As Hurricane Irene barreled up the East Coast in Aug. 2011, Gregor Trinkaus-Randall (BA’68, MA’73, History; MA’80, Library Science) went into “weatherman” mode. The preservation specialist for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (who was in Chicago on business at the time) sent email alerts to all the libraries, town clerks, archivists, museums, and historical societies in his state, advising them to activate disaster-readiness plans. His warnings were heeded.
“When [the hurricane] hit, some Massachusetts libraries had water damage, but no collections were affected,” says Trinkaus-Randall. “I like to think preparedness had something to do with that.”
Trinkaus-Randall
Trinkaus-Randall, known to his email network as “the weatherman,” is a leading expert on how to preserve and protect library and archival materials from a wide range of unforeseen disasters, including fire, building collapse, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and heavy snowfalls. His home state of Massachusetts is one of only a handful around the country that has implemented statewide preservation programs, with a focus on education, coordination, and prevention.
“People don’t think this will happen to them,” says Trinkaus-Randall, who runs between 15 and 20 workshops on disaster preparedness, preservation, and recovery of archival materials around the state each year. “My job is to help them think realistically.”
Before a typical all-day disaster workshop, Trinkaus-Randall stuffs library and archival materials and museum artifacts into large photographic trays and a huge barrel filled with water. He tosses books into the air and lets them land where they may. Then he turns off the lights, opens the door, and ushers participants inside.
“People come into a pitch-black room and are taken completely aback,” he says. “But they have to decide how they’re going to deal with it.”
After an hour or so, Trinkaus-Randall flips the lights back on and leads a discussion on what was and wasn't done correctly. Participants then learn how to create a disaster plan for their own institutions.
When dealing with a large-scale disaster, life and public health rightfully come first, says Trinkaus-Randall. But cultural heritage resources can, and should, be part of the advance conversations. Moreover, city officials have found that restoring cultural heritage institutions and municipal operations to normal has a positive impact on the recovery of the community.
“One of our most important goals is to get two groups talking: emergency managers and the cultural heritage community,” says Trinkaus-Randall, who helped found Coordinated Statewide Emergency Preparedness in Massachusetts. “We found they didn't really know each other; they didn't talk. We’re working to get them together well ahead of any disaster.”
If, for example, firefighters know the layout of a local historic landmark, they are more likely to respond with sensitivity if called to the scene, Trinkaus-Randall points out.
And then there’s the ever-wilder New England weather. Trinkaus-Randall is on email and conference call lists with the National Weather Service and has developed a distribution list of some 3,000 institutions to whom he can send alerts when conditions pose a hazard to collections.
Trinkaus-Randall was elected a fellow of the Society of American Archivists in 2006 and received the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services’ 2012 George Cunha and Susan Swartzburg Preservation Award. This year, he received the New England Archivists’ Distinguished Service Award for his groundbreaking work in preservation outreach, disaster planning and response, and archival security issues, over a career of more than 30 years. He credits his years as a graduate student in the School of Library and Information Studies, working in libraries and archives across UW-Madison (Steenbock Memorial Library, the Limnology Library, and the State Archives in the Wisconsin Historical Society), with inspiring his lifelong interest in preservation.