Summary:
Libraries, since antiquity, act as the main guardian of knowledge and its transmission to future generations over the course of time.
The work of Libraries is not limited to preserving the heritage within a building, but it also extends to the protection and preservation of the collective memory, which is the legacy of national consciousness and culture of a country.
Over the years, Libraries have developed a thematic specialization and were divided into types, depending on the type of authority which supports them, on the thematic direction of the collection, on the type of material that comprises the collection and, of course, on the type of users they aim to serve.
Libraries, other than the preservation of the collective memory and its transmission to future generations, are also responsible for the continuous enrichment of the collection with new items either on paper or in digital form.
Their role is therefore dual: preservation and enhancement of the collection and protection of its property. Unfortunately, the role of Libraries is constantly degrading and being neglected because of its non-association with immediate economic benefits.
The main obstacles and risks in keeping and protecting the integrity of the collections come from three factors. These are separated from the starting point of the potential risk.
The first factor is the physical hazards and the potential disasters they may cause.
The second factor is all anthropogenic and technological factors.
The third factor is the so-called "quiet catastrophe" that comes mostly from microorganisms and the decay of the material.
In the present thesis only we will only focus on the first two factors.
In studying disasters in Libraries and all the safety standards that are to be met, the terminology used must be presented accordingly in order to make all concepts and proposals thoroughly understood.
The presentation of the types of natural and man-made disasters that caused the destruction of Libraries and the disappearance of invaluable materials of humanity is a key factor in organizing and preparation for handling such situations, along with having them [the disasters] in hierarchical order of frequency.
Also recording of the damaged Libraries helps us understand the size of the destruction caused when organized prevention, protection and recovery plans do not exist.
In case of disaster, people working in Libraries always saw the necessity of protection the valuable materials of their collections. But, in most cases, all their efforts were based on improvisations and not on actual protection plans, which resulted in poor results.
In some cases a major natural disaster was the cause of destruction of Libraries; in some other cases, military conflicts were the cause.
But a catastrophe in the last century caused people to realize that a defense mechanism should be organized in advance and not at the last possible minute, when the disaster has already broken out. It is during the calm that people need to figure a prevention plan and make preparations in case of a catastrophic event.
The disaster that was the cause for the beginning of organized planning against disasters was the flooding of Florence in 1966 and the enormous damage that caused to the city. Among the consequences of the disaster was the flooding of some of the larger Libraries as well. The National Central Library of Italy, the files of Opera del Duomo and the collection of the State Archives all suffered enormous damage and a large part of the collections was destroyed.
The reaction of young people in the region who rushed to help and called «mud angels» showed that will is not sufficient and that prerequisite for lifesaving treatment is preventive organization.
The very useful experiences of other disasters across the world in other institutions and libraries unfortunately were not systematically documented, so proper instructions for avoiding such devastating consequences do not exist.
A series of findings showing that the consequences of the disaster would be smaller, helped in establishing the necessity of an organized plan of action. It was found that, after collecting data from cultural institutions worldwide, it was more than necessary to record a (S.A.K.) plan to tackle the devastating effects of any natural or manmade disaster.
In the meantime, all information related to disasters should be recorded, studied and used in the methodological analysis of the experience gained whenever disaster strikes and should be accessible to those wishing to organize their defense plan.
Unfortunately, in Greece the S.A.K. plans have not been extended except for a few shining examples. One of them was the S.A.K. plan of Maria Lyratzi, who made the plan for the Pedagogical Institute.
In Greece, the regulations that define the rules of planning for emergencies in our country, pertaining to action of the G.G.P.P. as described in the "Xenocrates" plan.
Regarding the need for and mandatory creation of a S.A.K. plan in academic institutions, in the manual of the "Xenocrates" plan there is no mention of assigning or mandating individual institutions, such as Universities and Libraries, to develop S.A.K. plans.
But the need to organize the defense and prevention shows that, not only the obligatory preparation of such plans needs to be established, but also that a new Office within the Institutions needed to be created, named "Directorate of Disaster and Crisis Management" which, in full cooperation with the Rector, would prepare the Emergency Response or Disasters Plans (called S.A.K) for each of the Institution’s buildings, including the Library, and would also educate and guide all those who, in case of emergency, would have to act in order to protect the lives of people and Institution’s assets.
Regarding Libraries, the plan should include specific instructions to protect their collections in order to minimize the consequence, given the extremely lengthy process that is required for restoring the materials.
Because people tend to forget unpleasant events and expel the fear with phrases such as "that cannot happen to me", and because the frequency of disasters often helps forgetting the need for organization, we must act as an emergency bell for the State and all authorities involved in Disaster Response plans, in order to create an institutionalized two-way link: we that serve on Civil Services, which could dynamically be victims of a disaster, should push for legislative arrangements that make drafting and organizing plans mandatory and the State, should accept said proposals and help towards that direction, allowing those who know the particularities of every Institution and Library, to help in organizing the plan.
