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For Immediate Release: October 17, 2007
State Archives to develop statewide disaster preparedness training through FEMA initiative
COLUMBUS, Ohio – State and local government agencies throughout Ohio will be better prepared for emergencies thanks to $2.6 million recently awarded to the national Council of State Archivists (CoSA) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funding for the national initiative will enable the State Archives, which is administered by the Ohio Historical Society, to provide critical training and services to state and local government agencies throughout Ohio.
When state and local governments are faced with natural or manmade disasters, certain records help them respond to and recover from the emergency. The Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) project will develop workshops for delivery nationwide designed to teach state and local governments how to identify and protect their most essential records and recover those damaged by disasters. According to Vicki Walch, executive director of CoSA, the need for such a program became apparent in 2005 during the organization’s response to Hurricane Katrina. “Archivists discovered that records were not identified as an asset of government in the National Response Plan,” said Walch. “We knew from experience that whether a disaster is a localized fire or a widespread terrorist attack, the governments that have good records management in place are best prepared to respond to and recover from an emergency.”
David Carmicheal, the director of The Georgia Archives who will chair the project’s Advisory Board, cites examples of records used by governments to respond to emergencies: “They immediately turn to documents containing communication plans and delegations of authority. Infrastructure records tell them where the gas mains and electrical lines are and whether bridges and tunnels can withstand the stress of the disaster. All of these help the government respond at the moment of the emergency,” said Carmicheal. “And after the disaster governments need records to restore the community; deeds and other property records, court records, and historical records help put a community back together again and restore order.”
The benefit to Ohio will be immense, said Jelain Chubb, state archivist. “As the Xenia tornado and recent flooding in northern Ohio demonstrate, disasters can strike at any time and they have the potential to threaten lives or destroy the history of a community. I look forward to working with my colleagues within the region and around the country to ensure that the records of government so essential to our lives are protected.”
The IPER initiative will develop a national curriculum and create Web-based seminars, which will be customized to meet specific needs and concerns at the state and local levels. A team from Ohio will add guidance and resources specific to our state and then deliver the training to state and local government agencies statewide. The Ohio team will be coordinated by the State Archives and include representatives from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, information technology, and local governments. The regional offices of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Chicago will actively support this effort.
Outlining the impact the program will have, Rex Wamsley, director of FEMA’s national Continuity of Operations Division, noted that the development of common training for use in each of the states will enhance the potential for inter-governmental cooperation throughout the nation. “FEMA’s national and regional offices have been working actively with the National Archives and state archives for the last two years to protect essential records,” Wamsley said. “We want to ensure that governments at all levels can recover and resume operations quickly following a natural disaster or other emergency. Records are key to that process. The IPER project will allow us to reach into every county, city and village nationwide, giving officials the information they need to protect essential records in time of crisis.”
Conley Edwards, state archivist of Virginia and president of the Council of State Archivists, the organization which is leading the project, commented, “We are thrilled by the support received from FEMA’s Competitive Training Grants Program for this project. It will ensure that state and local governments know how to secure records that are essential to protecting life, property, and individual rights as well as those that are necessary to restoring order and resuming essential operations of government following a disaster.”
“The Council of State Archivist would like to thank the National Archives and Records Administration and FEMA’s Continuity of Operations Division,” Edwards added. “Their partnership and commitment contributed significantly to the success of this proposal. In tragedies that have occurred throughout the nation, vital records have been lost or compromised. This training and support will maximize the potential for governments to safeguard our nation’s documentary heritage and, as importantly, ensure that our nation’s identity and that of its citizens will be safeguarded.”
Since 1927, the Ohio Historical Society has served as the official repository for the State Archives of Ohio, and is responsible for collecting, preserving and making available to the public, documents pertaining to the operation of state and local governments.
Editors Note: Photos to accompany this press release on the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) Project are available at http://www.statearchivists.org/prepare/iper/photos-10-2007release.htm
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Media contact: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
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