May 1st = Disaster Preparedness Day

May 1st is Disaster Preparedness Day for improving awareness of protecting historic documents of all types during disasters like tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters. Be ready to care for your family and your family's most important records. Plan an evacuation route for your family, plan a safe place in the home, plan for a meeting place, plan to take a cell phone or numbers. Be able to "grab and go" when the time comes. Tennessee State Library and Archives, County Government Archives, and Council of State Archivists want everyone to remember to be prepared for the unexpected. Determine what are your family's most Essential records and/or Irreplaceable records. Essential records are: birth certificates, marriage records, health and insurance records, banking account records, and mortgage and deed records. Irreplaceable records are family documents, letters, diaries, photographs, and scrapbooks. Ways to prepare for emergencies. 1. Keep a checklist up to date, of all those essential records and locations. 2. Take a copy of the checklist any time you have to evacuate your home. 3. Consider duplicating essential records and store "off-site" (a bank safety deposit vault or another trusted family home). Think of where other duplicates might be and name that location on you list: local government records, State Vital Records, or even doctor's office records. 4. Do not forget computer records: Any essential records stored on home computers should be backed up by paper copy, CD, or jump drive stored off site. 5. Be ready to evacuate some original records. If necessary create an easy to carry ready to move container with essential or irreplaceable records, to pick up as one evacuates. 6. An itemized list of locations for essential and irreplaceable will help give a priority to possible recovery and salvage of those items after a disaster. Read more about this topic: Rescuing Family Records A Disaster Planning Guide by David W. Carmicheal Or Study the following websites: Tennessee State Library and Archives: http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/ Council of State Archivists: http://www.statearchivists.org/ Heritage Preservation: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/ American Red Cross Preparedness section: http://www.redcross.org/ For more information contact: Carol Roberts Director Preservation Services Tennessee State Library and Archives 615-253-6446 Preservation.tsla@state.tn.us