Seattle Heritage Emergency Response Network

SHERN

Date: August 26, 2016

Location: The Seattle Public Library (downtown branch)

Present: Cory Gooch, Diane Wells, Peter Schmid, Seth Dalby, Andrew Harbison, Jodee Fenton, Kate Leonard, Gary L. Menges, Robert Fisher, Jordan Wong, Anne Frantilla, Susan Lewandowski.

Agenda

Acceptance of minutes from June 17, 2016 meeting

Disaster supply storage container update
Treasurer’s report
Membership updates
PReP plan updates
Upcoming meetings

Acceptance of Minutes

Minutes of the June 17 meeting were accepted.

Container Update

Cory reiterated that the Frye has agreed to host one or two jobsite containers and she distributed a list of container dimensions and costs. Stephanie and Laura were not able to attend this meeting to report on which container sizes are most appropriate for specific equipment, however Stephanie had an intern go over the SHERN grant equipment list, provide updated links to equipment, and give general comments on whether the items are likely to fit in a jobsite container or not; this list was distributed to meeting members.

Cory described her conversation with Brian Carter, Heritage Lead of 4-Culture, who is very interested in what our group is doing and would like to attend our October meeting. Brian said two years is a normal time frame for spending down a grant, which means SHERN has until June 2017. Cory reiterated the Board’s view, however, that we need to get this money spent so that we can apply for more grant money for the supplies that go into the container, and it was agreed that it would not look good for us to sit too much longer on a grant award.

Brian told Cory that should the purchase of jobsite containers cost less than the $2700 amount awarded for a 20-ft shipping container, we are free to spend down the leftover grant money on substantial equipment that has a long “shelf life,” such as a generator or wet-vac.

Brian also recommended that there should be a memorandum of understanding between SHERN and any institution which hosts a container.

Cory noted that in considering purchase of supplies, shelving would not be relevant to the smaller jobsite containers. Committee members also agreed that due to the difficulty of determining an appropriate size of a generator, as well as purchasing and maintaining one, we should shelve the idea of purchasing one at this time. We also agreed that since digital cameras might have a shorter shelf life, and since they are so ubiquitous and available on smart phones, they should not be considered for the supply cache at this time. Discussion on the purpose of the containers ensued; Cory pointed out that the intention is to provide supplies geared toward post-disaster salvage supplies rather than immediate disaster response supplies, and Gary pointed out that the original idea was that these supplies would supplement existing supplies, especially for smaller institutions which do not have the kind of facilities support that some of the larger institutions enjoy.

Jodie brought up that having a container was just one part of our mutual response effort, and that we needed to know what equipment each institution has on hand to lend to members. Cory said that Laura had done this previously but some institutions did not respond, and there have also been new SHERN members added. Jodie also suggested working mock scenarios to see how SHERN response efforts would really work, and all agreed that it’s something we need to do.

Cory proposed that since a quorum of Steering Committee members were present, a vote to authorize the Board to purchase containers for the Frye site should be made. Jodie moved that the Board should have the authority to proceed with the purchase, and Seth seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Water Leaks

Seth described a water leak at the Archdiocese over the Fourth of July weekend, which effected a good deal of his collections, and the successful recovery operation provided by Belfour. He said that the one thing he really needed was drying racks. However, he said that Belfour did a fantastic job of keeping material sorted and rehoused, and freeze-drying the material. He said the papers were returned in remarkably good condition.

Cory related a recent incident where a small tear in the roof membrane allowed water to pool, and a large leak occurred in an exhibition space at the Frye, just before high-value loaned artworks were about to be unpacked and destined for that same gallery! Thankfully, no damage was done to the artworks, but it was an example of how easily a leak disaster can occur.

Treasurer’s Report

Diane reported that we have $1475 in checking and $25 in savings. There are outstanding invoices for NARA and UW Law Library (both currently inactive members). Gary noted that due to federal regulations NARA is unable to pay dues, but could provide in-kind supplies.

Membership Updates

The Public Law Library of King County will have a new Executive Director as of Sept. 1: Barbara Swatt Engstrom. Cory will send her a letter in early October to invite her organization to appoint a representative. They have been inactive since Kris Henderson left her position at the library in Sept. 2014; however, they have paid their membership dues.

Gary has been trying to connect with Seattle University to invite them to join SHERN.  John Popko, University Librarian, has retired and their search for a new University Librarian was unsuccessful. They have appointed an interim and are doing a new search.  SHERN will hold off on contacting them until a new librarian is appointed.

PReP Update

Peter reported that the PReP was up to date except for the Wing Luke Museum; Robert and Jordan provided contact information for the PreP update. Peter reminded members that the PReP is on a protected area of our website and provided the password.

Upcoming Meetings

Cory confirmed that our next meetings will be October 28 at the Wing Luke Museum and December 2 at Seattle Art Museum. She said that we should all look at our 2017 calendars to identify professional conferences for the year as much as possible so that we know which dates to avoid for scheduling SHERN meetings.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35.

After a short break, members were given a tour, first by Andrew who showed us Technical and Collection Services, Materials Handling and Distribution, Shelving Operations, and Circulation Services areas. We then proceeded to the 10^th floor where Jodie and her staff showed us Special Collections and additional storage areas on the 9^th floor.

Respectfully Submitted,

Peter Schmid, Secretary