n.procedures implemented immediately when reacting to an emergencyWellheiser and Scott 2002, 109The purpose of disaster response planning is for the DAT [Disaster Action Team] to develop the necessary resources to ensure human life and safety, to arrest an emergency and to limit the extent of a disaster, to retain or re-establish control of the facility and collections, and then to provide the basis for a successful recovery operation.Rekrut 2003, 156The authors emphasize that the teams working on disaster planning and disaster response have different roles and require different skill sets. Planning team members need to excel in defining problems and formulating solutions; response team members need to assess and act quickly and effectively under pressure.Kahn 2012, 2Disaster response is the procedures and processes whereby a team of trained individuals responds to a disaster and determines how to best recover the damaged materials so that “business as usual” can resume as quickly as possible.Harvey and Mahard 2020, 60Disaster response, first and foremost, protects staff and visitors, then focuses on property stabilization, and then, only once people and the building are secure and stable, proceeds to collection needs. Human safety will always win out over collection needs.
