just in, a damage assessment from "Patrimoine en danger".
Please find the french version in documents on this blog. English translation to be posted presently.

The report includes the sites surveyed, a list of urgently needed supplies and technical assistance, and an outline of a plan of action.

A specific response from CARBICA will be published in due course.

CARBICA Statement on records and archives in Haiti

2010-02-01T13:30:00.008-04:00

CARBICA Statement on the state of records and archives in Haiti following the earthquake disaster of Jan 12, 2010 / Communiqué de CARBICA sur les archives en Haiti suite au tremblement de terre de 12 jan 2010

English

Members of the Caribbean Archives Association (CARBICA) wish to express their heart-felt sympathy and solidarity with their colleagues and their families, and the Haitian people.

CARBICA, of which the National Archives of Haiti is a member, stands ready to help its fellow archivists to conduct damage assessments to establish the state of records and archives at the National Archives, government ministries and other allied institutions, as well as their eventual salvage and conservation.

Concerned that the compromise of vital records and archives would mean a compromise of good governance and national memory, members of CARBICA are invited to continue to make pledges towards a pool of resources for the salvage and preservation of vital records and archives. As part of the regional effort, members are asked to communicate to CARBICA any other initiatives they or their countries are making in that regard.

CARBICA is resolved to collaborate with the International Council on Archives, Blue Shield, and other allied organizations and NGOs working in Haiti, in order to lend support and aid that is practical, appropriate, and productive according to the priorities expected to be identified by the recently formed Haitian crisis unit “Patrimony in danger”.

1 February 2010

Français

Nous sommes de tout cœur avec nos collègues et collaborateurs, leurs familles, et la population haïtienne. L’Association des Archives Antillaises (CARBICA) dont les Archives nationales d’Haïti est membre, se tient prête à offrir son aide aux archivistes d’Haïti pour les opérations d’évaluation des dommages subis tant aux Archives Nationales que dans les autres dépôts d’archives, et pour les opérations éventuelles de sauvetage et de conservation.

Les dangers qui menacent les archives et les documents dits vitaux sont aussi un danger pour la gouvernance , la protection des droits de citoyens, et la conservation de la mémoire nationale. Mus par cette préoccupation, les membres de CARBICA sont invités à contribuer aux dons collectifs et à continuer à communiquer leurs initiatives et celles mises en œuvre par leurs autorités gouvernementales dans le domaine des archives.

CARBICA est résolue à collaborer avec le Conseil international des archives, le Bouclier Bleu et autres partenaires pour apporter un soutien pratique, approprié, et efficace par rapport aux priorités identifiées qui lui seront signalées par le cellule de crise « Patrimoine en danger » qui vient d’être établie.

1er février 2010

Helena Leonce, CARBICA President

What is CARTAS?

2010-01-27T10:37:00.005-04:00

CARBICA, through CARTAS is developing a broad-based hazard mitigation and response strategy for the protection of records and archives in the region.

Created in 2004, the first intervention was carried out in Grenada following Hurricane Ivan. That exercise revealed a critical state of records and archives in the recovery and reconstruction process. Cross-sectoral links, which are important for risk reduction, were also found to be weak. Under normal circumstances, records and archives services are not perceived as prime assets for survival, and in disaster situations records and archives are understandably put on the back-burner. Therefore, it is prudent to have in place alliances that will extend human resources and skills across sectors, thus positioning national archives and allied cultural institutions squarely among the disaster management community.

Traditionally focused on minimising loss of life and property, disaster management initiatives overlook the importance of vital records and archives in national and regional rebuilding efforts. It needs to be borne in mind that governance structures as well as the civil memory of Caribbean nations are just as threatened by identifiable risks. Therefore the need for re-dress is urgent to both reduce the risk to, and loss of records and archives, and to provide adequately for future rehabilitation services.

The CARTAS objectives are concerned with building infrastructures for rapid post-disaster assessments, and developing a risk and vulnerability assessment component to the model, which when applied, will reduce risk through knowledge-based action. International studies since 2004 in the areas of risk, disaster preparedness, and climate and security, all confirm and support the relevance of CARTAS. Moreover, they show the damning gap in research and modelling in risk assessment and disaster preparedness with regard to records and archives.

The need for cross-sectoral partnerships in disaster preparedness and mitigation remains crucial given the forecast of increased frequency and severity of climate related hazards, especially hurricanes and its potential impact on record-keeping systems and governance structures.